Mercy Killing In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Justice! What does it mean to be justified? Tricking your best friend? Betraying and ending his dream? Gunning him down from behind? Well, in the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, two men, George and Lennie, shared and worked for the same dream until several problems occurred, when eventually their dream lead to Lennie's demise. It was justified when George shot Lennie because Lennie made multiple poor mistakes, it was the only necessary thing to do. Many people argues it was unjustified to kill Lennie because they could have escaped together, however Lennie is a nuisance and tends to cause trouble

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.

“I'm going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself.” (Steinbeck 96). In the book, Of Mice and Men, Curley shows that he is a very truculent person. He wants to diminish Lennie, Lennie doesn't realize there is a complication because he can not develop things in his mind as easily as the other men. At the end of the story, Lennie makes a very bad mistake and in response he gets killed because he becomes a danger to other men. Mercy killing in Lennie's situation was the better decision because his friend George shot him. George was putting him out of his , if George wouldn't have killed Lennie then Curley would have. Through the whole book Curley talks about his hatred for Lennie, and at the end he shows it by threatening Lennie's

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.

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.”

How can someone save a life by taking a life? In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men that question is answered by two unlikely friends. Lennie Small has a mental disability and can not tell right from wrong. George Milton takes care of Lennie willingly and tries to make sure no harm ever comes to Lennie. It is the 1930´s and the two travel around together on the search for job opportunities after running away from their hometown due to an accident involving Lennie. They end up finding work on a ranch but drama soon starts.To make a long story short Lennie accidentally killed Curley‘s, the boss’s son, wife which end up with a mob hunting Lennie down. Curley leads the mob hoping to cause Lennie to have an egregious death. George makes the decision to take Lennie’s life before Curley does to make sure Lennie dies fast and peacefully. There are people who believe George is in the position to be punished for what he did, but if they look at all the circumstances they would understand George‘s actions are condonable. George Milton is justified in the killing of Lennie Small because he saved Lennie from facing the wrath of Curely, he stopped Lennie from causing any more harm, and he acted selflessly.

Oftentimes, we must sacrifice the most important things in our lives for the greater good. This idea happens in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. In this novel, two migrant workers, Lennie and George, arrives at their new ranch to earn some money. Lennie is a mentally disabled man, who often gets into trouble. George takes care of Lennie, acting as a parent for him. Both have dreams of living together and owning private property. But their dream gets ruined when Lennie accidentally kills the owner’s daughter-in-law. Before anyone finds Lennie and torture him, George decides to kill Lennie himself. Here is the excerpt from this scene:

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.

It's been four months, the doctors don't know what else they can do. You don't want to accept it but, she tells you to. Your daughter, your own flesh and blood, pride and joy, is begging you to stop the pain and suffering with her big cloudy doll eyes. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, one of the main characters, George, had come upon an unthinkable situation, where he best friend, Lennie, murders the wife of Curley. George faces the decision to weather let Lennie live, and suffer from Curley's vengeance, or to end Lennie's life permanently, and save him from suffering. The novel makes it clear that mercy killing, the act of putting an animal or human down painlessly without suffering, is a human way to show compassion towards

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.

In the book, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie are migrant workers. They have to move around a lot because they run into many problems due to Lennie and his disability. George made a promise to Lennie's aunt that he would take care of him. They travel everywhere together and George cares for Lennie. At the end of the book, Lennie kills a ranch worker’s wife and a group of the ranch workers hunt Lennie down. George goes with them and finds Lennie, before any of them could and kills Lennie. George killed Lennie because he probably would have suffered a painful death. There is dispute over whether George committed murder or if what he did was considered Non- Voluntary Euthanasia. “Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally

In Steinbeck’s Of Mice of Men, George is confronted with the troubling conflict of ending his best and only friend’s life. In the depression stricken 1930’s, George Milton and Lennie Smalls are saving money until they can buy their dream homestead. This dream comes to a screeching halt when Lennie kills the boss’s son’s wife. George decides to end Lennie’s life while describing their dream homestead one last time . George should have killed Lennie because Curley would have tortured him, lennie was his responsibility, and he would have continued to do bad things.

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

In order to prevent this agony from befalling his dear friend, George took it upon himself to kill Lennie with a quick, painless death by shooting him in the back of the head. This form of killing someone results in a painless, instantaneous death, as by shooting in the back of the head as done by George and Carlson, the spinal cord is obliterated, instantly killing the victim, so that they feel nothing. George decided to kill Lennie at his very happiest, while he was thinking about their plans for their piece of land. In doing so, George prevented Lennie from causing any harm to anyone else, or himself. He also saved Lennie from any grief or pain from being executed or shot by someone without sympathy, as well as having Lennie know of his death. One moment, Lennie was bubbling over taking care of his rabbits, the next he was dead, blissfully unaware of dying. This is the noblest motive for killing, and one that was highly justified by George, as well as preferable for Lennie. "And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie 's head. 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 to the sand, he lay without quivering."(p. 106)

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley. an’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, for promis’d joy!” These famous words from Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse” inspired John Steinbeck’s title for Of Mice and Men. Just as it is useless for a mouse to try and protect its home from the blade of a plow, so are the human efforts and dreams for the unattainable in the face of natural and economic calamities. In the midst of the Great Depression, a man like Lennie who is incapable of thinking logically for himself renders it nearly impossible to survive without causing any trouble. George knew of this and tried to prolong the inevitable, but eventually had to face the ultimate price of taking away the life of the only friend he’s ever known and had. Mercy is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. Although mercy is the ideal side to choose, some readers think that George chose to kill Lennie because Lennie because Lennie is constantly in trouble and George was sick of solving all of Lennie’ problem. From murdering Lennie out of selfishness and murdering Lennie out of mercy, the basis of the debate on the intent of