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George in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was more than justified to kill his best friend, Lennie because he was protecting him from all the atrocious things that were going to happen after Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife. George was his Lennie’s best friend and even though it was reasonably tough he did it for the greater good. George and Lennie make it to the ranch in Soledad, California and there they meet people and go through situations that by the end of the story there is only one man left. In my opinion, George was justified in killing Lennie because he knew there was no way out of this and because he just wanted to protect him. George knew that even if they got away this time that it wasn’t going to be long …show more content…
That is what he was used to was protecting Lennie. He wanted what was best for him. Some may say that there is no possible way you could shoot somebody out of devotedness but George did. Accordingly, Lennie may have gotten on George’s nerves at times and George may have been mean, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love and care for him. Even when Lennie felt distress because of something George would say he always knew he had to protect him. He says “No--look! I was jus' foolin', Lennie. 'Cause I want you to stay with me. Jesus Christ, somebody'd shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn't like you running off by yourself, even if she is dead.” This quote proves that no matter what, fighting or not, George would protect him. That’s all he’s ever done and shooting him in the back of the head was the only way he saw to protect him one last time. You protect the people you love and I genuinely believe that is what George was doing. He was saving him from the other consequences which would have been way worse than what George did. He also didn’t do it out of hate, but he did it out of all of the sympathy and love he had for him. George would rather live with killing him then having to live his life knowing that he could have done something to save him from what the others were going to do to
...e ever since they were children. Lennie knew that he owed George for all that he had done for him over the years. Other than that, Lennie just loved George and wanted to be with him. He hated the thought of making George angry. Often times Lennie said he could go by himself and live in a cave if George really did not want to be with him. It was obvious that Lennie could never really think of leaving George. Lennie stayed loyal to George until the very end, unaware of what would happen. Even though George did care for Lennie, he did not give Lennie the loyalty and friendship back like he deserved. It was easy for Lennie to be so loyal partially because of his simple mindedness. He almost acted like a puppy, following around its owner and trying to defend it. If only George realized what a good friend he had in Lennie.
Should George have shot his friend Lennie? George probably did the right thing by shooting Lennie. How can we condemn George for sparing his friend Lennie the pain and fear of being killed by someone else? He did something society sees as wrong, but he did it for a good reason. Lennie didn’t deserve to die, but there was no other alternative. Curley wanted to kill Lennie, and since George cared for Lennie, he figured the best thing would be for him to put Lennie out of his misery.
Killing someone is never right. No one pointed a single finger to George for killing Lennie. They all thought it was ok since Lennie killed Curley’s wife, it is not ok to kill a person. All of them went out to drink after Lennie was dead. George did not even care, Lennie trusted George with everything. Lennie would probably be arrested for killing Curley’s wife, but he did not deserve to be killed. Lennie was a special person, he did not know his own strength. He never meant to kill Curley’s wife. George knew that but decided to kill Lennie anyways. That is not the definition of a true friend. No one accused George of anything, but instead were happy that Lennie ended up being
Behind George’s impulsive enigma you can see just how much he wants to be accepted and make friends. Isolated and lonely, George bullied children who were smaller than him and appeared as ‘easy targets’ because deep down he didn't feel good about himself and wanted to be accepted due to his learning difficulties and other assorted problems. George readily agrees to the invitation to Sam’s birthday, seeing the trip as an opportunity to finally make friends. You see a glimpse of his caring nature when he gives Sam a birthday present, using all his savings to purchase him a water pistol, and ensuring he likes it. However, he was unaware of the true purpose of his invitation by the resentful Sam, forcing you to sympathise further on George and expressing his innocence and desperation to form friendships. This is further demonstrated later in the film where he lies and tells the group that he smokes cigarettes in hopes to be accepted in the group and appear as ‘cool’ by doing the things they
When Mr. Potter asked him to join his side so he could get more money, George thought better of himself and decided the best thing to do was to turn down the deal even though it was a once in a lifetime deal. George didn’t want to do it, but he at sometime had to face up to the problem of not getting to see the world like he wanted to when he was younger.
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,
George shouldn’t go to jail for killing Lennie, even though Lennie was completely innocent. Lennie is illiterate and ill-informed. He killed Curley's wife and many animals and to keep people safe from him would be hard. He might of had to just stay in one place all day alone, that isn't good for a human. Lennie's death could save many lives.
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
I disagree and believe George’s heroic journey instead led him to the mercy killing of Lennie. George Milton and Lennie Small are both introduced in the novel at the same time as being close companions. George kills Lennie without malice, but with compassion, and therefore the death of Lennie is a mercy killing and not a murder. George is faced with the ultimate obstacle of his life, which is killing his longtime friend, so that the men from the ranch cannot torture him, kill him, or throw him into jail.
After Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attack. He had the moral clarity that let him see that killing Lennie was the best thing for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing.
In ending of "Of Mice And Men", George kills Lennie after he killed Curley's wife. However, I can still feel sympathy towards George, and see his action as justifiable. In the beginning of the book I had sympathy towards George. The book starts with George talking to Lennie and from this you learn a lot about their relationship. After Lennie asks for ketchup, which they can't get, George gets angry at Lennie and says, “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble" (6). This shows the reader that George has given up a lot to take care of Lennie. He has given up his job security and a lot of his happiness because he takes care of Lennie. In chapter 3, the reader finds out how George and Lennie started traveling together, and from this the reader can infer that George travels
“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.
However, similar to the previous case, as vulnerable as George makes Lennie, he also makes him a better person. In the beginning of their relationship, George often teased Lennie to the point that one may call ‘bullying’. At the time, George didn’t think he was doing any harm. However, he made Lennie extremely vulnerable. While George is talking to Slim in chapter three, George explains one time when he made Lennie extremely vulnerable. George says, “Tell you what made me stop that [bullying Lennie]. One day a bunch of guys was standin’ around up on the Sacremento River. I was feelin’ pretty smart. I turns to Lennie and says, ‘Jump in.’ An’ he jumps. Couldn’t swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we could get him… Well, I ain’t done nothing like that no more” (40). Obviously, George has had a history of tormenting Lennie to the point of making him so vulnerable that he almost drowned. However, the last thing that George said in the quote is very important. “I ain’t done nothing like that no more.” Instead of picking on Lennie, George decided that it was his responsibility to look out for him. By doing this, he essentially became Lennie’s ‘helping hand’. Ever since Lennie’s aunt Clara died, George has been right there to help him find a job and live as if he didn’t have a mental disability. Even though finding a job would be incredibly easier without Lennie, George took the risk of letting Lennie
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.
George did not want to kill Lennie, but at the same time, he did not want him to have to suffer the horrible consequences; he knew that Lennie’s death would be beneficial to Lennie in the future. Furthermore, George knew what was best for Lennie and decided to kill him for his own good.