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The Role Of Euthanasia In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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You have spent your whole life taking care of your brother, trying to help find a cure for his disease. Everyday you have to look into the eyes of a person whose body is alive but their mind just wants to die. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the protagonist, George, is faced with a similar situation after his best friend, Lennie, murders the wife of the antagonist, Curley. George made the decision to that because he was responsible for Lennie, he should also be the one responsible for his death in this circumstance. Euthanasia, or mercy killing, should be a legal way to end someone’s pain and suffering because it is moral and just.
The killing of Lennie, by george, was the right thing to do. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George kills Lennie. He does this because Lennie killed Curley’s wife, and George knew that he would kill Lennie slowly and painfully, so George decided to get it over with quickly and painlessly. After Lennie kills Curley’s wife, he runs away. George knew that Curley was going to want revenge on Lennie. George says to Candy, “Maybe they won’t hurt ‘im… I ain’t gonna let ‘em hurt …show more content…

Euthanasia is the act of killing someone who is very sick, in order to prevent any further suffering. For example, Dr. David Dufor states, “Although they were not terminal, there was still unbearable suffering, (both psychologically) and physically,” (Gross). This shows that although the twins being talked about here weren’t going to die naturally, it was still moral because of the different types of suffering. Furthermore, “ The group argues voluntary euthanasia for people who are terminally ill would increase their quality of life by removing the stress of facing a painful death,” (Preiss). This shows that not only can euthanasia be ethical, but it can also improve quality of life by ending the patient’s pain and suffering. The decision is definitely never easy, but is is the right decision to

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