Summary
Lennie is by the deep pool of the Salinas River, waiting for George. He talks to himself, repeating that George will be mad and give him hell. From his memory, he creates his Aunt Clara, who stares disapprovingly and scolds him because once again he did not listen to George. Then Aunt Clara disappears and is replaced in Lennie's mind by a giant rabbit, who takes Aunt Clara's job of scolding Lennie and tells him he cannot tend the rabbits and that George will beat Lennie with a stick. Lennie protests that George has never "raised his han' to me with a stick." But the rabbit persists, and Lennie puts his hands over his ears and calls out for George.
Coming silently through the bushes, George asks Lennie what he is yelling about. Lennie describes his fears of George leaving and confesses that he has once again done a bad thing. Strangely silent, George explains that it does not matter this time. Then Lennie asks for "the story" about how they are different from the other guys. George takes his hat off and asks Lennie to do so too; then he tells Lennie to look across the river while he tells him their dream once again.
While Lennie listens happily to the story, George pulls Carlson's Luger and unsnaps the safety. George explains to Lennie that everyone will be nice to him on their place and there won't be any trouble or theft. When Lennie says he thought George would be mad, George tells him he never was and the important thing he wants Lennie to know is that he is not mad now. Then George brings up the gun to Lennie's neck and pulls the trigger. Lennie falls forward on the sand, and George throws the gun away from him into an old pile of ashes.
The men hear the shot and run up, Slim's voice calling to George. They burst into the clearing, Curley in the lead. The men assume Lennie had Carlson's gun and George numbly agrees. Slim touches George's elbow and says they should go for a drink. Then, as he helps George up, he says to him that he had to do what he did. Slim leads George up to the trail and on toward the highway, leaving Carlson to wonder — along with Curley — "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?"
Analysis
In Chapter 6, the story ends where it began, but the values of the setting have changed. Instead of a place of sanctuary, the pool is now a place of death. Instead of the rabbits playing in the brush, the heron is swallowing the little snake whole. Instead of green leaves and a gentle breeze, there are brown, dying leaves and a gush of wind. Instead of safety for Lennie, there is death. Instead of companionship for George, there is a future of loneliness.
Lennie experiences two visions in this last scene. One is Aunt Clara who scolds Lennie for letting George down and not listening to him. The other is a gigantic rabbit who berates Lennie and tells him George will beat him and leave him. In neither of these visions does Lennie experience feelings of remorse or guilt for what he did to Curley's wife. In fact, neither his conjured Aunt Clara or the giant rabbit scold him for that act. In regards to Curley's wife, Lennie simply knows that he "did a bad thing" and that the consequences will be severe. His thoughts, though, focus on the pattern he and George have established when Lennie does bad things: George scolds him, threatens to leave him, and then ends up telling him once again about their dream of a ranch. The fact that Lennie anticipates the same pattern this time is indicative of his childlike innocence. Instead of asking George right away for the story of the farm, he asks him for the story of "giving me hell." He knows this will make George feel better, and everything will be alright again.
George, however, cannot finish the story of what he would do without Lennie. He falters, realizing that soon he truly will be without Lennie. When Lennie realizes that George is not going to beat him or leave him, he playfully finishes the story, and he adds why they are different from the others: "An' I got you. We got each other, that's what, that gives a hoot in hell about us." Now the story of the ranch and the dream is the only one left, and George begins that, picturing a world where no one will steal from them or be mean. But, of course, this story is not reality in a cold, harsh world. There is no place for innocence or people who look out for each other. As Lennie envisions the dream that seemed so close a few days ago, George shoots him as Carlson shot Candy's dog, and like the dog, without a quiver, Lennie dies.
Earlier in the novel, Slim told Candy it would be better to put his dog down, better for their "society" as a whole. This comment begins a number of comparisons between Candy's dog and Lennie. George never really understood how dangerous Lennie could be and always thought Lennie's strength could be restrained. Now it is obvious that Lennie is a danger to society, even though innocent in the motivations for his actions. Candy had no other merciful options for his dog, and George sees no other options for Lennie. As Slim explained, locking Lennie up would be inhumane; Curley threatens to harm Lennie by shooting him many times. When Carlson shot Candy's dog, he displayed no concern for Candy's feelings. The same is true for the others' reactions to Lennie's death. Carlson and the others cannot fathom why George is upset. The final similarity in the two situations is the fearful future of loneliness facing both Candy and George.
When the ranch hands appear, George lies about the murder. He quietly concurs that Lennie had Carlson's gun. George feels numb and empty, but he has done what he felt he had to do. Slim understands, taking him for a drink. But Carlson and Curley can not understand why George feels so bad. Their last words — "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?" — indicate that the world is a cold and harsh place.
Glossary
jack-pin a metal or wooden pin used to fasten ropes to a ship.
