Summary

Later that night, George and Slim are alone in the bunkhouse. Slim muses on how unusual it is for two men to be traveling together the way George and Lennie do. George speaks of how he knew Lennie’s Aunt Clara, and how when she died, Lennie just started tagging along with him. He tells Slim of how he (George) used to tease and manipulate Lennie, but how eventually got tired of it when he saw how vulnerable Lennie could be. He also reveals what drove him and Lennie away from the job they just left – the girl whose dress Lennie touched screamed that she was being raped, making him too scared to let go. This made her even more scared, which made the men of the town even more anxious to imprison Lennie, which made it even more important for him and George to get...