Death
In Of Mice and Men, death plays a large role toward the end of the book. There are a few deaths that do occur in the middle to end of the novel. Toward the middle of the book, Candy has to part with his beloved dog that he has had since it was a pup. The people that he works with do not like the dog, but most of them understand that he has a very close relationship with it. Not Carlson. He says that it smells bad, he should put it out of its misery, and he cannot see or walk, so he is no good.
In chapter three, Steinbeck says, "from his pocket Carlson took a little leather thong. He stooped over and tied it around the old dog's neck. All the men except Candy watched him" (48). The quote shows how hard it is for Candy to have to let go of his beloved dog. It was pretty much a part of Candy, and it hurt him so badly to have to let him go that he couldn't even kill him himself.
There is also a death situation between George and Lennie at the end of the book. Critic Howard Levant describes the theme of death in this quote: "George shoots Lennie after retelling the story about the little farm that always quiets Lennie. As further irony, precisely the responsibilities of a perfect friendship require George to shoot Lennie. The mob that would hang Lennie for murder is in the background throughout that scene. The situation is moving, but the effect is local. The ironies relate only to Lennie's pathetic situation; they do not aid an understanding of Lennie or account (beyond plot) for his death" (Levant, 360). Even though the quote talks mostly about irony, death is still a big part in it. It is true that Lennie's death is a very sad and pathetic situation, and it is very ironic that his best friend has to shoot him. I would never want to be in George's place. I could never kill my best friend.
In all, the moments that contain death in this novel are very touching. They show how hard it can be to let go of someone that you love. Death is a very hard thing to deal with when someone that you love dies, but how could you possibly deal with having to kill someone that you loved? Even if you two were completely on bad terms, and you were 100% sick of him/her. I don't know about you, but I would never be able to even HURT someone I loved. If everyone in the world hated my best friend, and told me that I had to hurt or kill him/her, I wouldn't do it. George always said that he would love to be on his own and not have to worry about watching Lennie 24/7, but whenever he had to shoot him, I am sure that he was regretting ever saying that he wanted Lennie to go away.
In chapter three, Steinbeck says, "from his pocket Carlson took a little leather thong. He stooped over and tied it around the old dog's neck. All the men except Candy watched him" (48). The quote shows how hard it is for Candy to have to let go of his beloved dog. It was pretty much a part of Candy, and it hurt him so badly to have to let him go that he couldn't even kill him himself.
There is also a death situation between George and Lennie at the end of the book. Critic Howard Levant describes the theme of death in this quote: "George shoots Lennie after retelling the story about the little farm that always quiets Lennie. As further irony, precisely the responsibilities of a perfect friendship require George to shoot Lennie. The mob that would hang Lennie for murder is in the background throughout that scene. The situation is moving, but the effect is local. The ironies relate only to Lennie's pathetic situation; they do not aid an understanding of Lennie or account (beyond plot) for his death" (Levant, 360). Even though the quote talks mostly about irony, death is still a big part in it. It is true that Lennie's death is a very sad and pathetic situation, and it is very ironic that his best friend has to shoot him. I would never want to be in George's place. I could never kill my best friend.
In all, the moments that contain death in this novel are very touching. They show how hard it can be to let go of someone that you love. Death is a very hard thing to deal with when someone that you love dies, but how could you possibly deal with having to kill someone that you loved? Even if you two were completely on bad terms, and you were 100% sick of him/her. I don't know about you, but I would never be able to even HURT someone I loved. If everyone in the world hated my best friend, and told me that I had to hurt or kill him/her, I wouldn't do it. George always said that he would love to be on his own and not have to worry about watching Lennie 24/7, but whenever he had to shoot him, I am sure that he was regretting ever saying that he wanted Lennie to go away.