Mercy Killing In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Throughout the novel, Lennie is put to the test against obstacles he has to overcome; he always turns to George for the right answer. Lennie trusts George to make the right decision for him. When Curley was fighting Lennie, Lennie was covering his face with his hand until George screams, “Get ‘im, Lennie” and instantly Lennie puts his hand on Curley and breaks the bones in his hand (Steinbeck 63). Lennie can’t think for himself and never truly means to be mean. Lennie doesn’t know how to control his own body, “He was so little… I was jus’ playin’ with him…an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me…an’ I made like I was gonna smack him… an’…an’ I done it. An’ then he was dead” (Steinbeck 87). In other words, it foreshadows that he is too strong for his own mind and that something potentially worse could happen. Sadly, George made the right decision for Lennie by killing him to prevent future suffering and

George eventually finds out about the death of Curley’s wife so he sets out and kills Lennie by the river. Lennie dies a gentle death, thinking only the happiest thoughts. The moment before he died, his mind is filled with their farm and there rabbits and there dream. Steinbeck reminds you that Lennie is still as gentle as he ever is, despite the fact that he killed

George saved Lennie by shooting him with a gun in the back of the head. It was fast and painless, but Curley had other plans for Lennie, “We oughtta let ‘im get away. You don’t know that Curley. Curley gont’ta wanta get him lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed”( Steinbeck 94). Candy knows that Curely will lynch Lennie if he finds him. George knew he had to find Lennie before Curley. George decided to shoot Lennie because he knew Lennie would have either been locked up in jail his entire life, or have been beaten up and lynched by Curley. After George shoots Lennie, Slim reassures George that he did the right thing, “You hadda, George. I swear you hadda”(Steinbeck 107). George needed Slim to let him know that it was the right thing to do. Slim gave George closure, because George was in awe. George realized he did the right thing after he followed Slim out of the

Lastly, Lennie’s mental state lead to his death because he couldn't learn from his mistakes. Lennie has had a history of causing problems. In his old town Weed that him and George got chased out because Lennie got accused of rape. Just like Weed Lennie caused a problem which led to him being shot by George.

When the author has Lennie kill Curley’s wife, he doesn’t even describe her death or even her dead body. On page 91. “ He shook her then, and he was angry with her. Don’t you go yellin’, he said, and he shook her, and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” Also when Lennie dies the author doesn’t describe his dead body, none of the blood that would be running down his body. On page 106. “The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred and then settled slowly forward in the sand, and he lay without quivering.” Steinbeck only describes how peacefully Lennie went down after he died he wasn’t bloody or gory he tried making it

Violence plays a key part in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice And Men, and there must be a reasoning behind this. In this essay I will pick apart some of the acts of violence that feature in the book, and try to explore why Steinbeck has included each one, how it develops the novel, the characters in it and helps him convey the key themes or messages he wishes to incorporate in his “valley of the world.”

During 1929, the Great Depression became the event that shook America. People lost their jobs, which resulted in unemployment and homelessness. Hobos and “Okies” tried moving to California did not accept the jobless migrations because they feared their opportunities for success would be lost. In Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men several characters experience cruelty because society outcasts them. These characters include Lennie, Candy, and Crooks. Of the three characters, Crooks has the least opportunity for success because he's African-American and handicap.

This picture he described was of a farm which was a common dream they shared. Lennie always looked forward to tending the rabbits because he had an obsession for petting small fury things. Upon hearing this, Lennie must have had pleasant thoughts in his last moments. Moreover, the place that George shot Lennie was at the back of his head to avoid him for fearing his death and to make sure the process was

In the book, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there are many human and animal deaths all throughout the book. The most significant death was when George went against his will and killed Lennie. Lennie’s death was unjustified since he was never given any opportunity to make up for it or to just run and get away. After Lennie killed Curley’s wife no one could trust him and with that the workers on the ranch believed it was Lennie’s “turn” to die. Over the course of human history there have been many unjustified deaths leading to no charge against the assailants. Such as, death row, self-defense and euthanasia, these types of deaths are all unjustified and there are many reasons to authenticate it.

Defend or challenge the notion that George's act of killing Lennie was one of kindness

The death of Lennie was foreshadowed many times. “Right in the back of the head,” was one of the many quotes that led me to Lennie’s death (pg.45). This quote shows in what way Lennie will be shot, George took in everything that they said. The men said the dog won’t feel a thing. George also took that in and pretty much just kept that stuff in his head. Another transition that led to his death was, After the men took Candy’s dog to shoot it,Candy realizes he should have shot his dog himself because he didn’t want a stranger shooting it. Lennie and the dog were kind of similar when killed, cause they couldn’t escape death. When George said he should’ve done it himself, George kept that in his head because later on it the story he went back into the bunkhouse to get Curley’s Luger so he did not have to watch anyone else harm Lennie. Lennie’s death to me was a pretty big surprise.

The killing of Candy 's dog is an excellent example of mercy killing in the aforesaid novella. Candy 's dog was in terrible condition, and it could barely be said

The taken lives of animals is overlooked but the loss of any one human is important thus for the death of curley’s wife will be avenged. Lennie is being hunted by the spouse of the dead. If anyone is to find him curley wants to be told so he can personally take care of the matter of justice. George knows where lennie is so he ran to find him before anyone else so he could see him again. When george gets there he finds lennie and lennie starts saying that it was an accident and it was not his fault. So george calms lennie down by telling him stories of the farm. Then george shoots lennie in the head to peacefully take him out of a world he doesn’t belong in. steinbeck used foreshadowing in the shooting of candy’s dog because he isn’t good for

Lennie is “jes’ like a kid. There ain’t no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he’s so strong” (Steinbeck 43). His problem is, he does not know of his own strength and does not know how to control it in certain cases, especially when he is frightened. For example, when Curley attacked Lennie, Lennie grabbed onto Curley’s hand and held on. He was so frightened he could not let go, busting every bone in Curley’s hand. Lennie “didn’t wanna hurt him” but he is just too strong (Steinbeck 64). Later in the story, Lennie’s incredible strength causes two deaths, first he kills a puppy and then Curley’s wife. Lennie didn’t mean to kill the puppy, he explained that he “was jus’ playin’ with him… an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me… an’ I made like I was gonna smack him... an’… an’ I done it. An’ he was dead” (Steinbeck 87). Lennie was worried after he killed the puppy because he thought George wasn’t going to let him tend to the rabbits when they bought the farm. Shortly after Lennie killed the puppy, he killed Curley’s wife. He likes to touch soft things and when she lets him touch her hair, “she jerked her head sideways and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on” (Steinbeck 91). She started to scream, which made Lennie panic. He tried to get her to be quiet “and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). After he

When George killed Lennie, he was understandably devastated. Eventually the others arrived and found Lennie dead. Because Slim understood Lennie and knew how much Lennie meant to George, Slim asked him to go for a drink to get his mind off everything. George agreed and the book ended with him getting ready to go out with the other guys. In the text Steinbeck states, “ ‘An' you got it away from him and you took it an' you killed him?’