Lennie Died With Love
We are taught as children that killing is not okay. But is that always the case? In the book, “Of Mice and Men”, George Milton kills his partner, Lennie Small. Contrary to popular belief, George did the right thing. Lennie wasn’t in a mental state to keep living the way he did. And with the condition they were in, George knew it wouldn’t get any better. Either way, Lennie would have gotten punished until the next blue moon or even killed for killing Curley’s wife. He didn’t know what was going on, he didn’t understand.
First off, Lennie tended to act younger. He had the mentality of a small child, and George didn’t feel like it was good for him. “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, he turned back. ‘George?’ ‘What you want?’ ‘I can still tend the rabbits, George?’ ‘Sure. You ain't done nothing wrong.’ ‘I di'n't mean no harm, George.’” (Stienbeck 53) Even though he “Didn’t mean any harm,’ he still did harm and George knew it would have gotten worse. George knew Lennie better than anyone and only wanted the best for them both.
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now although this is a good point, it is not true. Curley's wife was just arm candy for curly, and she didn't really mean anything to him. For example, in the novella, after Curley finds out his wife is dead, Slim offered Curley stay. But Curley insists, “I’m going. I'm going to shoot the guts out of that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I'm going to get ‘im” (Steinbeck 98) Curley doesn't want to stay with his wife, which is odd. Usually, if your significant other dies, you would be heartbroken. Curley was the opposite. Curley seemed as if he didn't care she was dead, but just the fact Lennie killed
Lennie never does anything without the consent from George. He knows he has to listen to George, If he doesn't he knows he will end up in trouble like he did while picking weeds. In all the trouble that Lennie gets in, he doesn't do it on purpose. Lennie has a good heart and never means to hurt anyone. His mental disability causes all his action.
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,
One usually has morals that they live by, but in certain cases, he or she may abandon their own beliefs in order to belong. This situation is shown in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, between George Milton and Lennie Smalls. George always looks out for Lennie and takes care of him. Eventually, George begins to neglect paying attention to him. George had been spending so much time with the men on the farm, thus failing to watch Lennie. George’s absence ultimately led to Lennie’s demise. George went against his morals of taking care of Lennie, like he always used to, then neglected to watch him, leading to his death.
If there were more written to Of Mice and Men, the characters would change due to the impact Lennie's death caused. When Carlson says, “Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys” (Steinbeck 107), he is referring to George and Slim. This implicates that George and Slim are torn over Lennie’s death. George would most likely get PTSD from having to shoot Lennie. Also, George will most likely obtain other mental illnesses from the experience such as depression or an anxiety disorder. He will later live his life the way he told Lennie he would when he would be “giving him hell” after Lennie did a bad thing. Candy may possibly also get depression, not just on account of Lennie’s death, but also because George decides that they can not
As the defence lawyer for George Milton, I argue that my client should not be convicted for the murder of Lennie Small based on the structure of his relationship with Lennie and his pure intentions.
Lennie small is a large strong, and un intelligent man. He rarely thinks for himself and can’t hold his own. He does not understand Who you can laugh at or when you can laugh which makes him not have any social awareness. Lennie also never learns throughout the course of this story. He never learns to stay away from some people. For All these reasons we are sympathetic for him.
Although Lennie has the mental capacity of a child, he is innocent to doing anything wrong to George. George just seen him as a potential threat.
George took Lennie in after Lennie’s aunt died. George knew his aunt pretty well. Lennie had nowhere to go afterwards, so George let Lennie come along with him. George wasn’t always nice to Lennie in the beginning. George would tease him and trick him. Lennie didn’t know any better than to listen to George, even if it was a taunt. After an incident happened to Lennie, George stopped tormenting him. He felt bad for Lennie and how he treated him. From this moment on, George actually took into consideration of Lennie’s mindset. In the book, Steinbeck writes,
Is murder always bad? In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, a character who goes by the name of George shoots and kills his mentally disabled best friend on purpose. Some people would automatically think that George is a terrible human being, but based upon the situation the two men were in, George was only trying to protect Lennie. Even though George is tough on Lennie throughout the story, George is only trying to stop Lennie from getting into any trouble. Throughout the book, Lennie finds himself in troubled situations. His dear friend, George, often helps him out of these situations or shields him form harsh punishment. George’s actions justify his treatment and harsh actions towards Lennie.
In their dreams, Lennie gets to “tend the rabbits” and will try his hardest to say out of trouble see George won't get mad at him and will not let him tend the rabbits. But sometimes when Lennie tries to stay out of trouble he ends up out of trouble. Like when he accidentally killed Curley's wife “Please dont….Please dont do that George will be mad”(91) he said this covering her mouth, eventually killing her. Lennie is always worried George will get mad at him when he gets in trouble, and won't let him tend the rabbits. Lennie cares so much about his dream and tending the rabbits that he gets in even more trouble.
In John Steinbeck’s work, Of Mice and Men, Lennie is compared to an animal multiple times which degrades from his sense of humanity and leads to a greater gap between George and himself causing Lennie to become almost nothing to the reader, and to the other characters in the story as well. While George has sharp figures and is precisely described, Lennie is shown as more animalistic, and not really given a lot of traits and characteristics. Also, the other people in the ranch/farm approach Lennie with fear and caution.
The problem with Lennie was that he was mentally disabled, back in the 1930's people did not understand things like that, and had no clue about disabled people. Lennie was sweet and loved thing that were soft. Lennie would put himself in very dangerous situations and with disability he lacked the capacity to control himself physically. Lennie did not understand how strong he was and they damage he would do until after the fact. He also shares the dream of having the small farm and tending to his small rabbit hutch. Since Lennie is mentally disabled he depends on George for almost everything. Lennie is like a small child that has to a have a parent nearby always or he will get into
Is killing someone right or wrong? In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck readers are conflicted with this question all around the world. George killed Lennie after Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife.George and Lennie had known eachother for a long time they even traveled together. George helped Lennie out of multiple situations and killing him was the best way he could think of in the instance of Lennie killing Curley’s wife.Even though Lennie and George were friends, George was justified in killing Lennie because Lennie was undisciplined and unsafe.
"I just done it ... took [the gun] an' ... killed him" says George on murdering Lennie (Steinbeck 107). John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men takes place at a ranch near Soledad, California during the Great Depression. George and Lennie are two migrant workers who travel together from place to place. Lennie has a mental disability and likes to pet soft objects. One day, Lennie starts to pet a woman’s hair. After the woman starts to panic, Lennie accidentally snaps her neck and kills her. George then hunts down Lennie and murders him. George murdered Lennie because Lennie didn’t wish to die.
George and Lennie were best friends for a long time—more like brothers. Lennie isn’t the brightest bulb in the box, so George couldn’t really get mad at him when he accidentally killed Curley’s wife, due to the soft feel of her hair—which he truly adored too much that he killed her by accident. “…’I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know’”(101). The two had planned a future together—a future in their own dream ranch. A ranch where no trouble they’d cross or cross them. Right before George put him out from the back of the head with the Luger, he made Lennie think of their future home—their ranch and the rabbits Lennie would tend. “’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’”(101). This shows you how much George cares for Lennie, no matter how big the crime is. 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 hereby state that I strongly believe George was the right person to kill Lennie, therefore made the right decision to, rather than to let him suffer in the hands of Curley.