The situation with old Candy made George realize what he had to do, and that was killing his best friend. That and the many references Steinbeck made about Lennie being an animal. First of all, there could be numerous reasons as to why George killed Lennie, one of those being Candy. In the book, Of Mice and Men, (1975), Candy’s dog is very old, virtually as old as Candy himself. The men of the ranch persuaded Candy to let Carlson shoot the dog. Soon after, Candy admits he regretted it, “I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” (67) George had decided he’d rather shoot Lennie than Curley, who’d let the man suffer.
Second of all, Lennie had been referred to as an animal many times,
Second of all, Lennie had been referred to as an animal many times,