The Conflicts of Mercy Killing Killing a friend or loved one may sound vile and preposterous at first, but in certain circumstances it may be the best option. One portrayment of mercy killing can be found in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The two main characters in the book, George Milton and Lennie Small, spend their days looking for work as displaced farmers during the Great Depression. When the land on a ranch, they meet other characters such as Candy, Crooks, Slim, Curley, and Carlson. Lennie is a mentally challenged character who is very dependent on George’s care. Lennie also has a long history of conflicts, with some occurrences that could have gotten him lynched. It was essential that George killed Lennie to save him from misery. Lennie was a dangerous character all throughout the book, and his quick, easy execution was the best solution possible. When the search for Lennie begins, George tries reasoning with Slim to which Slim replies, “An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George” (Steinbeck 97). This line from Slim shows that any other discipline for Lennie will just end in Lennie living a life of …show more content…
Wise, 66, who had no criminal record and no known history of violence, meant only to end the suffering of his wife, Barbara, 65. She had been hospitalized since July 28, when Mr. Wise found her collapsed at home, on the bathroom floor, vomiting and choking” (Rivera). If the circumstances are dire enough that it is better for someone to be put out of their suffering, mercy killing can be justified. So, if it is safer for everyone that someone is dead, George putting Lennie and everyone else out of danger by killing Lennie is the right
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.
George killing Lennie is very immoral because Lennie does not know any better. Lennie is not killing people and animals on purpose he just underestimates his strength and does not realize that he is doing wrong. Lennie is innocent and does not deserve
Slim insults Lennie in front of George. He replies, “‘He ain’t no cuckoo’, said George. ‘He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy. I ain’t so bright neither, or I would be buckin’ barley for my fifty and found’” (39). George feels the need to defend and protect Lennie, even when Lennie is not around. George wants to persuade people into thinking that Lennie is a normal farm worker. George finds a way to convince people Lennie is normal, by comparing his own work on the farm to Lennie’s work. In later chapters, Curley picks a fight with Lennie. George encourages Lennie to fight Curley. After the fight, Lennie is worried about if he will be fired and what George thinks. Lennie looks for comfort in George, he replies, “You don’t need to be scairt no more. You done jus’ what I tol’ you to” (65). George pressures Lennie to fight Curley. At the beginning of the fight, Lennie does not want to hurt Curly. Lennie looks up to George for guidance and protection. This trait of Lennie’s allows George to make all of Lennie's decisions. This event is the turning point in George’s feelings towards
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
In the article Euthanasia’s slippery slope by Charles Lane, he will tell you that euthanasia is being practiced more and move and it really isn’t a good idea. Charles Lane states “ Observe that the reports seem to validate concerns about where these practices might lead. (Lanes) This quote states that if it is practiced enough than doctors will just do it without second thought. The article also states “ What is presented at first as a right is going to become a kind of obligation.” (Lanes) This helps my argument by proving that doctors will soon go against all beliefs and euthanasia will become a second hand nature. In conclusion, people shouldn’t use mercy killing to end someone’s life, they have the right to live a full life that God has planned for them.
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.
George is a really good man so he was looking out for his friend and trying to keep him from getting hurt even more. So he shouldn’t be punished. I believe that Lennie shouldn’t of done that in the first place. But George was just making sure he didn’t suffer any more than he was. Because if he would of let him live he would gotten tortured to death by slim.
Many families have gone through this tough decision. In the article, “Mercy Killing is Not a Crime Endash; It is a Brave and Selfless Act of Love,” France Inglis killed her son at age 22 after months of watching him suffer. The was put in this state from falling “from an ambulance and hit his head on the pavement” (A N Wilson). With no hope left of him recovering, “His brave mother, who is studying for a nursing diploma, tried to kill him by the injection of pure heroin” (A N Wilson). This was not an act of hate or selfish reasons, but out of love for her son, and didn't want him to suffer longer than he already has. After being arrested for attempting to mercy kill her son, she tried again, this time successful. “I held everything was going to be fine, that he will be fine. I hoped he had died. He was very peaceful” (A N Wilson). This quote makes it certain that this was done with pure love, “If Tom Inglis had been starved to death and agonisingly deprived of water until he died of thirst and dehydration, that act of cruelty would have been within the law” (A N
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.
The decision of killing should not be looked upon as criminal. George does not have a cruel heart nor does he take pleasure in killing Lennie. George wants what is best for Lennie and he takes the time to set up a nice, peaceful conversation on a topic of interest to Lennie. He instructs Lennie to ?look down there acrost the river, like you can almost see the place? (106). He reassures Lennie that everyone will treat him pleasingly.
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’s insensibility in regards to his strength tends to lead him to injure people and animals that he encounters. The biggest contributor to Lennie’s chaos throughout the novel is his underestimation of his own ability to hurt others. This occurs in multiple occasions, such as when Slim gets
The sound rang in your ears, his limp body fell to the ground, and your hand shook with the weight of your gun, and the blood of the person you just killed; your best friend. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George’s best friend is lying dead in front him, Lennie, who like George is just a character but is mentally disabled. And although Lennie may have killed Curley’s wife and is now in danger, George murdering Lennie doesn’t solve any issues. George was not justified in killing Lennie because they could’ve run away like they did in Weed, George betrayed Lennie’s trust, and by killing Lennie George shows he is a hypocrite to his own rules.
Lennie’s actions are consistently imbecilic all through the novel. When George is talking to Slim about how he used to treat Lennie he says, “Why he’d do any damn thing I tol’ him. If I tol’ him to walk over a cliff, over he’d go” (40). The notion that Lennie’s supposed friend, maybe even guardian, could do something so malicious is disturbing to say the least. George knows Lennie is too half-witted to take care of himself, yet he plays these tricks on him. Lennie’s endless trust in George is extremely imprudent, considering he would fall to his death according to George’s instructions.
The poem was written in 1973 by the African-American poet and librarian Dudley Randall and has since become one of the most effective