"I Had to Do It..." Pg. 105-106

Lennie and I were standing in the brush staring out at the distance. I told him about how we are going to get a little place. I took Carlson's Luger out of my pocket while Lennie was upstream. I was so nervous and I didn't know how to do this, but I knew it had to be done. I looked quickly at the back of Lennie's head, and raised the gun with an unsteady hand. A rush a fear grew within me and I had to lower the gun. Then Lennie, unaware of what I was doing, kept saying 'go on.' Therefore, I continued the story. Lennie turned his head to me, but I immediately told him to turn back around. I didn't want him to see what I was about to do. I was nervous the way it was and I didn't want Lennie to see me. I then told him that if he looked far into the distance, he could see our ranch. I felt terrible for doing this to Lennie, but it was for his own good. I told Lennie that I was not mad at him and that I never will be. Then, I looked back down at the gun. I raised it up with an unsteady hand, and pulled the trigger. This feeling was indescribable, but it had to be done for Lennie's sake. I wanted to look out for Lennie, just like I always did. I needed to kill him. If I didn't kill him, Curley would have made Lennie's death horrid and painful. He was my best friend, I had to do it.

"Lennie's Mind Goes Wild..." Pg. 101-104

Lennie's sitting in the brush waiting for me to come get him. He's so nervous that I'm going to be very upset with him. Then, his mind runs terribly wild. He imagines his Aunt Clara standing right in front of him saying how unappreciative he is to me, and how he never listens. Lennie is a huge pest to me, but I always put up with him. After Lennie sees his Aunt Clara, he imagines the rabbits and thinks about how I won't let him tend them when we have our own ranch. He realizes all the back things he has done and he knows that I will be upset with him. The rabbit tells Lennie that I'm sick of his nonsense and that Lennie should just go far away somewhere. The rabbit says I'll beat the crap out of Lennie because he didn't listen. Then I came running out of the brush because Lennie was yelling for me. I told him that I wanted him to stay with me and that I was going to stay with him too. I love Lennie and I don't want anything bad to happen to him. I look out for him and I really don't know what I'd do if he wasn't around anymore.

"The Tragedy..." Pg. 94-98

Candy and I walked into the barn and found Curley's wife dead. I didn't know what happened, but after I pondered about it, I immediately thought about Lennie. I suggested that we'd tell the boys and maybe the police will lock him up and be nice to him. Lennie had a mental disorder and maybe the police would consider that. I was so scared for Lennie, I knew he didn't mean any harm. Candy said that we should just let him get away, but I knew that Lennie can't survive on his own. I told Candy we had to tell the boys. I mentioned that every time Lennie did something wrong, he really didn't mean it because he never understands what he's doing wrong. Lennie didn't realize what he was doing to Curley's wife, and I know that Lennie is scared and sorry. I felt really terrible for Lennie and I tried sticking up for him in front of the boys, but it was hard because Curley just wanted to kill him. I don't blame Curley, but he really should take into consideration that Lennie had a mental disability. Candy and I discussed the plan. I told him that I would go back into the barn with everyone else and Candy would come rushing over with the news. I don't want the boys thinking that I had something to do with her death. When Curley found her dead, he immediately knew it had to be Lennie. He threatened to get his shot gun and kill him. After hearing that, I was terrified for Lennie.

"Don't Talk to Her..." Pg. 86-92

Lennie was alone in the barn. He was very upset because he was petting a dead puppy. He kept asking why it died like he was going to get an answer. He asked himself if I was going to get mad at him because the pup died. Then, out of nowhere, Curley's wife came into the barn. She snuck in to see Lennie. I told Lennie that he is not to talk or even look at her. He knows that she causes many problems. She tells him that she get awfully lonely and she would really like to talk to him. Lennie tells her no because she will get them all in trouble. She told Lennie that she really did not like Curley. She said that she should have been a movie star. After that, she changed the subject and she asked Lennie why he was nuts about rabbits. Then he moved cautiously close to her and said that he likes to pet nice things. She backed away from him and called him nuts. She took Lennie's hand and made him feel her soft hair because he told her that he loved to touch nice things. When Lennie grabbed her nice soft hair, she told him not to mess it up. Lennie grabbed it and would not let go. Curley's wife screamed and Lennie became nervous that I would hear. He did not want me to yell at him because he's talking to Curley's wife. Curley's wife was yelling and Lennie put his hand over he mouth to stop her yelling, but she wouldn't stop. After the first failed attempt, he shook her and shook her until she stopped. He broke her neck and killed her. Lennie is so afraid not that I'm going to yell. Lennie went to the brush like I told him to do if he ever gets in trouble.

"Lennie's All Alone..." Pg. 69-73

I told Lennie that he had to stay at the bunkhouse by himself so he wouldn't get in trouble. All of the other guys and I went out to town. Lennie went to go and check on his pup. He saw another light on and walked right into the room. It was Crooks' room. Lennie asked why he was in the barn and Crooks said that it's because he's black and unwanted in the bunkhouse. Lennie and Crooks almost got into a fight because Crooks felt violated when Lennie barged in. After they mingled for a bit, Crooks invited Lennie in and they started talking. Crooks asked about Lennie and I. He was talking about if I never came back to the bunkhouse. He asked what would Lennie do without me. Crooks was getting Lennie nervous that I was not coming home. Then Crooks let all of his frustration out on Lennie. He kept venting to him about how he was treated because he was black. Lennie did not know what to do. Crooks told Lennie how nice it was to have someone that is always there for you. I am always there for Lennie. I could tell that Crooks was very upset and lonely.

"Here Comes Trouble..." Pg. 54-62

Curley busted through the bunkhouse door looking for his wife. Then he asked where Slim was. It seemed to me that he was very aggravated and anxious to see him. He frightened me by the way he slammed the door behind him. I asked Whit why Curley was hunting Slim down, and he said that Slim probably got tangled up with Curley's wife. After that talk with Whit, I went over to Lennie. I asked Lennie if he saw Curley's wife with Slim when them two were in the barn. Lennie said no, he didn't. I was just looking out for Lennie. I told him that if there was a fight to stay out of it. I was nervous for Lennie because most of the time he doesn't listen. Lennie and I continued playing cards while I asked questions about Slim and Curley's wife. Later on, Slim, Curley, Whit, and Carlson came back inside. I could tell Slim was aggravated because Curley kept asking him if he was with his wife. Carlson buts in after Slim and Curley argue, and I could tell that Curley was becoming very frustrated. Curley stepped up to Lennie just because he was smiling. I knew that Lennie meant no harm; he was just still smiling about the memory of the ranch. Then, Curley's rage built up and he hit Lennie and accused him of laughing. I yelled at Lennie to hit him back, but he wouldn't. I knew that Lennie could hit real hard when he wanted to. Slim was about to jump in and save Lennie, but I grabbed him and cheered on Lennie. I knew Lennie could do it. He listened to me when I said 'get him!' and then he won the fight. After that, the fight was over and everyone was in amazement because of Lennie's great comeback.

"Candy's Best Friend..." Pg. 45-50

Lennie took the pup to his bunk away from the mother and I yelled at him to put it back. It really aggravated me that he didn't listen, yet again. He finally took it back to the box in the barn. Later, a bunch of us were talking about Candy's dog. I think that the dog is suffering more now that he's still alive. Carlson insisted that Candy should just shoot him and end his misery, but Candy doesn't want to because he had him since a pup. I told Candy that Slim would give him a pup from his litter. After I mentioned that, Candy stopped and hesitated for a bit. After he thought about it, Carlson led the suffering dog outside into the darkness. I could tell that Candy was very upset. I saw that lonely look in his eyes and I knew that he was taking this very hard. Then, a shot sounded in the distance and Candy rolled over on his bed. I felt so bad for him, although he knew that it had to be done. Hopefully Candy's depression lightens.