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In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, the killing of Candy’s dog is mirrored by the killing of Lennie. Candy’s dog was no good to himself or anyone else because of how old he was, however Lennie was just a danger to other people. The only real difference between the killings was that Carlson killed Candy’s dog while George killed Lennie. Both killings were with a bullet to the back of the head, with the same gun, for a painless death on the victim. The killing of Candy’s dog mirrors the killing of Lennie because the were both killed with the same gun in the same way, both were mercy killings, both were killed in solitary places.
“I killed my best friend,” was the exact thought that hovered in George as he watched his best friend, Lennie, recumbent, cold, and still, on the grass by the riverbanks. In the book of Mice and Men, George faced the dilemma of knowing that he had killed the one he loved the most. Though it was no accident, it was for the good of Lennie. If Lennie had been allowed to live, he would only face the worst of what life has to offer. So instead of having to watch his best friend in pain, George took the initiative to end all of the cruelty of the world and send Lennie to a better place. Therefore, George was justified in killing Lennie.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck follows the life of two men trying to achieve the American Dream. A recurring circumstance that affects many of the characters in this historical fiction novella is injury. One of these characters impacted by an injury is Candy. Candy’s injury demonstrates his decreasing chances of living the American Dream as time goes on through its location, cause, and permanence.
This shows throughout the book with the many different mistakes Lennie makes. Lennie starts off by killing mice, then he kills a puppy and finally a woman! After Lennie kills Curley’s wife George responds by saying “I should of knew… I guess maybe way back of my head I did.”(Steinbeck 94). George knew it was gonna come to this and he probably also had a feeling Lennie was going to continue to kill more people or animals. Plus, when the character in the book; Candy asks who did it, George says “Ain’t you got anr idea?”(Steinbeck 94). That shows that George knew he was gonna have to do something about Lennie. George was going to have to do something about Lennie sometime, and after George killed a woman he knew there would be no other choice that to kill Lennie through non voluntary
In the book it reads “Got no teeth, damn near blind, can’t eat. Candy feeds him milk. He can’t chew nothing else” (Steinbeck 36). This evidence supports my argument because it shows Candy’s dog being in pain. Candy’s dog deserves to be put out of his misery because of his suffering. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, it reads “And at his heels there walked a drag footed sheep dog, gray of muzzle with pale, old eyes. The dog stuggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth eaten coat” (Steinbeck 24). This shows the dog has been in agony and is very old with his suffering self. This evidence supports my argument because Candy’s dog needs help getting around how Lennie needs help when he gets in trouble. By shooting Candy’s dog, Carlson offers mercy to his dog. Mercy killing can also happen in real life
is in the air. Animals begin to scatter. Two men have arrived on the scene,
I am not the type of girl that gets startled easily but, you can’t help but to get chills when you watch the film Candy Man and read the novel The Forbidden. Both perspectives of this scary yet insightful figure is enough to keep you on your toes while following each story. The Candy Man and The Forbidden keeps you intrigued with its turns and twist to the story. I found it hard to follow the story line but, this worked to the writers benefit. The twist and turns forced me to pay attention to things I would have missed if everything was clear. One aspect of both stories that was clear was, the difference between the image of the Candy Man in the Candy Man and The Forbidden.
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
As a young dog, Candy?s dog was an excellent sheep dog and Lennie is an exceptional worker. Both Lennie and the dog were shot with Carlson?s gun at the back of their head. Carlson reasons with Candy in explaining that if he shot him in that location it would be painless. Knowing that Lennie was shot in the back of the head, George intentionally did this for him to have a more peaceful, pleasant death. By examining George?s notion of killing Lennie, it is valid to say that his act was one of thoughtfulness and benevolence.
Lennie's killing of mice and later his killing of the puppy sets up a pattern that the reader expects to be followed. George's story about Lennie and the little girl with the red dress, which he tells twice, adds to this expectancy, as do the shooting of Candy's d...
Steinbeck connects Candy with his dog in order to suggest that humans have created a society where the weak cannot survive. Earlier in the book, Candy describes his dog as the “best damn sheep dog I ever seen” (Steinbeck 44). However, in lines 9 and 10, Candy reiterates that the other workers shot his dog because “he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else.” As soon as the dog outgrows its usefulness by becoming old and blind, the other tenants team up to ensure its death, suggesting how society joins together to dispose of those who are weak. Steinbeck then connects Ca...
George begins to hear the footsteps of the other men. To prevent the men from killing Lennie, George decides he has to kill Lennie himself. The scene is almost parallel to when Carlson shot Candy’s dog and Candy regretted that he did not kill his dog himself, but allowed a complete stranger to do it. As George talks to Lennie about the dream farm, “.[George] raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. He pulled the trigger.
and says he will shoot him at the back of his head so he won't feel it
Lennie accidentally killing all of his pets establishes that the theme of this novel is death and loss. These pets consist of mice, dogs, kittens, etc. Lennie loves to feel and pet animals, but he does not know his own strength. He kills them without really noticing what he has done, until George tells him that he did something wrong. After being scolded, Lennie is very remorseful about what he did. Once, after being yelled at Lennie says, “I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead- because they were so little (13).” Lennie’s remorse is probably more for upsetting George than it is for actually killing the animal.
Lennie had got into trouble towards the end of the book. He killed the boss’s, who he was working for, son’s wife. She did not have a name;, she just went by “Curley’s wife.”. Lennie was playing with her hair because he said he liked soft things. Curley’s wife was a flirt;, she got around. She allowed him to touch her hair. Lennie was very strong and aggressiveaggresive about this, but he did not realize it because he is slow and mentally challenged. “She jerked her hair sideways, and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on. Let go, she cried. You let go!” (Steinbeck 91). Lennie kept the tight grip on her hair and shook her to make her be quiet before she gets him in trouble. When he shook her, he snapped her neck, and she died instantly. He knew he had done something wrong and he panicked. “He looked down at her, and she lay still. I don’t want ta hurt you, he said, but George’ll be mad if you yell. When she didn’t answer nor move he bent closely over her. He lifted her arm and let it drop. For a moment he seemed bewildered. And then he whispered in fright, “I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing (Steinbeck 91).” When George found Lennie at his hiding spot where George told him to go if he ever got into any trouble,. hHe shot him in the back of the head to save Lennie less trouble than he already was in. George knows he was wrong for this, but he knew he was right too because he saved Lennie from the trouble he was going to get
This single event avalanches and caused the rest of the melancholy ending, which eventually led to his demise. In Of Mice and Men it states, “Suddenly his anger arose. "God damn you," he cried. "Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice." He picked up the pup and hurled it from him. He turned his back on it. He sat bent over his knees and he whispered, "Now I won't get to tend the rabbits. Now he won't let me." He rocked himself back and forth in his sorrow.” This quote shows how Lennie's anger got the better of him and he killed the dog. If Lennie had pet the dog softer, he wouldn’t have gotten into this mess and he would have been alive to have his dream come true. Unfortunately, because of Lennie’s failure of consciousness, he had killed the dog, and inevitably, killed