Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men
is written as a frame narrative; and, as such, the final scene takes the
reader back to the opening scene in which George and Lennie arrive outside the town of
Soledad, a name which means alone. While they make camp, Lennie
asks George to recite the description of their American Dream of owning a place of their
own after George has scolded him for his escapade in Weeds and for catching mice and
killing them. Now, in Chapter 6, Lennie who has paralleled the act in Weeds, only with
more devastating effects, knows he is in trouble and asks George to recite again their
dream. His desire is for the litany about their future that comforts and consoles him
for his present problems; in fact, it is almost like a prayer. George prays with
him.
George, knowing that Lennie, like Candy's dog is in a
hopeless situation, tells his friend to "look acrost the river, an' I'll tell you so you
can almost see it." As he looks at Lennie's head and reaches for Carlson's Luger and
recites their old litany, George's hand shakes; he drops his hand to the ground, but as
the voices come closer, George knows that Lennie, like the old dog, is no longer useful
and is one of life's losing victims. He listens again to the voices. As his hand
shakes violently, George sets his face in the determination uttered by his "I gotta."
Finally, he pulls the trigger; he shivers afterward and throws the gun from him as
Lennie jars, then falls slowly forward to the sand.
No comments:
Post a Comment