Of Mice and Men, Chapter 6 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Where does Chapter 6 of Of Mice and Men take place?

   • A neighboring ranch where George hopes to find new work
   • The bunkhouse where the ranch hands gather in the evening after work
   • The barn where Lennie accidentally killed Curley's wife
   • Correct answer: The clearing beside the Salinas River pool from Chapter 1

   Chapter 6 returns to the same Salinas River clearing where the novella opened, creating a circular structure that emphasizes fate and inevitability.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What is the first hallucination Lennie experiences while waiting by the river?

   • A vision of the dream farm, with rabbits in hutches waiting for him to tend
   • Correct answer: A vision of his Aunt Clara who scolds him for causing trouble
   • A vision of Curley's wife forgiving him for what happened
   • A vision of George telling him to run away to another state

   Lennie first hallucinates his Aunt Clara, who reprimands him for never listening and for constantly burdening George with his mistakes.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does the giant rabbit hallucination tell Lennie?

   • That George is on his way and will forgive him for what he did at the barn
   • That Lennie should hide deeper in the brush until the men stop searching
   • Correct answer: That Lennie is too incompetent to tend rabbits and George will abandon him
   • That Lennie should go back to the ranch and face Curley and the others

   The giant rabbit cruelly tells Lennie he is too stupid to care for rabbits and that George will get sick of him and leave, voicing Lennie's deepest fears.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does George behave when he arrives at the river and finds Lennie?

   • Correct answer: He is calm and gentle, speaking without the anger Lennie expects
   • He is panicked and urges Lennie to run before the mob arrives
   • He is distant and cold, refusing to speak to Lennie at all
   • He is furious and yells at Lennie for ruining everything for them

   Despite the gravity of the situation, George is remarkably calm and gentle with Lennie, choosing to make Lennie's final moments peaceful.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does George ask Lennie to do just before shooting him?

   • Close his eyes and count to ten while thinking of Aunt Clara
   • Lie down on the sand and shut his eyes while George talks
   • Correct answer: Take off his hat and look across the river while imagining the farm
   • Turn around and walk toward the brush so George can aim carefully

   George tells Lennie to remove his hat and look across the river, imagining their dream farm, so that Lennie's last moment is one of happiness and hope.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What weapon does George use to kill Lennie, and where does he bring it out from?

   • Correct answer: Carlson's Luger, which he pulls out of his side pocket
   • Curley's shotgun, which Curley passes to him in the brush
   • Carlson's Luger, which he wrestles away from Lennie's hands
   • A shotgun borrowed from Slim's quarters in the stable

   George brings Carlson's Luger out of his side pocket while Lennie looks across the river. Afterward, when Carlson asks, George lets the men believe he took the gun away from Lennie.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Which character is the only one who truly understands what George did and why?

   • Curley, who wanted revenge for his wife's death
   • Correct answer: Slim, who recognizes the depth of George and Lennie's bond
   • Carlson, who had previously performed a similar mercy killing
   • Candy, who regretted not shooting his own dog himself

   Slim is the only character perceptive and empathetic enough to understand that George killed Lennie out of love and mercy, and he quietly consoles George.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What is the significance of the heron catching a water snake at the beginning of Chapter 6?

   • It represents Lennie's hallucinations blending the real and imaginary worlds together
   • It recalls a childhood memory that Lennie shared with George in an earlier chapter
   • It symbolizes George's cunning plan to outwit the other men on the ranch
   • Correct answer: It foreshadows Lennie's death by depicting nature's predatory cycle of the strong consuming the weak

   The heron catching the snake mirrors the predatory cycle of nature and foreshadows Lennie's death, suggesting the inevitability of the strong consuming the weak.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of the following events actually happens in Chapter 6?

   • Curley finds Lennie first and beats him before George arrives
   • Lennie successfully hides from the mob and escapes to another town
   • Correct answer: George tells Lennie the story of the dream farm one final time
   • Candy arrives at the river to help Lennie escape the ranch

   George tells Lennie the dream one last time — about the farm, the rabbits, and living off the land — as a way to comfort Lennie in his final moments.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of the following does NOT happen in Chapter 6?

    • Carlson asks what is wrong with George and Slim at the end
    • Lennie hallucinates a vision of his Aunt Clara by the river
    • George shoots Lennie in the back of the head with Carlson's Luger
    • Correct answer: Slim tells the other men that George killed Lennie out of mercy

    Slim never tells the other men the truth. He privately understands what George did and comforts him but does not announce it. George lets Carlson believe he got the gun away from Lennie and killed him.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'belligerently' mean as used to describe how Lennie answers the rabbit in Chapter 6?

    • Correct answer: In a hostile, combative manner, eager to argue or fight
    • In a boastful, arrogant manner, eager to impress others
    • In a pleading, desperate manner, begging to be believed
    • In a sullen, melancholy manner, sunk in quiet despair

    'Belligerently' means in a hostile or aggressive way. When the rabbit says George will beat him, Lennie argues back hard, insisting George has never raised a stick to him.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'woodenly' mean as used to describe how George repeats his old complaint in Chapter 6?

    • In a loud, indignant manner, meant to reprimand someone
    • Correct answer: In a flat, stiff manner, without expression or feeling
    • In a firm, unwavering manner, difficult to discourage
    • In a sly, sarcastic manner, not meant to be believed

    'Woodenly' means in a stiff, expressionless way. Steinbeck adds that George's voice was monotonous and had no emphasis as he repeated the complaint he used to make.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'craftily' mean as used when Lennie coaxes George into telling their story in Chapter 6?

    • In a deft, artistic manner, meant to create beauty
    • In a timid, nervous manner, meant to avoid conflict
    • Correct answer: In a sly, cunning manner, meant to get what one wants
    • In a blunt, candid manner, meant to speak honestly

    'Craftily' means in a sly or cunning way. Lennie knows the familiar story about guys like them and about the two of them will comfort him, so he steers George into telling it again.

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14. 14

    Question 14. What broader theme does Carlson's final line — wondering what's wrong with George and Slim — illustrate?

    • The difficulty of surviving as an itinerant worker during the Great Depression era
    • Correct answer: The emotional isolation and inability of most men to comprehend deep friendship and grief
    • The importance of maintaining professional distance between coworkers on a working ranch
    • The danger of becoming too emotionally attached to animals rather than other human beings

    Carlson's bewilderment reveals that most men in this world cannot fathom the depth of George and Lennie's bond, highlighting the pervasive loneliness and emotional numbness of their existence.

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