Quote 21
Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water arose in little splashes; rings widened across the pool o the other side and came back again. Lennie watched them go. "Look, George. Look what I done." (1.9)
Lennie doesn't get hands—he gets "paws," and he's fascinated with how those paws can affect the natural world. It's also as though, like an animal, he doesn't quite understand cause-and-effect.
Quote 22
Lennie covered his face with huge paws and bleated with terror. He cried, "Make ‘um stop, George." (3.248)
Here's Lennie with his "paws" again, and this time he's "bleating," like a lamb about to be slaughtered—which, in one reading, is exactly what happens. He's an innocent who gets killed to please the men in charge.
Quote 23
Lennie said, "George."
"Yeah?"
"I done another bad thing."
"It don't make no difference," George said, and he fell silent again. (6.34-37)
And there you have it: the most depressing lines of literature ever. Ish.
Lennie knows he messed up, but we're pretty sure he doesn't understand the extent to which he's been getting in the way of his and George's dreams. George is crushed (duh), but it sounds here like he's almost resigned to it, too. What do you think?