fire in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the roof. (mice, pg.14) Little by little George gave up everything that mattered to him to ensure the safety and happiness of Lennie. George exposed himself and acted as a shield to protect him. "You do bad things and I got to get you out. You crazy son-of-a- bitch. You keep me in hot water all the time." (mice, pg.11) When George kills Lennie in the conclusion of Of Mice and Men, he also loses a part of himself. He ended Lennie's life to protect him from the miserable life he was about to face. To kill Lennie was in the best interest of both George and Lennie: "He ain't no good to you. An' he ain't no good to himself." (mice, pg.44) Pulling the trigger on his companion, his best friend, his other half, was the greatest gift George could ever give him. He made sure that his last thoughts were blissful ones: "Look down there across the river, like you can almost see the place {their dream}". (mice, pg.106) Because of the powerful bond between George and Lennie, George was driven to surpass the limits of friendship. "I believe everything you do bad comes back to you. So everything that I do that's bad, I'm going to suffer for it. But in my heart, I believe what i'm doing is right. So I feel like i'm going to heaven. (Tupac Amur Shakur). This illustrates the conflicting feelings that George was going through. He knew it was "bad" to kill Lennie. But in his heart he knew it was right and that he was doing Lennie a favour and would be forgiven, be it by god, or Lennie. Steinbeck uses George and Lennie to metaphorically represent powerful human relationships that go far beyond friendship. The human race is continuously searching for a connection of the soul, like the one George and Lennie had. If it is not through the bond of friendship, then they are looking to satisfy this need through their relationships with lov...
