In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, George makes the painful decision to kill his best friend Lennie. If George wouldn’t have killed Lennie, Curley would have eventually found him and killed him brutally. George had good intentions towards the death of his friend and found himself in a position where he could never escape. Mercy killing is moral and is just a way to show compassion for a loved one in need. The killing of Lennie was not done with bad intent and was one of George’s only options.
The killing of Lennie was done without malicious intent. Throughout the book, George takes care of Lennie by protecting him and providing him with basic needs. Killing Lennie was not an easy choice for George and was an unquestionably
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For example, George did not intend to give Lennie a painful death and did what he thought was the best option. In the end, George actually saved Lennie from a more painful death from Curley. For instance, Candy’s dog was taken from him and eventually got killed by Carlson. Even then, the killing of his dog had a reason and is considered as a merciful death. Carlson made plenty of remarks throughout the chapter, explaining why the dog should be killed and exclaimed that he does not know, “nothing that stinks as bad as an old dog”(44). Carlson tried sweetening the idea of mercy killing, explaining how Candy’s dog, “wouldn’t even quiver”(45) if he killed him. All in all, Carlson did not want Candy’s dog to live in pain and wanted to give him a brisk, peaceful death. The killing of Candy’s dog conveys the idea that Lennie may face a similar fate. Society did not seem to tolerate the weak during The Great Depression, which may have been because of the rough and brutal conditions people were living under. Lennie’s death is a realistic view of what might have actually happened during the 1930s. George’s killing of Lennie was to save him from experiencing a more brutal and painful death in the
I believe that George, in no way should be punished for killing Lennie. He did it for the right reasons and it was best for Lennie in that situation. The closure George and Lennie hot from this ordeal was better, and easier this way for both of them. This is a little bit of information on way I believe George was justified in killing Lennie.
George and Lennie were best friends for a long time, more like brothers. Lennie is about as bright as a 2 watt bulb, so George couldn’t really get mad at him when he accidently killed Curley’s wife while feeling the softness of her hair. “…’I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know’”. The two had planned a future together—a future in their own dream ranch, a ranch where no trouble would ever bother them. “’You…an’ me. Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em’”. Then after he tells him about the rabbits that Lennie is so fond of, he shoots him in the back of the head where he knows it will not hurt him, and Lennie will not know what hit him. This is the peaceful alternative to what Curley had in store for him. Curley's exact words were "shoot the bastard right in the guts." George's euthanizing of Lennie makes the mentally incompetent Lennie die with dignity. Had Curley gotten to Lennie first, Lennie would have suffered. This shows you how much George cares for Lennie, no matter what he does or the crimes he commits. He’d always be there to help Lennie get right back up to his feet, make him forget all his worries, and move on like nothing happened. I strongly believe George was the right person to kill Lennie, and made the right decision in doing so, rather than to let him suffer in the hands of Curley.
One of the main reasons why George was actually justified for the killing is because Lennie had hurt others in the past and would most likely continue to do so. When they were in Salinas, Lennie got into very similar trouble when he wouldn’t let go of a girl’s dress. When George was asked by Slim what had happened in Weed he explained, “Well that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in a irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day. An’ at night we scrammed outta there” (42). This shows us that Lennie is trouble, brings it wherever he goes, and this is why they moved to Salinas. When at the ranch Lennie not only kills his puppy, he also breaks Curley’s hand, showing that the trouble that follows Lennie happens quite often. Lennie smiled with this bruised mouth. “I didn't want no trouble," he said. He walked toward the door, but just before he came to it,
It has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt at this point, Lennie's innocence is not very accepted with the world because of his size, age, etc. He can’t really learn to change his ways due to his disabilities. Lennie can’t even understand why the bad things he has done are bad. Also, the fate he would meet at Curley's mutilated hands is enough to convince George that his only real option is to make Lennie's death as quick and painless as possible. Lennie would have died at the hands of Curly anyways, which would have been a much more painful and dehumanizing death for Lennie. He couldn't be taken to a mental hospital and in the depression, these were basically non-existent and spending a life in jail would be even more torture for a mentally ill person than death itself. George did what was right because he prevented Lennie from doing anything this terrible again, he stopped Lennie from a more painful death, and he really didn't have any other responsible
George promises Lennie many things once they get their own farm, “’O.K. Someday- we’re gonna get the jack together… ‘Specially if you remember as good as that.’”(15-16). So George killing Lennie was for his own benefit and it was a very immoral thing to do.
Lennie and Candy’s dog are parallel. Candy’s dog is old, stinky, it cant take care of itself and he’s useless. Lennie cant take care of himself of others, and when he gets scared he holds on to whatever hes got. Candy’s dog had to be put down, just like Lennie. They were also killed the same way. “If you want me to, I’ll put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with. Ain’t nothing left for him. Can’t eat, can’t see, can’t even walk without hurtin’” (48). In this scene Carlson took Candy’s dog out and shot him. Though Candy did not want his dog to be dead, he still went through with it. This is just like when George went to kill Lennie, he didn’t want too but it had to be
In Of Mice and Men, George was right to kill Lennie. In the novel, Lennie killed a mouse, a puppy, and a woman. Lennie could have been charged with rape on two separate occasions. In Weed, Lennie grabbed a woman and ripped a part of her clothes off. At the farm, in the barn, Lennie stroked her hair and accidentally killed her. George killed Lennie, because Candy told George he wished he would have shot his own dog, Lennie killed Curley’s wife, the puppie, and the mouse, and the lynch mob would have done worse things to Lennie.
If you had the choice of doing what is in your best friend’s interest, would you consider it? What if the friend’s death was a factor? In the story of Mice and Men, George may have taken Lennie's life, but he made the decision for the better interest of his friend. He knew that Curley and his men would kill Lennie, he would suffer and/or be placed in jail. George made the justified decision of killing Lennie because it was the better choice of Lennie’s foreseen future. Therefore, George was morally justified for shooting Lennie for merciful reasons.
He knew that it was his responsibility to kill Lennie. He killed Lennie because he was responsible for him. George also killed him because he did not want to feel guilty or bad like Candy. George also didn’t want Lennie to have a painful death by the hands of Curley’s gang. He knew that it would be best for him and Lennie for him to do it himself. He wanted Lennie to feel comfortable and he wanted to tell him how he felt. George says “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want you to know”(Steinbeck 106). George did the right
First and foremost, George has to constantly continue to repeat rules to Lennie because Lennie is undisciplined. Like, after Slim gives Lennie a puppy Lennie brings the puppy into the bunkhouse with him even though George told him he was not supposed to. For example, after Lennie comes into the bunkhouse John Steinbeck writes that George " reached down and picked up the tiny puppy from where Lennie had been concealing it against his stomach." (Steinbeck) In this quote it shows that Lennie disobeyed the rules that George has set with him so he could get the puppy this means that Lennie is undisciplined because he broke the rules even though he knew that there were specific rules that were not supposed to be broken. consequently, George has to repeat himself many times and treat Lennie like a child by fixing the things that Lennie messes up and disobeyes the rules. So George was justified in his decision to kill
In John Steinbeck's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, George makes the decision of killing Lennie because he knows it is in Lennie's best interest. His act of killing Lennie is not considered criminal. George has good intentions in killing his companion. George is trying to prevent Lennie from being tortured and from his constant desire to please George and not cause trouble. Additionally, Lennie repeatedly places himself in difficult situations, and as a result, brings George into the circumstances. There is a close friendship between George and Lennie, and George had carefully thought out whether or not he
In John Steinbeck 's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, one of the predominant themes that govern the story and characters in the book is friendship. One of the ways in which friendship plays a large role is in the area of mercy killing, which affects the main characters as well as the supporting ones. The two major mercy killings that occur in the book are those of Carlson 's killing of Candy 's old dog, and of George 's killing of Lennie. In both of these examples, the killer kills the other out of mercy and love, not for the usual motives of hatred, rage, anger, etc.
Lennie really looked up to him and was loyal to George. Killing him just didn't seem right or fair. George created loneliness for himself by killing his best
When George finds out he knows that Lennie will be “lynched, beaten up, and probably be killed in a slow, painful way”, which means that he is in a great deal of trouble and it’ll cost him a ton of pain, he also knows that it is only a matter of time until Lennie ends up hurting another person. So to save Lennie from any pain George ends up killing him. He knows that this is the best thing for Lennie, because it will end up protecting him from any future trouble and now Lennie can’t hurt anyone
Throughout most parts of the novella, Lennie acts as a tremendous burden on George. Readers understand that the two men have been around each other for years and although Lennie is trouble most times, George knows the severity of Lennie’s condition. He had to realize that Lennie will never be “normal” and that he had to accept it. “Course Lennie’s a God d**n nuisance most of the time,” said George(pg.41). The end of the novella definitely strikes tragedy where Lennie is killed, but out of euthanasia,or mercy killing.