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Mercy killing in simple words
Compare the characters of George and Lennie
George and Lennie character traits
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Mercy killing has touched the lives of many people, with indeterminant reasons which have been baffling judicial courts for many years. People claim to kill an individual to relieve his/her constant pain, but the things that occur during the death gives doubt into the community’s mind causing great conflict in society. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, an example of this situation is presented when a long friendship ends after one of the friends kills the other in order to save the other from future harm. The friendship is between George and Lennie, who met at an early age and traveled together during the Great Depression. Lennie has a disability which makes him act incompetent and childish causing George to take care of him throughout …show more content…
Some people may claim that they killed to prevent them from suffering, but sometimes they do it just to satisfy themselves because they can not handle another person leaving or acting in a way they have never seen before. Recently, a case has been brought up of an autistic son being sexually abused; his mother’s claims are “He told her Tzekov had shoved feces in his mouth, stuck needles under his fingernails, and stabbed him in the hand repeatedly in addition to sexual abuse” (Rosenberg 3). Authenticity of these statements are hard to justify due to the mother being unaware until her son gave her a crude description of what happened. If the son was being stabbed in the hand, then should not there be marks or scars which the mother would notice? This would prove that these statements may be false since obvious evidence would appear on the son if what she said was true. She might have been aiming to try and get her husband into jail for her own desires. This may also reflect George’s intentions to separate himself from Lennie and still live without the burden of Lennie being around. George has not talked much about how Lennie is useful to George which shows that George may not appreciate Lennie’s presence. Even when Lennie gets work, Lennie gets into trouble and the boss does not see the functionality he offers. George has expressed his desire to relieve his burden of Lennie when he says “... if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble… Why, I could stay in a cat house all night… An’ whatta I got… You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get” (Steinbeck 12). George is showing his desire to have Lennie removed from his life so he can live freely. George visits a cat house causing him to realize how life would be like without worrying about Lennie. Lennie gets into various kinds of trouble so after numerous times
That ain’t no good, George.’”(Steinbeck 97). Because Lennie killed Curley’s wife, he committed a felony. George wanted Lennie to be thrown in jail at first. He wanted Lennie to be arrested because he thought it was the best thing for Lennie but then Slim told him it would not be good for Lennie. It would be bad for Lennie because Lennie would not understand his rights because he’s mentally challenged and locking him up in a cage would just hurt Lennie. George then realized he needed to kill Lennie so nobody would mistreat him. George is protecting others from Lennie.”’Lennie-if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before…’”(Steinbeck 15). George has been with Lennie for many years and he knows how Lennie will never learn and he will keep committing bad stuff. George knew something was going to happen at the ranch because Lennie has always done something wrong. George tried to prevent something from going wrong but he couldn’t. As a result he had to put down Lennie so he would not hurt anyone ever again. George felt the hard choice of killing Lennie was the right decision for George because Curley wanted to get his revenge, Lennie would be mistreated in prison and he was
For several years you have been taking care of your grandma, who has been suffering in the hospital. You pray that she gets better. But day after day, you see the hurt in her eyes even though she tries to fight through it. You know that she won’t get better until you put her out of her misery and end her life. But once you know she is gone you will miss her deeply but it will be better for her and all her pain will go away. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, one of the important characters, George, faces a similar struggling situation with his best friend Lennie. Lennie murders the wife of another important character, Curley. George has to make an important decision that will affect the rest of both
Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically
George kills Lennie because he did not want to witness Lennie being hurt or killed carelessly, run off by in his own and not being able to take care for himself, and Lennie’s mental disorder will never change how Lennie reacts to certain situations. Many believe taking the life of another without consent is unacceptable but in certain situations like George’s, he has to decide due to Lennie’s mental disorder that was leading him into unpleasant situations. George is an admirable character who choose to protect and do justice to his distressed friend,
In fact, near the ending of the story, he unintentionally snapped Curley’s wife’s neck trying to quiet her (91). Failing to recognize his own strength, Lennie accidentally took her life, proving that he was perilous. By shooting Lennie, George prevented Lennie from accidentally injuring or killing anyone ever again. His verdict was correct in view of the fact that he sacrificed his friend’s life with the intention to protect the lives of others. Furthermore, George’s decision protected Lennie. As a punishment for his deeds, The workers wanted Lennie executed. George realized this and told candy, “Curley’s gon’ta wanta get ‘i'm lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed,” (94). In consequence of killing Curley’s wife, Lennie unknowingly put himself in harm's way. Curley’s motive for wanting to kill Lennie was spite and revenge. So, instead of allowing Lennie to be murdered alone and afraid, George took matters into his own hands and made sure his friend died knowing he was cared for and full of hope. Through it's ironic, George’s choice protected Lennie from the malice of others, thus keeping him unafraid and unharmed. However, others may believe
If someone’s actions are truly innocent, why must someone kill him? Lennie has never done something to inflict pain everything has been unintentional. Lennie was a strong young man, but with a mental illness. Lennie made multiple mistakes, he was murdered and it affected a lot of people including the killer.
Lennie’s unintentional mistakes resulted in the sudden end for him, but was done in the best way possible. As Lennie would’ve been subjected to a life of loss, running and suffering, George correctly made the decision in euthanizing him. While contemplating whether or not to euthanize him, George knew he very well could but it wasn’t the easiest decision to make on his part. If George wouldn’t of made the decision he did, Lennie would’ve had to run for the rest of his life with no account of what happened or what to do due to his mental illness. He would’ve been seen as a criminal and hunted down like animal which is inhumane and cruel. Although his mishaps weren’t meant to be as extreme as they were, the consequences were foreshadowed throughout
Within the beginning of the story, the dynamic of George and Lennie’s relationship is introduced, one that is uncommon and presents a fatherly vibe. The readers are thrown into the novel at the height of the great depression, an economic catastrophe that shook the world. Within these dark time, an unlikely friendship is in full blossom and we are meet by Lennie and George setting up camp for the night by a riverbed. After the duo’s personalities are expressed, they begin to set up the idea of a commonly shared dream which exists according to Lennie “Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie is seen as a quite simple minded and extremely dim-witted character from just the first
In conclusion, George killing Lennie was a murder because of lack of consent and Lennie was not suffering physically. In this society, people are scared of the unknown, and that is how they lived. No one realized what they were doing was wrong. But Lennie was just like everyone else, only different because of a small, mental setback. The characters did not seem to realize that Lennie believed in a future ahead of him, and that he had hopes and dreams just like them. Life is incredibly short, and no one should deserve
Mercy Killing In the book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, two men travel together to escape their pasts. They arrive at a ranch in the Salinas Valley with hopes of achieving their ultimate dream: to buy a place to call their own. Lennie, who is a simple-minded man, and George, who is just a typical guy, are brought together and make a lasting friendship out of the loneliness of each man. While spending time on the farm, George and Lennie meet some friendly characters, but because of some accidental deaths, their dreams drift away.
Is There Mercy in Murder? Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two men who care for each other very deeply. They have financial struggles and one partner with mental disabilities. They battle their hardships together, but when Lennie, the mentally disabled, makes a mistake and kills someone, it forces George to have to take away Lennie’s life. Critics believe George Milton committed cold-blooded murder when he killed his close companion, Lennie Small.
John Steinbeck wrote a story about two men that only had each to depend on. Many of George and Lennie's struggles come from things they cannot control such as Lennie's mental issues. George and Lennie are very poor and they work on farms together, but they have to move a lot because Lennie always does something stupid. The greatest tragedy in Mice and Men was when Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife. She was the reason why Lennie ended up being killed. She knew of to manipulate others to get her way and that is what she relies on most of the time.
In today’s world, only five states allow Mercy Killings, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, California, and Vermont. Brittany Maynard is a person who actually described why she wanted to “kill herself”. Brittany decided she wanted to take part in a mercy killing by reason of she was destined to die anyways. In 2009, Brittany was diagnosed with a brain tumor and she would most likely die within six months. She believes it would be better for her to die on her own terms, and while she was comfortable. In fact, she dies in her own bed surrounded by her family. Much more of a comfortable death than what would've happened if she decided to let the tumor run it’s course. According to “Death With Dignity Advocate Brittany Maynard Dies in Oregon” by Bill Briggs, Brittany died peacefully, and on her own terms. This connects the killing of Lennie Small because George also ensures Lennie dies peacefully. George is simply giving Lennie a better
How would you feel if one of your close friends killed one of their friends, but had a reason for doing it? Would you see them as a murderer? As my class is discussing the book ¨Of Mice and Men¨ George shot Lennie and most people believe that George had a justification as to murdering Lennie. I personally don’t agree with that; I believe George murdering Lennie wasn’t justified because it goes against The Bible, the law, and it was premeditated.
Mercy killing, the act of taking someone who is undertaking immense pain or suffering, is required in situations such as Lennie’s, where someone is in the utmost danger of a slow, painful, and torturous death. George and Lennie’s situation offers a prime example of a mercy kill in ethical circumstance which the assisted death of another should be excused as morally justifiable. Therefore, mercy killing should not only be allowed, but we are obligated to act in a situation where someone is suffering as much as