George Shoots Lennie

George Milton shoots Lennie Small in the back of the head beside the Salinas River, ending his friend's life to spare him from a lynch mob while reciting their shared dream of a farm one last time. This act is the climax of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, a mercy killing that simultaneously fulfills and destroys the central dream of the novel. It is a moment of profound love and violence, in which George takes on the unbearable responsibility of protecting Lennie from a crueler death at the hands of Curley and the other men, and in doing so, severs the only bond that gave his own life meaning.

The Setting and the Approach

The scene unfolds at the deep green pool of the Salinas River in the late afternoon, a place of deceptive peace. The sun has already left the valley to climb the slopes of the Gabilan Mountains, leaving the pool in a pleasant shade among mottled sycamores. George comes quietly out of the brush to find Lennie waiting for him, as instructed. Lennie has been tormented by hallucinations of Aunt Clara and a giant rabbit, both speaking in his own voice to accuse him of failing George and of being unfit to tend rabbits. When George arrives, Lennie immediately asks, "You ain't gonna leave me, are ya, George? I know you ain't." George answers simply, "No." But his silence and the way he sits down stiffly beside Lennie carry the weight of what he knows he must do. From the distance come the shouts of men, growing closer.

The Recitation of the Dream

George does not immediately tell Lennie what is coming. Instead, he begins to recite the familiar story of their dream, the same story they have told each other countless times. Lennie prompts him: "Tell how it's gonna be." George, listening to the distant sounds of the approaching men, becomes business-like. He tells Lennie to look across the river, so he can almost see it. As he speaks, he reaches into his side pocket and brings out Carlson's Luger, snapping off the safety. The hand and gun lie on the ground behind Lennie's back. George looks at the back of Lennie's head, at the place where the spine and skull are joined. He raises the gun, but his hand shakes, and he drops it to the ground again. Lennie, oblivious, urges him on: "Go on. How's it gonna be. We gonna get a little place." George continues the dream, describing the cow, the pig, the chickens, and the little piece of alfalfa. Lennie shouts, "For the rabbits," and George repeats, "For the rabbits." Lennie giggles with happiness. "An' live on the fatta the lan'." George says, "Yes." When Lennie turns his head, George commands him to look down across the river, so he can almost see the place. Lennie obeys.

The Shooting

The crashing footsteps in the brush grow closer. George turns and looks toward them. Lennie asks, "When we gonna do it?" George says, "Gonna do it soon." Lennie says, "Me an' you." George answers, "You … an' me. Ever'body gonna be nice to you. Ain't gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from 'em." Lennie says, "I thought you was mad at me, George." George replies, "No, Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know." The voices come close now. George raises the gun and listens to the voices. Lennie begs, "Le's do it now. Le's get that place now." George says, "Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta." He raises the gun and steadies it, bringing the muzzle close to the back of Lennie's head. His hand shakes violently, but his face sets and his hand steadies. He pulls the trigger. The crash of the shot rolls up the hills and rolls down again. Lennie jars, then settles slowly forward to the sand, and lies without quivering.

The Aftermath and the Lie

George shivers and looks at the gun, then throws it from him, back up on the bank near a pile of old ashes. The brush fills with cries and running feet. Slim's voice shouts, "George. Where you at, George?" But George sits stiffly on the bank and looks at his right hand that had thrown the gun away. The group bursts into the clearing, Curley ahead. He sees Lennie lying on the sand. "Got him, by God." He goes over and looks down at Lennie, then looks back at George. "Right in the back of the head," he says softly. Slim comes directly to George and sits down beside him, very close. "Never you mind," says Slim. "A guy got to sometimes." Carlson asks George how he did it. George says tiredly, "I just done it." Carlson asks, "Did he have my gun?" George says, "Yeah. He had your gun." Carlson asks, "An' you got it away from him and you took it an' you killed him?" George says, "Yeah. Tha's how." His voice is almost a whisper. He looks steadily at his right hand that had held the gun. Slim twitches George's elbow and says, "Come on, George. Me an' you'll go in an' get a drink." George lets himself be helped to his feet. "Yeah, a drink." Slim says, "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me." He leads George into the entrance of the trail and up toward the highway. Curley and Carlson look after them. Carlson says, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?"