of Curley's wife. On one level, George seems to be referring to his correct assumption that his friendLennie killed Curley's wife. George has been through similar situations with Lennie (compare their close call in Weeds mentioned elsewhere in the novel). He knows that Lennie was bound to get into trouble again and now that belief has come true.

On another level, George's statement hints at a similar statement he makes a few lines later about the little house that he and Lennie dreamed of buying:

George said softly, “—I think I knowed from the very first. I think I know’d we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.”

Thus, George's comment also seems to point toward his belief that he and Lennie never would actually get the little house of which they dreamed.

In chapter 5, Candy calls George into the barn to witness Curley's wife's lifeless body lying on the ground. While George is looking at the body, Candy asks who killed her, and George responds by saying,

I should of knew...I guess maybe way back in my head I did.

George understands Lennie's propensity for unintentional violence and has known, in the back of his mind, that Lennie might end up making a catastrophic mistake that would jeopardize their future.

Before George and Lennie arrive at the ranch in Soledad, George warns Lennie about causing problems and getting into trouble like he did in the past. In the first chapter of the novella, George tells Lennie,

An' you ain't gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed, neither.

Later on, the audience learns that Lennie accidentally grabbed ahold of a woman's dress in Weed and would not let go when she began to panic. George and Lennie were forced to flee the ranch and spend the night in an irrigation ditch to avoid authorities. In chapter 1, George also tells his close friend,

Well, look. Lennie—if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush.

George's advice and plan for Lennie to hide out reveal that he has been preparing for something to go wrong. Their previous experience in Weed has left an impression on George, and he understands that Lennie is capable of jeopardizing their future. Once George discovers Curley's wife's lifeless body, he realizes that he knew it was only a matter of time before Lennie ruined everything. George also understands that he will never fulfill his dream of owning an estate and living off the land. After discovering the body, George travels to the hideout and kills Lennie out of mercy to prevent Curley's band from torturing him.