George And Lennie's Death

What if death followed you and your best friend everywhere you went? In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie were followed by Lennie’s tragic mistakes. George and Lennie were best friends. They were always together. They were best friends, until Lennie had to be euthanized...by George. After one too many run-ins with the law, George had to kill Lennie. There was no way out of that situation, so George had to kill Lennie before he would have been placed in a mental facility, or worse, murdered by a grief stricken husband. George and Lennie were best friends, but Lennie always had death in tow, and his death was inescapable fate. The most important themes that carry throughout this story, are death and friendship. The clay

pieces I made to accompany this paper are roses. One is pink, and one is black. The pink rose symbolizes the ever-present friendship, while the black represents the inevitable death Lennie always carried with him.
George was a very close friend to Lennie, almost like family.

George and Lennie were never lonely. “Guys like us...are the loneliest guys in the world...With us it ain’t like that.”(Steinbeck 13-14) George and Lennie are always together. George stays with Lennie, even through the hardest times. Being a farmhand was a very solitary job. It was impossible to maintain relationships, but George and Lennie never leave each other's side. They were true friends to be able to travel together. Their love and friendship kept them together, even in circumstances where that was a rare occurrence. Lennie needed George, and in a way, George needed Lennie. Neither could live the same life without the other. Lennie always gave George trouble, but he stayed. “You do bad things...You keep me in hot water all the time,”(Steinbeck 11). George knew he could have left at any time, but he loved Lennie, so he stayed. Lennie did things that got him in trouble, and George felt he needed to protect Lennie, so he risked life and limb to keep Lennie safe. George was always watching out for things Lennie might do wrong, and always trying to teach him what he should and shouldn’t do. Lennie didn’t understand, so George was always in a dangerous situation as long as he was around Lennie. But he always stuck by him, up until the gruesome end. George could have lived a normal life without Lennie. “...if I was alone I could live so easy,”(Steinbeck 11). George lived a very different life to anything he could

have lived without Lennie. He could have spent his money on whatever he wanted instead of saving up and only spending on necessities. He could have gone to different restaurants, and kept a job. He could have lived without any limitations, but because of how Lennie is, he had to alter his lifestyle. Lennie made George miserable, but George loved him too much to abandon him. George tried to live with Lennie forever, but Lennie made that difficult. George and Lennie’s friendship was an undying friendship, even in death.
Everything Lennie did was surrounded by death.

Lennie killed several animals, including mice to dogs. “You’ve broke it pettin’ it,”(Steinbeck 9). Lennie killed every animal he put his hands on. He killed mice and puppies. He didn’t know his strength, and when he tried to pet animals, he killed them. He didn’t meant to kill them, but he did. Lennie wasn’t malicious, but to some people, he may have come off that way. He was a sweet soul who loved animals, nevertheless, he couldn’t keep them alive for long. Lennie’s killings were not limited to animals. “Lennie had broken her neck,”(Steinbeck 91) Lennie had crushed the lives out of animals before, but he had gone on to kill a human being. This was manslaughter. Lennie didn’t mean to kill this woman, but it still ended up happening. Lennie was fearful, and didn’t see any choice other than doing what he did, “he shook her,”(Steinbeck 91), and his, “hand...closed over her mouth and nose,”(Steinbeck 91). His actions ended up killing her, but it was not done out of malevolence. Lennie was too strong for his own good, and didn’t know how to control it. Lennie’s manslaughter lead to the death of a dream. “He pulled the trigger,”(Steinbeck 106) George and Lennie were going to have a ranch, with rabbits, dogs, and other animals. It was going to be their’s, which they had not had before. But Lennie’s death marked the end of that hope for George. George had no reason anymore to work for it. Lennie was excited for it, and without both of

their wages, George wouldn’t be able to afford the land. Lennie’s death marked the death of their dreams. Death was everywhere Lennie went, and it eventually had to end, and that it did.
George and Lennie were the bestest of friends. It was the most important thing to both of them. George’s choices were all based on what was the best for Lennie. Lennie was the first thing George ever considered while making choices. Death followed in Lennie’s path, and when it escalated to people, that was a means to an end. George and Lennie’s dreams died with Lennie, but their friendship never will.