Of Mice and Men Court Case Opening Statement Essay

Lennie’s inability to think for himself and know the difference between right and wrong is most apparent in his actions when he talks. Even though Lennie’s physical strength makes him appear to be a person of power, his physical strength is the only form of power that he possesses. Lennie is constantly powerless against his mind’s perception that limits him to behave in a child-like manner against the consequences of his actions. For example, he knows that he needs to act correctly and does not want to do bad things, however he lacks the mental capability of an adult that lets him differentiate what’s right from wrong causing him to rely on George for protection and guidance.

After Lennie has inadvertently murdered Curley’s wife, Curley’s lynch mob go out in search of Lennie. George’s decision is almost inevitable to spare Lennie’s life, rather than let Curley and his gang destroy the bit of life Lennie has.

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

His aforementioned characteristics lead to a detrimental event: the murder of Curley’s wife. George realizes that Curley will not leave Lennie alone as quoted by Candy: “‘Curley gon’ta wanta get ‘im lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed.’” (). George decides to kill Lennie compassionately to prevent further afflictions by lettting Lennie die at his happiest moment.

how he could have so much fun by himself and how much of a burden Lennie is to

There is a time where killing is a justified action. Times like this our self-defense, war, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. Another great example is in the book, by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men. George had to kill Lennie because Lennie’s punishment could have been worse, Lennie is not safe to be around, and George realized Lennie would never get better and the dream would never come true.

Everyone makes mistakes and bad decisions. Whether they rarely happen or occur frequently, all people make them. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, some of the characters make wrong choices. Lennie made many bad decisions throughout the book and he shouldn’t have done what he did, even if he thought he was doing the right thing at the time. When Lennie crushed Curley’s hand he definitely did not do the right thing because Curley already disliked him, Curley had much more power over him, and it gave Curley a reason to kill him.

Another very important event of the novel is Curley’s wife death. Lennie is blamed for having killed her, although she could have easily avoided this by not talking to Lennie. He speaks to him as if he were a baby, and, since he tells her that he likes to pet soft things, she asks him to touch her hair. “Feel right aroun’ there an’ see how soft it is.” Lennie cannot stop, and when she orders him to leave her he holds on.Curley’s wife starts screaming and, to make her stop and not get into trouble with Curley, Lennie puts his hand on her mouth. He doesn’t realize how strong he is, and he kills Curley’s wife by breaking her neck. “[…] her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”

Lennie took the life of Curley’s wife, and in rage this migrant worker wanted to seek revenge. For this reason, Lennie’s death was inevitable. In order to avoid a painful death full of misery, George killed Lennie. This action, hard on my client as well, needed to be done in order for Lennie to die peacefully. Before pulling the trigger, Mr. Milton painted a wonderful image in Lennie’s head:

For instance, George told Lennie if anything ever happens to meet him at the brush by the river. This shows George’s nurturing instincts toward Lennie. Although the act alone was tough, when someone loves someone so much they often do things to protect them even though it hurts. Critics say that if George loves Lennie as much as he said, he could have avoided killing him. His love for Lennie is evident after he witnesses Candy’s reaction to his dog’s death and Candy’s words “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog”(Steinbeck 61). George takes it upon himself to make sure Lennie dies with happy thoughts. He makes sure Lennie leaves the earth with happy thoughts by telling him about their dream house with animals and farmland. “An we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens… an’ down the flat we’ll have a … little piece alfalfa” (Steinbeck 105). People think that George and Lennie could have escaped from the men on the ranch but, even if they did, deep down George knows the American of which they had dreamt would never come true. George knows in his heart he could not let the men on the ranch kill Lennie. He knows this based on Candy’s experience with his dog. George wants to make sure Lennie does not die alone and in

According to www.dualdiagnosis.org, in the 1930’s, “Techniques that were used on the mentally ill included insulin-induced comas, lobotomies, malarial infections, and electroshock therapy.” The novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, describes the story of two migrant workers named George and Lennie, and their adventure during the Great Depression. Lennie is a man who is challenged with mental retardation. During the Great Depression, this was not an acceptable thing in society, so George acts as his caretaker and has to cover for Lennie. Eventually, George and Lennie find themselves working on a ranch where they meet new people and find themselves in trouble. I think that George did the right thing by killing Lennie. If George would not have killed him, Lennie would have been taken to the mental hospital and treated badly, if Lennie was killed by anyone else, George would have had regrets, and Lennie was at risk of getting himself and George into more trouble.

Essay Prompt: John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, has a controversial history. It has been repeatedly banned by school boards. Why might this book have been banned? Is such an action justified? In a five-paragraph essay, take a position for or against banning this novel. Use your three body paragraphs to develop each of three reasons for or against banning the novel.

Through a variety of literary and cinematic techniques respectively, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men and Sean Penn’s Into The Wild illustrate how the fulfilment of one’s life, and their pursuit of happiness, hinge upon friendship, dreams, and one’s attitude towards life and happiness in general. Steinbeck’s 1937 novella Of Mice And Men illustrates the importance of friendship and dreams in a context of hardship and economic downturn. This is done by using George and Lennie and their dream of landownership and material possession to demonstrate how dreams give people the hope required to drive themselves, and how friendship offers them the ability to keep going even if their own spirit should break. Sean Penn’s 2007 film Into The Wild

If lennie would of ran off into the woods he would have died of starvation or even worse. Letting lennie off would have been in a bad spot either way, so by ending lennie’s life it took a load off of george and the crew. George took lennie's life quick and painlessly and it was almost tit for tat if you look at it, Curley’s wife for lennie's life makes it justifiable. He basically Puts lennie in a better place so lennie and george wouldn't have to run away any more and cause trouble. If he wouldn't

He never learns his lesson and one day kills Curley’s wife which leads him to his own death. If Lennie had cared a little more about his own responsibility for the things he possessed then he could have been the caretaker of the rabbits on the farm George and him planned to purchase.