Of Mice and Men: Part 6 Summary & Analysis

Lennie sits at the edge of the green pool on the Salinas River, drinking thirstily from the water. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a heron devour a water snake. When he’s finished, he hugs his knees to his chest and faces the trail, waiting for George. He is nervous that George will “give [him] hell,” and wonders aloud if he should go find a cave in which to hide. A vision of Aunt Clara, a woman in thick glasses and a large gingham apron, appears before Lennie. 

Aunt Clara reprimands Lennie for ignoring her advice, doing “bad things,” and pushing George away. Aunt Clara points out how patient and generous George has always been. Lennie says he’s going to go away and live in a cave. Aunt Clara calls Lennie’s bluff, telling him that he’ll never leave George. Lennie says there’s no point in staying with George, because George will never let him tend rabbits now.

Aunt Clara morphs into a giant rabbit. The rabbit tells Lennie he “ain’t fit to lick the boots of no rabbit,” and would only hurt or starve any rabbits he did tend. Lennie insists he’d be good at raising rabbits, but the rabbit retorts that George will never let Lennie do such a thing now, and will probably beat Lennie with a stick and leave him for dead. Lennie puts his hands over his ears and begins screaming, trying to block out the rabbit’s cruel words.

George comes crashing through the brush to find a hysterical Lennie screaming and rocking back and forth. Lennie embraces George, and begs him on his knees not to abandon him. George promises he isn’t going to leave Lennie. Lennie tells George he’s done a bad thing, but George insists it doesn’t matter. There is the distant sound of men shouting.

Lennie asks George if George is going to give him hell like he always does when Lennie does bad things. George “woodenly” begins reciting the reproaches he always uses on Lennie, stating that if he was alone he could “live so easy” and describing all the things he’d do if Lennie weren’t his to worry about. Lennie offers to run away into the hills, but George insists he wants Lennie to stay with him.

Lennie asks George to tell him again how the two of them are different from other ranchers. George tells Lennie they’re different because they have one another. George can hear the shouts of the men in the distance, closer than before. George urges Lennie to take off his hat and enjoy the evening breeze; Lennie does so. He asks George to tell him some more about “how it’s gonna be.” George orders Lennie to turn and look out across the river, so that he can better imagine the details of the story George tells him.

George begins telling Lennie about the “little place” they’ll soon have in a gentle voice. Behind Lennie’s back, George pulls Carlson’s pistol out of his own pocket and cocks it. He stares at the base of Lennie’s skull as he continues spinning the familiar yarn about a farm with animals, rabbits, and a big alfalfa patch. He assures Lennie that Lennie will get to tend the rabbits all by himself, and Lennie giggles as he thinks happily about living “on the fatta the lan’.”

George hears the men’s footsteps coming nearer. He assures Lennie that they are going to go to their little farm soon and will have “no more trouble” for the rest of their lives. Lennie says he thought George was mad at him. George replies that he’s not mad at Lennie, and never has been. Lennie asks George if they can go to their special place right away, and George says they can. George lifts the pistol, points it at the back of Lennie’s head, and pulls the trigger even as his hand shakes violently. Lennie falls forward and lies still on the ground, dead.

George tosses the gun away from himself and stares down at his right hand, the one that pulled the trigger. The men crash through the brush. Curley sees Lennie dead on the ground and congratulates George on getting him. Slim sits down beside George and, seeing his distress, tries to comfort him. Carlson asks George if Lennie had his gun, and George says that he did. Carlson asks if George got the gun away from Lennie and then killed him, and George agrees that that’s what happened. He continues staring at his right hand.

Slim pulls George to his feet and tells him they should all have a drink. George robotically agrees. Slim again tries to comfort George by telling him that he did what he had to do. He gingerly leads George back through the brush. Curley and Carlson stare after them as they go, and Carlson asks what in the hell could be “eatin’ them two guys.”