farm. George is a small man with lots of big talk. In contrast, Lennie is a simple-minded

large man who has a tendency to get in trouble. Both hope to one day own a farm where they

can live off the land and Lennie can tend to the rabbits.

They enter the farm which is run by Curley, a spoiled, mean boss who challenges George

and Lennie immediately upon arrival. Curley is married to a promiscuous woman who is known

to cause trouble. On numerous occasions, George warns Lennie to stay away from her.

The working life for George and Lennie isn't too bad, as Lennie is a great field worker.

Unfortunately, he accidentally kills Curley's wife. In a panic, Lennie flees.

Curley sends his men, including George, to hunt down Lennie with a shoot-to-kill policy,

as it is suspected that Lennie stole a gun.

Lennie runs to a secret spot that George had designated for times of trouble and the two

meet there. Lennie is scared and asks George to tell him about their future farm. While

telling the story, George pulls out the stolen gun and shoots Lennie in the back of the head.

After Lennie's death, the men return to the farm for drinks.

The relationship between George and Lennie is complex, yet not so foreign. In contemporary

movies and stories, we tend to see this type of relationship a lot - the best friend story.

However, the difference here is that there is a tragic element to this relationship.

It is still unclear why George stole the gun at the end of the story. One would like to

think that he wanted to nobly be the one to kill his friend, but an argument could be

made that he wanted to be free of responsibility of Lennie and to be able to live his own life.

Taking a step back, this is really a story of misfit toys. Each character - George, Lennie,

Curley, his wife, each worker - has been dealt a bad hand in life. And unlike the Christmas

special where the misfit toys make it off the island, these misfits are condemned to

be doomed.