Chapter 5 starts with Lennie stroking a dead pup the same way he had at the beginning of the story with the diseased mouse, laying the foundation for an ominous scene. The dead pup resurrects Lennie’s harmful nature within the story, which foreshadows the following events.
Curley’s wife enters the stables and begins talking to Lennie. From just this, readers can sense that something bad is approaching. George is not there to sway Lennie’s attention away from Curley’s wife. In this scene, Steinbeck depicts Curley’s wife in a different manner. Rather than characterizing her as the manipulative character she had been portraying throughout the story, her loneliness and depression is highlighted within this scene. She begins to tell Lennie of her dream of pursuing a movie star career that had failed. Her dream differs very little than that of George and Lennie’s, both are held as an image of how life should be, although its conflict with reality. Curly’s …show more content…
George finds out what has happened and quickly his mind relays to when Candy’s dog had been shot. Candy had briefly mention to George that he should have shot his dog himself knowing that if anyone were to do it, it would be him. George knows the decision he has to make; whether he shoots Lennie himself or watch the mob shoot him. After this realization the idea of hope and the farm life dream disappears. This is confirmed when Candy asks about the farm and receives the same response.
Section 6 begins with the describing of a river bed. The same river as the one in the beginning of the story, but is described as a much harsher environment in terms of the animals that live there. A heron reaches down to pluck a snake out of the river, and swallows it as it desperately tries to save itself only to squirm farther down the heron's throat. The snake unaware of what will become of him in the next few instances. As Lennie appears in the clearing, his fate is