Editing Of Mice and Men (section)

==Plot==
During the [[Great Depression]] in California, two migrant field workers &ndash; George Milton, an intelligent but uneducated man, and Lennie Small, a bulky, strong but [[intellectual disability|mentally disabled]] man &ndash; are on their way from [[Soledad, California|Soledad]] to another part of the state. They share a dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream is merely to care for and pet [[rabbit]]s. He loves touching soft animals, although he always accidentally kills them by petting them too hard. George constantly retells the dream, which is one of Lennie's favorite stories. They fled from [[Weed, California|Weed]] after Lennie grabbed a young woman's skirt because he thought it was pretty. He would not let go, because he holds on tighter when stressed. This led to an accusation of [[rape]] and a mob forming to find and lynch Lennie. Throughout the introduction, it becomes clear that Lennie relies on George because he is unable to function independently.

After they are hired at a farm, Curley, the Boss's small, aggressive son, confronts the pair. Curley, who has a [[Napoleon complex]], dislikes larger men, and targets Lennie. Lennie is instantly attracted to Curley's flirtatious and provocative wife, which also poses a problem. In contrast, the pair meets Candy, an elderly ranch handyman with one hand and a loyal dog, and Slim, an intelligent and gentle [[Muleteer|jerkline-skinner]] whose dog has recently had a [[Litter (animal)|litter]] of puppies. Slim gives puppies to Lennie and to Candy, whose loyal, accomplished sheep dog was [[Animal euthanasia|put down]] by fellow ranch-hand Carlson.

In spite of problems, their dream leaps towards reality when Candy offers to pitch in $350 toward the purchase of a farm, in return for permission to live with them. They will be able to buy a farm at the end of the month. The trio are ecstatic, but their joy is overshadowed when Curley attacks Lennie, who defends himself by easily crushing Curley's fist while urged on by George.

Nevertheless, George feels more relaxed. He even leaves Lennie behind on the ranch while he goes into town with the other hands. Lennie wanders into the stable, and chats with Crooks, the bitter, yet educated stable hand, who is isolated from the other workers because he is [[Black people|black]]. Candy finds them and they discuss their plans for the farm with Crooks, who cannot resist asking if he can hoe a garden patch on the farm, even though he scorns the possibility of the dream coming true.  Curley's wife makes another appearance and flirts with the men, especially Lennie. However, she shows her spiteful side when she belittles them and threatens to have Crooks [[lynching|lynched]]. They hear the ranch hands returning, and she leaves.

The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his puppy while stroking it. Curley's wife enters the barn and tries to speak to him, admitting that she is lonely. Her dreams of becoming a movie star have been crushed. She finds out about Lennie's love of soft things and offers to let him stroke her hair, but when she feels his strength, she panics and begins to scream. Lennie becomes frightened and unintentionally breaks her neck. He runs away. When the other ranch hands find the corpse, they form a lynch mob intent on killing him, sending for the police before beginning the search. George quickly realizes that their dream is at an end and hurries to find Lennie, hoping he will be at the meeting place they designated in case he got into trouble.

George finds Lennie at the meeting spot, and the two sit together while George retells the beloved story of the dream, although he now knows it will never happen. George hears the lynch mob coming and shoots Lennie, giving him a more merciful death than the one he would receive at the hands of the mob. Curley, Slim, and Carlson arrive seconds later. Only Slim understands what has happened. He leads George away, trying to console him. Curley and Carlson look on, neither understanding why Slim and George are feeling the way they are.