The Theme Of Killing In John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

Murder. Euthanasia. Both result in someone killing someone else; however, euthanasia saves the person from a long, painful death. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the main character, George Milton, kills his best friend Lennie Small to save Lennie from a more painful death. Lennie's death is an unavoidable mercy kill that Steinbeck gives hints about multiple times throughout the book.

Euthanasia has been a controversial topic since the ancient Greek physicians. The word euthanasia has been used since the history of medicine. The Greek physicians or Hippocrates took an oath that they would never give their patients anything even if they requested it. The Hippocratic Oath has been used since 2,300 years ago until today (Harrigan). In the seventeenth century, American common law has punished people who have committed mercy killing. Then in the Enlightenment, writers “assaulted the church’s authority” of the teachings of euthanasia (“Historical Timeline”). A author from the Historical timeline said that if someone “condemned suicide as a wrong” and injures people and the community, then it “violates God’s authority over life.” The author says that someone killed a person or was asked to, then it violates God’s authority to give life to that person.

Every day, people are faced with responsibility. Some thrive under the pressure while others crumble. Responsibility is a sign of independence. Teenagers with greater amounts of responsibility feel freedom from their parents. In the same case, too much responsibility can put more stress on that freedom-seeking teen and can have devastating effects. John Steinbeck shows the theme that in life, responsibility is best taken in moderation in his novel Of Mice and Men.

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.”

“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.” George has just killed his best friend (Steinbeck 106). In John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella Of Mice and Men, George Milton and Lennie Small are a pair of pals that travel across California in search of work in the 1930s. With Lennie’s simple-minded thinking, he runs George and himself into trouble which costs them their job. The pair finally settles at a ranch somewhere in rural California after getting chased out of their last job. After a while, the inevitable happens and Lennie does something that does not look good for him, which causes men from the ranch to go chasing after him with the intent of killing him. Lennie flees to a nearby river where George meets him. To spare Lennie from the mental suffering of people always getting frustrated with him and criticizing his mistakes, George takes his life in an act of mercy.

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.

Two girls died the other day, one sadly took her own life while the other’s life was taken from her brutally. Everybody's upset, putting up suicide prevention posters and talking about how this is terrible and being sorry for the families who lost a loved one. Someone else ended their life through the process of Euthanasia, yet the third death was accepted and was hardly talked about. In Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, one of the main characters, George, is faced with a decision to kill his friend Lennie. George has a hard time doing so because he has known Lennie for so long. In the end George decides that it would be best if he killed Lennie, in a form called Euthanasia, instead of Curley brutally killing him. Euthanasia, also known as mercy killing, is when a doctor kills a patient painlessly because they have no more desire to live. Therefore, mercy killing is cruel and an unnecessary practice that seems to be very similar to a suicide and homicide.

The biggest betrayal is when you’ve always been there for someone, and then they turn around and stab you in your back. The killing of Lennie was wrong. Murder is a crime and goes against the morals of human beings. George violated Lennie’s charter of rights and freedom. He took Lennie’s right to live. There are 3 reasons to support why George shouldn’t have killed Lennie. For starters, killing is wrong, humans need companionship and isolation can lead to depression. Lennie was always there for George and he betrayed their friendship by killing and turning against him.

John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.

“I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.” - Anne Frank. This quote shows that even in the darkest of times, cruelty will eventually go away. The book mice and men describes the story about how George and Lennie look to find jobs after having Lennie accidentally break the law. Lennie then does another bad thing and gets in trouble with their bosses son. The theme of mice and men explains how cruelty and death differ from another. It can be merciful for the person and for other people to have death than to live.

People often act out in violence because they are insecure about their appearance and their abilities. Everybody has their own way of reacting to violence whether it's unintentional or intentional. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck he shows violence through Curley, Lennie, and George. Curley answers to a problem through violence and threats. For instance, Curley got offended by Lennie laughing at him and candy fighting, Curley takes advantage of Lennie and starts to fight him knowing Lennie can't fight back, Curley “slashed him with his left and then smashed down his nose with a right”(63).

“Violence- look, we live in a violent world, man. This country was founded on violence. Who’s kidding who?”, complains Bruce Willis. The world is a very violent place. In the media, they only really depict the physical violence. In literature, violence takes on a whole new role with two different forms. Thomas C Foster explains these two forms in How to Read Literature like a Professor. Coincidentally, these two types of violences are shown in Steinbeck’s novella. In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, both types of literal violence are shown through Crooks and Lennie’s life experiences.

Of Mice and Men Theme Essay “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry,” This quote from Robert Burns in his poem “To A Mouse” can be used to describe a lot of events that happen to others. John Steinbeck’s book “Of Mice and Men” is very inspired by Burn’s quote and can deeply relate because of a major theme Steinbeck gives the story. The American Dream. Many characters you come across in the story have their own dream they all someday wish to accomplish, but their dreams oft go awry. Lennie, is a great first example of Steinbeck’s theme, the american dream.

Is there any justification for shooting someone? Is it absurd for someone to kill another? But what if it’s euthanasia, mercy killing, or “putting someone out of their misery”? Does that then justify a murder? Or should justice be brung to the murderer?