Mercy Killing in 'Of Mice and Men'

Death, the one thing every person will eventually face, could be seen as an end or an entrance. What is your extent of a friendship? How far are you willing to go to help the person you care for? For many reasons, the majority of people think murder is immoral—especially if it was your own best friend. But sometimes we may have to go to the extreme, as long as we know it was the right thing to do from the heart because that’s how much you know you care. In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, I strongly believe that George was right to kill Lennie.

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck George kills his best friend Lennie. George’s reasoning for this is that Lennie is killing too many people and has become a burden. Lennie does not realize that he is doing wrong by accidentally killing animals and people. George says that he is doing this for other’s benefit when really he is doing this for his own good. This was wrong of George and he is guilty because even though Lennie was accidentally

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 down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering. (“Steinbeck 106”)

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.

Terri Schiavo didn’t have to die by euthanasia, so why should others. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George, the main character travels with Lennie, another main character. In the book towards the end George is left with a terrible decision, after Lennie does something bad and runs away. The rest of the men find out he has accidentally killed the boss’ daughter- in-law. Curley is ready to kill him. But George makes the decision to mercy kill Lennie, to stop him from getting brutally killed by Curley. The novel makes it seem like George did the right thing, but this is not true because mercy killing is a way in which no one should die.

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.

“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

Lennie is unaware of his own strength, and accidentally kills Curley’s wife, which causes George to weigh Lennie’s options. He decides that killing Lennie would be the best option, and, after delivering the killing bullet, Carlson asks George how he does it. George stiffly sits on the bank, and his “voice was almost a whisper. He looked steadily at this right hand that had held the gun” (107). The fact that George acts very calm and quiet indicates that he is in deep shock. The trauma from killing Lennie really deals a blow to George’s energy. George himself would be happy if his friend did not have to die, but he is completely aware of how it is the option that is best for Lennie. Shooting Lennie causes George to experience deep sorrow, anxiety, and anguish. He feels emotionally drained and tired, which he could avoid by just leaving Lennie alive, but he sacrifices his own emotional health to benefit Lennie. If Lennie was not George’s good friend, George would not invest so much of his own happiness. Friends not only have to deal with their own problems, but also have to sacrifice more energy by managing their friends’ as

“It's not a choice between life and death. It's a choice between different ways of dying” (Preiss). Of Mice and Men, winner novel of the nobel prize in Literature, by John Steinbeck, one of the main characters, George was facing the same problem as Candy whose dog got put down by one of the workers, a stranger. Lennie, the other main character in the novel is getting hunted down by Curley because Lennie didn't know his own strength and accidentally murdered his wife. George made the decision, with Candy and his dog situation in mind, instead of Lennie dying with miserable death, George would put him down with a different and a peaceful way of dying. Of Mice and Men resolves that killing, is a moral option, and should be the person’s own decision.

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 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

“‘Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em.’ ‘Le’s do it now. Let’s get that place now’” (106). These are the last words that filled the air between George and Lennie, their last exchange preceding a pivotal moment in both of their lives. They conversation calms and soothes Lennie, who hopes to finally get the farm that he and George dreamed about for so many years. Yet unbeknownst to him, Lennie would soon be set free from his earthly bonds by his long-time friend; a bullet, shot from the barrel of George’s gun, would enter Lennie’s head and kill him instantly. That bullet was not one of self-gain and moral disrepute, but one of freedom and liberation from worldly restraints. While this remains a hotly contested topic in classrooms reading Of Mice and Men, George’s intentions in killing Lennie were overwhelmingly good-natured.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is a compelling novel set during the Great Depression. The novel teaches itś readers about the value of companionship, sacrifice, and dreams. In doing so, it includes several examples of euthanasia, or mercy killing. At the end of the story, George has to kill Lennie to protect him. Despite the fact that Lennie was George's best friend, George did the right thing because if Lennie wouldn't have been shot by George then someone else couldve gotten to him first and made him suffer. Also, If George wouldn't have killed Lennie, then Lennie would have been locked away, frightened and all alone.

By shooting Lennie in the head, George saves Lennie a lot of pain as compared to getting shot in the guts like Curley wants. Although George had taken so many precautions and tried so hard to keep Lennie from trouble, the failure still came.

“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