“He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again.”

Lennie falls down, without a quiver. He would never imagine that someday, he would be killed by the man he trusted the most, relied on the most, someone who will always protect him, rescue him, someone who visioned a dream for both of them, a romantic American dream that seems to be within reach.

However, it is worth arguing that, isn’t it the best ending for Lennie? A kindhearted boy who has no intention to harm anyone, loves nature, likes to play around with animals, but cannot control the destructive force in his body. Mental retardation makes him incompatible with the world around him, the only friend he gets is George, and the furry animals he could play with seemed so fragile under Lennie’s hand. Instead of receiving weird looks from others, obsessing over the mistakes he made with no malevolence, and worrying about his relationship with George, he was pulled out of all of the misery with this ending.

No matter what mistakes Lennie made or how serious the consequences would be, George is always on Lennie’s side, paving the escaping route for both of them. Although sometimes he would complain, he knew by heart that he could never live without Lennie.

However, everything changed on that day when Lennie killed Curley’s wife.

Though it was unintentional, George knew how mad Curley would be and what he would do to Lennie. George thought of the old dog and the poor old man, unable to do anything about his friend. But he could, couldn’t he? George couldn’t bear Lennie to suffer from all the pain and torture ahead, but that was the only choice for Lennie.

As Lennie’s best friend, the only person in the world who cares about him, nobody knows how hard it was for George. Gun fired, Lennie fell, dream broke, like burst bubbles, their existence is so delicate, so light, that could never have any impact on the world.

George, as usual, took the burden from Lennie and did one last thing for him. As for himself, he would live under today’s shadows, never able to escape. What about the American Dream? Perhaps it never has existed in the very first place.

Of mice and men, under the current of Times, we are all just the little mice in Lennie’s hand.