His name seems especially inappropriate since he is missing a hand, has bristly white whiskers, and an ancient dog that stinks. Candy gives George the lowdown on the ranch. The boss shows up and questions George and Lennie about their work history. George does all the talking, which makes the boss suspicious. He can't understand why George is looking out for Lennie, and, honestly, we're not sure either. George lies and says he and Lennie are cousins, and that they left their last job because it was done.
The boss leaves and Candy comes back in with his dog, who used to be a great sheepherder before he got old and stinky. Excuse us while we take a brief detour into the mids.
Okay, back now. Sorry about that. The boss' son comes in. He's a small-but-cocky tough-guy type and immediately sizes up George and Lennie as potential victims. He tries to engage Lennie in an argument, but George interferes. Why does Curley attack Lennie? Why does George kill Lennie? Why does Lennie have a dead mouse in his pocket? How is Lennie different from the other men? Why do George and Lennie travel together?
Why does Curley wear a glove on one hand? What does Slim do at the ranch? Summary Section 6. Summary In the same riverbed where the story began, it is a beautiful, serene late afternoon.
Test your knowledge Take the Section 6 Quick Quiz. Popular pages: Of Mice and Men. Take a Study Break. After being told that Curley is looking for her, she apprehensively scurries away. George immediately senses Curley and his wife are trouble. He warns Lennie to keep his distance from both of them.
Lennie and George eventually join the other workers in the field. They put in half a day's work and prepare for dinner. After dinner, Steinbeck dramatizes an event that calls into question the usefulness and suffering of the old and infirm. Carlson tells Candy that he should put his old dog out of his misery by shooting him. While Candy initially refuses, a word from the wise and benign Slim changes his mind. Slim tells Candy: "Carl's right […] [t]hat dog ain't no good to himself. I wisht somebody'd shoot me if I got old an' a cripple" Slim also offers Candy a puppy from a litter his own dog just birthed.
Hesitantly, and ironically, as Candy is old and a "cripple" himself, he agrees, though he cannot bring himself to shoot the dog. Carlson then offers to do it for him.
After hearing the shot, Candy, who was laying on his bunk, turns toward the wall and overhears George and Lennie's conversation about the little piece of land they hope to own. Candy offers to contribute all of his money if they will let him join them and work in the garden on their land.
With Candy's financial assistance, it seems for the first time as though George and Lennie's dream could possibly become reality. George therefore agrees to Candy's proposition, but tells him not to mention it to anyone else, lest they all lose their jobs. Later that night, Curley comes into the bunk house and misinterprets Lennie's reflective smile about their imagined home as a personal affront. He yells at Lennie, "Come on, ya big bastard.
Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I'll show ya who's yella" He then attacks Lennie who only fights back when George says that it is okay, and even then Lennie does not hit Curley, but rather grabs and crushes his hand out of fear. George has to yell at Lennie, "Leggo of him Lennie. Let go," several times before Lennie can think clearly enough to release Curley's broken hand The men warn Curley that unless he wants to be embarrassed by the situation, he should tell people he caught his hand in a machine.
Not willing to take that kind of blow to his ego, Curley agrees and is rushed to the doctor in Soledad. Lennie is afraid that he has done something wrong, but George assures him everything is okay and that he will still be allowed to tend the rabbits on their farm. Lennie is reassured and goes to visit the puppy that Slim had offered him earlier. The following night all of the workers leave for a brothel they call "old Susy's" The three make a pact to let no one else know of their plan.
Slim returns to the bunkhouse, berating Curley for his suspicions. Curley, searching for an easy target for his anger, finds Lennie and picks a fight with him. Slim warns Curley that if he tries to get George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock of the farm.
The next night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie is left with Crooks, the lonely, black stable-hand, and Candy. This thought amuses her. The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the barn. She admits that life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had followed her dream of becoming a movie star.
Lennie tells her that he loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his attempt to silence her, he accidentally breaks her neck. Lennie flees back to a pool of the Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should either of them get into trouble.
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