Steinbeck makes the vision of the farm so beautiful and the bond between George and Lennie so strong in order to place his characters at a considerable height to fall from. From the very beginning, Steinbeck heavily foreshadows the doom that awaits the men. The clearing into which the two travelers stumble may resemble Eden, but it is, in fact, a world with dangers all around. The rabbits that sit like “gray, sculptured stones” hurry for cover at the sound of footsteps, hinting at the predatory world that will finally kill Lennie. The dead mouse in Lennie’s pocket serves as a symbol of the end that awaits weak, unsuspecting creatures. After all, despite Lennie’s great physical size and strength, his childlike mental capabilities make him as helpless as a mouse.
Steinbeck’s repeated comparisons between Lennie and animals (bears, horses, terriers) reinforce the impending sense of doom. Animals in the novel, from field mice to ’s dog, all die untimely deaths. The novel’s tragic course of action seems even more inevitable when one considers Lennie’s troublesome behavior that got George and Lennie chased out of Weed, and George’s anticipatory insistence that they designate a meeting place should any problems arise.
The first time we see Lennie, he is immediately compared to an animal "...and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." Throughout the novel there will be many such comparisons, and also occasional comparisons to children and the insane. But it is references to animals that occur most frequently. Such representations of Lennie as an animal alter how we respond to his actions. Therefore, it is significant that Steinbeck immediately mentions an animal when he first describes Lennie.
Lennie’s puppy is one of the several animals in the novel used by Steinbeck. Lennie manages to kill the puppy as he has done mice – failure to recognize his own strength. Although no other character can match Lennie’s physical stature, the huge Lennie is soon to meet a fate similar to that of the puppy. Like an innocent animal, Lennie is unaware of the vicious powers that surround him.
Candy’s dog is also another symbol of the book. It represents the fate awaiting ‘person’ who has outlived his or her purpose. “Well hell! I had him so long……… I herded sheep with him………You wouldn’t think it to look at him now, but he was the best”. Once a fine sheep dog, useful on the ranch, Candy’s dog is now debilitated by age. Candy’s attachment to the animal – his plea that Carlson let the dog live for no other reason that that he had raised it from a pup – means nothing on the ranch. Carlson promises to kill the dog painlessly. This is another lesson that strong will always dispose of the weak. Candy may have taken this lesson to see that he himself is nearing an age where he will no longer be useful at the ranch, and therefore no longer welcome.
With reference to Robbie Burns’ poem, To a Mouse, the penultimate verse is very true of Lennie and the inevitable. The mouse is described to be living in the present and no other time. Lennie is very similar to this, and seeing as his memory is very bad, it doesn’t help.
In section five, we see more of Curley’s wife’s character; this scene is set in the barn and is where Curley’s wife is eventually killed by Lennie. In the barn there is a group along with a lot of flies. Together this group of animals builds tension for the forthcoming events. “The resting horses……….stamped their feet and they bit the wood of the mangers and rattled the halter chains”. These actions tend to indicate to the reader that something bad is going to happen. In this scene we learn that Lennie has already killed the puppy and with Curley’s wife coming into the scene; things don’t look good.
Throughout the book we get ‘warnings’ of bad actions that are about to take place. The reader may think that both Lennie and George are back to their origin, they are safe. But the paradise is lost. We get another look at the water snake that at the beginning of the book is “gliding through the water”. However, in this final section everything has changed. Or has it; a cycle of life has just been turning and has finally reached the end. “A silent beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head……….Another little water snake swam up the pool”. This little water snake is signifying the start of a new cycle, and maybe the start of a new friend ship for George and Slim. This is the eventuality of the snake. The sake that at the start of the book was gliding through the water has now been snatched from the world of the living. Soon Lennie’s life will be taken from, just as the unsuspecting water snake.
