In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George was overall morally justified for shooting Lennie because he had good reasons to do so. George did take Lennie’s life but he did it to save Lennie from the pain of Curley’s wrath. If George did not kill Lennie, then he would have had to suffer through life in jail or an asylum or torture from Curley. Many people think that George was responsible for Lennie, so the murder was not justified. However, George was justified because Lennie had hurt others before and had strong potential to hurt again.
It has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt at this point, Lennie's innocence is not very accepted with the world because of his size, age, etc. He can’t really learn to change his ways due to his disabilities. Lennie can’t even understand why the bad things he has done are bad. Also, the fate he would meet at Curley's mutilated hands is enough to convince George that his only real option is to make Lennie's death as quick and painless as possible. Lennie would have died at the hands of Curly anyways, which would have been a much more painful and dehumanizing death for Lennie. He couldn't be taken to a mental hospital and in the depression, these were basically non-existent and spending a life in jail would be even more torture for a mentally ill person than death itself. George did what was right because he prevented Lennie from doing anything this terrible again, he stopped Lennie from a more painful death, and he really didn't have any other responsible
I believe that George, in no way should be punished for killing Lennie. He did it for the right reasons and it was best for Lennie in that situation. The closure George and Lennie hot from this ordeal was better, and easier this way for both of them. This is a little bit of information on way I believe George was justified in killing Lennie.
If you had the choice of doing what is in your best friend’s interest, would you consider it? What if the friend’s death was a factor? In the story of Mice and Men, George may have taken Lennie's life, but he made the decision for the better interest of his friend. He knew that Curley and his men would kill Lennie, he would suffer and/or be placed in jail. George made the justified decision of killing Lennie because it was the better choice of Lennie’s foreseen future. Therefore, George was morally justified for shooting Lennie for merciful reasons.
George and Lennie were best friends for a long time, more like brothers. Lennie is about as bright as a 2 watt bulb, so George couldn’t really get mad at him when he accidently killed Curley’s wife while feeling the softness of her hair. “…’I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know’”. The two had planned a future together—a future in their own dream ranch, a ranch where no trouble would ever bother them. “’You…an’ me. Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em’”. Then after he tells him about the rabbits that Lennie is so fond of, he shoots him in the back of the head where he knows it will not hurt him, and Lennie will not know what hit him. This is the peaceful alternative to what Curley had in store for him. Curley's exact words were "shoot the bastard right in the guts." George's euthanizing of Lennie makes the mentally incompetent Lennie die with dignity. Had Curley gotten to Lennie first, Lennie would have suffered. This shows you how much George cares for Lennie, no matter what he does or the crimes he commits. He’d always be there to help Lennie get right back up to his feet, make him forget all his worries, and move on like nothing happened. I strongly believe George was the right person to kill Lennie, and made the right decision in doing so, rather than to let him suffer in the hands of Curley.
Lennie needed to be punished, but at the same time it needed to fit the crime; no torture or humiliation that he would not understand that George with Lennie , I believe George should of killed
Some people think that George did not do the right thing by killing Lennie because there were alternative options for shooting him. But, if George and Lennie decided to run away, they would be running their whole life, and if George decided to turn Lennie in, he
The Great Depression affected millions of people in America, two of those people affected were George and Lennie. George and Lennie are migrant workers that struck a job in California. George can be described as the brains of the partnership, while Lennie is more of the muscle. In the story Lennie has a fascination with feeling soft objects. This later gets them in trouble in the town of Weed. Once they get to the job, they go months will no big problems. Until, Lennie accidentally killed The owner’s son’s wife. After this happened Lennie ran off, and all the workers went to go find him and kill him. George does find Lennie before any of the other workers, and even with the chance to escape, he shoots Lennie. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the murder of Lennie was not Justified.
I feel as if it was justifiable for george to kill lennie because its was right and had to be done in order for not just george to be free but lennie as well. By saying that i mean that lennie basically had no chance of escaping alive, nor free.
Did George do the right thing by shooting Lennie? That’s a good question, and to me I think he did. If it wasn’t going to be George who shot Lennie, then it would’ve probably been Curley. The way Curley wanted to deal with Lennie was by making it as long and as painful as it could’ve been for Lennie. Towards the end, the author mentions Lennie having a happy laughter before he was shot and that to me is a humane way to be killed with all the other options being considered.
Was George justified with killing lennie? In my opinion it was right and i will tell you why. The reasons is the events leading up to lennie’s death, was it justified, was it an example of euthanasia?
I’m arguing why George should have killed Lennie in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.Curley was going to make Lennie’s death painful anyways. Curley was mad about his hand and losing his wife so he thought he would shoot Lennie.”Ill shoot him in the guts”(Steinbeck).Lennie was going to die either way so why not just get it over with.George should have shot Lennie because he may be slower but being slower does not get you out of murder.George should have killed Lennie when he saw Curley’s wife’s dead body because he got nervous and scared for him because George knew what the guys were going to do to him .”I know what I have to do” (Steinbeck) I think the quote proves my point because George knows he is going to have to kill Lennie.Lennie
George was in the right saving Lennie, because Lennie would have been extremely afraid if the other men would have gotten to him. He knew he did a bad thing, and he also knew that if Curley got to him, it would not end well. Some people may argue that Curley would have shot him off the bat, and Lennie would have felt no pain. This may be true, but Lennie could also more than likely see or hear Curley coming, and fear could have swept over him. George would have also had to live with the guilt that he
Lennie was always getting into trouble and since George can never get Lennie out of trouble, Lennie would always end up in jail where he wouldn’t survive no matter what, so to prevent Lennie from getting into trouble with the cops or Curley and the guys, he had to do the right thing. Lennie killed Curley’s wife and even though it was mainly her fault for going in there flirting with him he still should of stopped petting her hair when she told him. Who would know what Lennie would of done next. George should not be punished for something that could of saved some
“Slim said “ya hadda George, I swear ya hadda”.”(Pg. 107) It was clear by the end of the book that George only had one way to protect Lennie from his problems, which were rapidly increasing. “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 should violently but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.”(Pg. 106) Only one thing stood in between Curly and Lennie, and that was George. Even though George treats Lennie kindly and with an open heart, his image portrayed to the other characters was still a small fighter.