Has Lennie Been Replaced?

The shooting scene was one that was both tragic yet shocking, but after this, it says:

Slim twitched George's elbow. "Come on, George. Me an' you'll go in an' get a drink"

We've known Slim as nothing but 'nice' in Of Mice and Men, so this comes as no surprise that he's trying to take George's mind off the fact that he just killed his best friend. This kind gesture is typical of Slim so surely we'd think nothing of it. Right?

However, in this very final scene in the novella, Steinbeck may be revealing another idea about relationships. Steinbeck describes that:

He (Slim) led George into the entrance of the trail and up toward the highway

This is a reflection of the very beginning of the novella, almost like bookends, which encloses the whole novella; introducing and concluding the story with two men walking together, one behind the other. However, in this case, George is being lead by Slim, as opposed to George leading Lennie at the start of the book. This shows a transition in both position in relationships and people who they are associated with.
Its apparent that in the situation of George vs. Lennie, George is one who, as a whole, we would admire and look up to the most, as he is intelligent and logical with his thinking - and may even be seen as heroic. However, if you battle up George vs. Slim, we m
ay struggle to decide who we most admire. Of course, we follow George around a lot more than Slim and learn more about him, but the word of mouth of the other ranch hands in the novella tell us that Slim is seen as authoritative and even God-like, where as George we see more as our realistic hero.

From this, Steinbeck shows us that its inevitable that, no matter how strong a relationship may be, there is a streak of inevitability that it won't last forever. In this case, we only see George and Lennie's last 3 days of friendship, however we are told they have been together as friends for a long time. By ending the novella on the the sprouting of George and Slims newfound friendship, I felt as though a part of me wanted to grab George through the page and pull him back. In a way, I felt as though we had travelled so far with George and Lennie and in an instant, the tables turned. I don't feel as though he betrayed Lennie, as the killing was a merciful act, however, this instantaneous 'break up' made me think that I didn't want to see George with anyone else, and that no other character could replace Lennie.
Slim is undoubtedly an admirable character, in a sense that we can understand why other people look up to him and may want to be like him. We see only the beginning of what could be a life long friendship, but then again, could be anything but that. Who knows? The facts are, George and Slim walking off into the distance is meant to resemble something. It could resemble that Slim is teaching us that it is better to walk away from problems instead of engulfing in the pain that they cause. It could resemble that without friendships and relationships, we might spend too long sitting and dwelling on the loneliness we have been struck by. Or could it be a religious image? The fact that Slim is seen as a God-like character in the eyes of the ranch hands, maybe Steinbeck is trying to suggest that in situations that may prove difficult - in Georges case, losing Lennie - he is assuring his audience that God will be there to care and comfort you. Its a shot in the dark, however this type of interpretation, if logical, could make the meaning of the whole book even more sentimental and important.

In conclusion, referring back to the title, in some ways; yes Lennie has been replaced. Slim has swooped in and taken George away from us and away from the memories of George and Lennie's friendship. Let's not forget the fact, though, that Slim was the only one of the ranch hands that understood their friendship to start with, and is very important. Despite there being hints that he (as well as Carlson) cope fine without the commitment of relationships, Slim proves to us that he shows that qualities that create a friendly, accepting character. This in itself makes us admire Slim more, and that with the fact that he looks after George at the end, we could also see this new friendship as a new start for George, and in some ways, Slim. Lennie and George's relationship will never be forgotten; it's still a memory. Therefore, despite all the feelings that come across, no, I don't think Lennie was replaced, but George simply tried to move on.

Moving on is usually for the best.