A real Jun 2023 question. Who is responsible for what happens? George, Lennie, Curley, society — all are implicated.
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Watch first — Mrs Rumsey
Mrs Rumsey · Edexcel IGCSEGrade 9 in Of Mice and Men
Key analysis
⚡ Section C — 40-mark essay: AO1 (20 marks — knowledge, argument, personal response) + AO4 (20 marks — 1930s context: Depression, itinerant workers, racism, gender). Every paragraph needs both. Closed book — memorise quotes.
Who bears responsibility?
George — brings Lennie to the ranch knowing his nature; ultimately kills him. Acts from love but also self-interest.
Lennie — cannot help his strength, but is he blameless? Steinbeck presents him as morally innocent.
Curley — his aggression provokes the fight that injures his hand; his wife's isolation is partly his doing.
Curley's wife — goes to the barn, ignores Lennie's pleas to leave. But she is also a victim of circumstance.
Candy — allows his dog to be shot by Carlson; later regrets he did not do it himself.
Society/The System — the 1930s Depression created conditions where men like George and Lennie had no safety net.
George's final act — responsibility or murder?
George kills Lennie to spare him a worse death at Curley's hands or in an institution.
He tells Lennie about the farm before shooting him — an act of compassion.
Slim validates George: "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda"
But Carlson and Curley cannot understand why George is upset — they see no emotional bond.
Steinbeck leaves it ambiguous — it is both mercy killing AND George destroying his own reason for living.
"I coulda done that myself... I shouldn't oughta of let no stranger shoot my dog."
Candy — realising he should have taken responsibility
"You hadda, George. I swear you hadda."
Slim validating George's decision
Exam questions — 2 questions · 22 marks
1 markCandy's dog
What does Candy mean when he says he should not have let a stranger shoot his dog?
A He thinks strangers are incompetent with guns
B He recognises, too late, that he should have taken personal responsibility for his dog's death rather than handing it to Carlson — Steinbeck uses this to parallel George's decision to kill Lennie himself
C He is angry at Carlson for interfering in his affairs
D He wishes he had saved his dog from being shot
20 marksResponsibility essayEdexcel IGCSE Jun 2023 — real question
Discuss the theme of responsibility in Of Mice and Men. You must consider the context of the novel in your answer. (Full 40-mark question)
Hint: Plan: intro (responsibility is complex) → George (brings Lennie to ranch + kills him) → Candy's dog foreshadowing → Curley + his wife → society/context (no safety net in the Depression) → Slim's judgement → conclusion. Quote in every paragraph.