Of Mice and Men
Prompt #7 · Of Mice and Men
Prompt Type: Scene Analysis
In the bunkhouse, Carlson's relentless pressure leads Candy to allow his old, suffering dog to be taken out and shot. Analyze how Steinbeck uses this scene to foreshadow later acts of mercy killing and to explore when life is deemed no longer worth living. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“Carl’s right, Candy. That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I got old an’ a cripple.”
Chapter 3
Argument
Slim's endorsement of mercy killing establishes the moral framework of the scene, as his god-like authority legitimizes the idea that ending suffering is compassionate—a principle that directly foreshadows George's final act toward Lennie when he becomes 'old an' a cripple' in his inability to survive independently.
Quote 2
Chapter 3
Argument
Candy's regret at allowing a stranger to kill his dog reveals the emotional cost of delegating mercy killing, establishing that such acts should be performed by those who love the victim—a lesson George applies when he personally shoots Lennie rather than letting Curley's mob do it.
Quote 3
“If we could keep Curley in, we might. But Curley’s gonna want to shoot ’im. Curley’s still mad about his hand. An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George.”
Chapter 5
Argument
Slim's later assessment that caging Lennie 'ain't no good' echoes the logic used to justify shooting Candy's dog, completing the parallel by framing George's killing of Lennie as the same type of mercy—ending a life deemed no longer worth living under the circumstances.
Quote 4
“He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger; he snapped off the safety, and the hand and gun lay on the ground behind Lennie’s back.”
Chapter 6
Argument
The image of George reaching for Carlson's Luger—the same gun used to shoot Candy's dog—creates a direct visual and thematic link between the two mercy killings, reinforcing that both acts follow the same moral logic of ending suffering before a worse fate arrives.
Quote 5
“And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.”
Chapter 6
Argument
George's trembling hand as he shoots Lennie mirrors the emotional weight of the dog scene, demonstrating that mercy killing exacts a profound psychological cost on the killer even when deemed necessary—the ultimate fulfillment of the scene's foreshadowing.