Chapter 6 Practice Quiz — Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 6
Where does Chapter 6 take place?
The clearing beside the Salinas River pool, the same location where the novella opened in Chapter 1.
Who is the first person to appear at the river in Chapter 6?
Lennie arrives first, alone, having fled the ranch after killing Curley's wife.
What two hallucinations does Lennie experience while waiting by the river?
He sees a vision of his Aunt Clara who scolds him, followed by a giant rabbit that tells him George will leave him.
What does the imagined Aunt Clara scold Lennie about?
She reprimands him for never listening, always doing bad things, and for causing George endless trouble.
What does the giant rabbit hallucination tell Lennie?
It tells Lennie he is too stupid to tend rabbits and that George will get sick of him and leave him.
How does George behave when he finds Lennie at the river?
George is calm and gentle rather than angry, speaking softly and without the scolding Lennie expects.
What story does George tell Lennie one final time?
The dream of their own farm where they will live off the land and Lennie will tend the rabbits.
What does George tell Lennie to do before he shoots him?
George tells Lennie to take off his hat and look across the river while imagining the dream farm.
What weapon does George use to kill Lennie?
Carlson's Luger pistol, which George took from the bunkhouse before coming to the river.
Where does George shoot Lennie?
In the back of the head, the same way Carlson shot Candy's old dog in Chapter 3.
How does the method of Lennie's death parallel an earlier event in the novella?
It mirrors Carlson shooting Candy's dog in the back of the head with the same Luger — both are mercy killings to prevent greater suffering.
What does George tell the other men about how Lennie died?
George lets them believe he wrestled the gun away from Lennie and then shot him in self-defense.
Which character understands the truth about what George did?
Slim is the only one who comprehends that George killed Lennie out of mercy and love, not self-defense.
What is the significance of Carlson's final line in the novella?
Carlson asks what's wrong with George and Slim, revealing his inability to comprehend their emotional depth — highlighting the loneliness and emotional isolation of the ranch world.
What does the circular structure of the novella (ending where it began) symbolize?
It symbolizes the inescapability of fate and the impossibility of the American Dream for men like George and Lennie, suggesting nothing has truly changed.
What natural event at the pool foreshadows Lennie's death?
A heron catches and swallows a water snake, symbolizing the predatory cycle of nature and the strong consuming the weak.
Why does George choose to kill Lennie himself rather than letting the mob find him?
George wants to spare Lennie from a violent, terrifying death at the hands of Curley's mob, echoing Candy's regret about not shooting his own dog.
What is the situational irony of Lennie's death location?
The river clearing was designated as George and Lennie's safe meeting place, yet it becomes the site where George kills Lennie — their sanctuary becomes a place of death.
What happens to the American Dream in Chapter 6?
The dream dies with Lennie. Without Lennie's childlike belief to sustain it, the farm fantasy can no longer exist, and George is left alone like the other drifting ranch hands.
What time of day does Chapter 6 take place, and what does this symbolize?
The chapter takes place in late afternoon as the sun is setting, symbolizing the end of life, hope, and the dream.
How does Slim console George after Lennie's death?
Slim approaches George quietly, sits beside him, and says they should go get a drink, showing compassionate understanding without judgment.
What theme does Lennie's hallucination of the giant rabbit reinforce?
It reinforces the theme of the impossibility of the dream — even in Lennie's own imagination, the rabbits (symbolizing the dream) tell him he is unworthy.
What is the emotional state Lennie is in when George shoots him?
Lennie is calm and happy, smiling as he imagines the dream farm with the rabbits, unaware of what is about to happen.