
late afternoon, at the pool, after Aunt Clara's vision
Lennie's Hallucination of the Giant Rabbit
Aunt Clara vanishes, replaced by a gigantic rabbit that sits on its haunches and waggles its ears, again speaking in Lennie's voice. The rabbit mocks Lennie, telling him he is unfit to tend rabbits and that George will beat him and leave him. Lennie protests frantically, insisting George is kind and would never do that. The rabbit's cruel repetition—'He gonna leave you, ya crazy bastard'—drives Lennie to cry out for George. This hallucination intensifies Lennie's fear of abandonment and his desperate need for George's reassurance, while also symbolizing the dream of the farm and the rabbits that Lennie so cherishes.