There is slight reference, which hint slightly, and also direct parallel of the situation, with Candy and his dog. There are episodes in the novel where Lennie’s physical strength and childlike incompetence, which are presented to emphasise the instinctive threat, which he poses. When George talks of what happened in Weed, he proclaims that Lennie gets all “mixed up”, when something goes wrong, “he holds on, ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do”.
This gets Lennie into many dangerous situations throughout the book. Lennie has a curiosity with ‘red’, this is advertised throughout the novel, this behaviour he more associated with the behaviour of a child, rather than an adult. Lennie’s desire to touch the ‘red’ dress is not a conscience assault, but the disorientation in Lennie’s head, makes him unable to control the situation, which ends badly. Something similar happens when Curley attacks Lennie. Once again, Lennie’s puzzlement of the situation goes against him when Curley reaches to punch Lennie, as he “simply held on to the closed fist”.
Even though is seems Lennie is in control of the situation, as Curley is “flopping like a fish”, Lennie is scared and “watched in terror”. Lennie’s need for security is also shown in his desire to have something small to pet, this is similar in the way a child has a teddy bear for comfort, as Lennie is keen to hold the dead mouse, as it gives him some sense of security. Lennie is unaware what it means for the mouse to be dead, so his ignorance is coordinated to something sinister from the beginning.
The Essay on Curley’s Wife’s Significance in “Of Mice and Men”
She would like to depend less on her husband, she has a fantasy of becoming a renowned actress and she feels secluded and miserable. She has to live in a male dominate society (“ranch ain’t no place for a girl”) and has to face the fact that she will never have all of the freedom she is hoping for. Her life is the exact opposite of this “dream”. Curley’s wife is considered to be useless, but as a ...
Later on, Lennie again seeks security in the responsibility of caring for a small animal, the ‘pup’, and his dream to “tend the rabbits” on the farm, which he hopes to share with George. Lennie kills the puppy unintentionally. When he is playing with the pup, he hits him, and the puppy dies. Lennie’s ‘playing’ with the puppy, is not how an adult would usually play with a dog. An adult would usually be the dominant, i. e. throwing a ball or a stick, in Lennie’s situation he is an equal to the dog. Midway through the novel, Candy’s dog, needs to be shot, although Candy is deeply distressed, he recognises that it must happen.
This anticipates George’s similar position at the end of the book when he shoots Lennie. After the Shooting of his dog, Candy says, “I ‘ought to shoot that dog myself George, I shouldn’t have let no stranger do it”. Candy’s words seem to assert a principle of personal responsibility upon it, which George ultimately acts upon, as he recognises that he is responsible for Lennie, as Candy was responsible for his dog. In conclusion, Steinbeck foreshadows the death of Lennie in multiple ways to allow the readers to think about what could happen in the book, whilst also thinking about the difficulties.
