A companionship forms when one suffers a period of loneliness and finds another being with similar interests. In an instance to save his companion’s life from a miserable death, George takes matters into his own hands. George killing Lennie justifies his comradery due to the fact that George does not want others to harm him for his naive mistakes. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, he portrays social pressure upons one’s special characteristics and abilities. Lennie is a mentally impaired man who has unbelievable strength. His super strength makes him a threat to society and to himself. Lennie is not able to contain his desire to pet or touch something soft, “Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress.” He is oblivious to his nature, and does not realize the result of when he touches something. His strength causes the death of Curley’s wife, due to the fact her neck broke. The more he feels her hair, the stronger his grip became. In his mind, …show more content…
Lennie does not “want to do a bad thing,” because George will “give him hell,” but his own eagerness and desire leads him to his death that awaits in his near future. Eagerness and desire to pet and touch soft things is what starts the process that gets him in trouble and makes him a threat. George killing Lennie is a sense of mercy.
George cares for Lennie, but Lennie’s naive characteristics leads them both to trouble. Lennie is essentially on the run due to the crime he commits; that is why Curley and his men are on a manhunt to kill Lennie. Lennie also becomes a hinderance to George; Lennie’s desire to pet soft things never led to a stable life. No matter all the accidents Lennie gets George into, their bond of a companionship never broke. George never leaves Lennie’s side, and Lennie never leaves George. “Cause I want you to stay with me.” They both need each other to reach the one goal, which is to own a ranch. From all the experiences together, George is the only character who has the right to take Lennie’s life, since George is the only one who understands Lennie and he is his caretaker. “When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’, got kind used to each other after a while.” Proving the long term relationship George has with Lennie, and everything they endure on a daily
bases. George has the right to take the life of Lennie due to the fact that Lennie is his responsibility. No matter how much of a hard time Lennie gives George, he is always there to protect him from society. “I want you to come right here an’ hide in the bush.” He warns and makes Lennie memorize where to go if ever in trouble, as a way to protect him. George shoots Lennie as an act of love, George also does not want Lennie to go through a torturing. As a companion to Lennie, George has the right of peacefully killing Lennie. “Look across that river … we gonna get a little place … well have maybe pigs an’ chicken.” This symbolism portrays just as George shoots Lennie, he also shoots the dream that could have become a reality. George kills Lennie by making him realize what they could have had but came short due to the circumstance Lennie got himself into. Through their adventurous journey, the two survive in the world by clinging onto a dream that could make or break their future, but due to the their actions the dream comes short when Lennie makes his final mistake. Their bond of a companionship never broke apart, even though Lennie gets himself and George in trouble, such as by breaking Curley’s wife’s neck; George never gave up on Lennie. The end result is that George is the only person in Lennie’s life who actually took care of him and had the right of performing his last duty by taking his life. George shooting Lennie ends his life peacefully, and he gets rid of the Lennie, who became a threat to society.
As George becomes aware of the situation he begins to ponder what will happen if Lennie gets away. George understands that Lennie would not be capable of providing for himself out in the wild. As George contemplates allowing Lennie to be free of all the men, he “[is] a long time in answering” (94). George is one of the few men who understands Lennie’s mental limitations, he knows Lennie would not remember how to survive and “the poor bastard’d starve” (94). He
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
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.
Lennie's stupidity and carelessness constantly causes him to unintentionally harm people and animals. When he gets into sticky situations, George is there to help him get out of them. Ever since Lennie's Aunt Clara died, George has felt that he has a sense of duty
The issue of loyalty is embodied in the character of George. He is an intelligent man who could make a successful living for himself on his own. He chooses to stay beside his friend Lennie. George can never get a steady job to fulfill his long-term goal of having his own farm. The first job that Lennie and George have together goes well for a while. Eventually Lennie ruins everything that is going good for them. Lennie sees a pretty dress that a girl is wearing. Without thinking about what he is doing, he goes up and grabs the dress to feel the nice fabric. This scares the girl and she tells the boss. Soon the whole town is after Lennie. This is the perfect time for George to start a new life, without Lennie. However, because of his loyalty to Lennie, he chooses to help Lennie escape from the town. Lennie needs George to survive. It is this that propels George to make the sacrifice that he does. After Lennie kills Curley’s wife, George knows that this is the end for Lennie. No matter what, someone will eventually kill Lennie. And if Lennie gets away this time, there will be another time, and eventually the inevitable will happen. He truly loves Lennie, so he shoots Lennie painlessly in the back of the head. Lennie dies with the happy thought of the dream of the farm they want to own some day.
Consistently throughout the story George and Lennie were there for each other; in fact towards the very beginning Lennie and George discussed how they were better off than most guys because they had each other (14). When George killed Lennie a part of him died too, George knew murdering Lennie would hurt him mentally and emotionally. However he did it because he wanted what was best for his friend no matter the cost. His actions were altruistic and that made his decision the more favorable one. Another instance when George was selfless was when he gave up his dream. Throughout the story George and Lennie dreamed of and worked towards owning their own piece of land together. However, after discovering Curley’s wife dead, George returned to reality and informed Candy that they would, “never do her” (94). After losing his friend George understood the impossibility of achieving the American Dream. Beforehand George knew he would not want to live out his dream without Lennie, so by protecting Lennie and giving up on his own dream he put Lennie above himself. Conversely, someone may believe that George's actions were selfish and that he benefits himself by killing Lennie. After George comes after Lennie, the dim-witted man asks if George was going to yell at him. Reluctantly George told him “If I was alone, I could live so easy,” (103). Although George said
George says that none of his other friends are quite like Lennie. They did not have a true relationship with him. George also says that Lennie is an annoyance most of the time, but he got used to it and eventually could not get rid of him. This shows that George is lonely, due to the loss of Lennie. It is proven that Lennie causes George to realize his need for others in his life.
Is there ever a good time to kill someone? George was put in a tight spot. Should he kill Lennie or should he not kill him? If someone’s in pain or asks to be killed is it alright to kill them? George killed Lennie did he have the right? Did George have a choice? Was it the right or wrong thing to do? These are the questions that will be answered in this paper.
The emotional symbiosis between George and Lennie helps each man. Lennie’s attachment to George is most strongly visible when Crooks suggests George is not coming back. Lennie is almost moved to hysterics and his fear does not quickly abate. George prefers to feign dislike for Lennie to Lennie’s face: “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail” (7). When pressed, George reveals his true feelings for Lennie. “I want you to stay with me Lennie” (13). They stay together because “It’s a lot easier to go around with a guy you know” (35). Both men need and value their strong emotional relationship.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about the friendship between George Milton and Lennie Small, who travel together due to the fact that Lennie suffered a childlike mental illness and someone needed to take care of him. Lennie only listens to his friend George, no matter what George may say. This novel shows characteristics of their true friendship and George's compassion towards his companion. George shows acts of love and kindness out of sympathy for Lennie, yet he also seems to show an unconscious effort to make up for Lennie’s mental impairment.
In the end Lennie caused a big conflict by killing Curley's wife. This lead George to kill Lennie for his own good. If George wouldn’t of killed Lennie, Curley would have killed him in a more brutal way by making him suffer. George and Lennie could have ran away but Curley wasn’t going to give up until he found them. If they would have ran away they both would have been lynched. Killing Lennie was a big decision George had to make, but it was the best for Lennie. Even when Lennie died George managed to make him happy by telling him the story of their dream farm and their plans for it. George was a good friend so he did what a good friend would do in that
Yet what most fail to see is that Of Mice and Men portrays both aspects of human life through the mutual friendship of two uncommon men, George and Lennie, the dream they both share, and the sudden calamity that befalls them. Relationships are an important part of life. Humans need relationships because we are dependent on each other to survive. Babies need their mothers to feed and nurse them, and friends need each other to support, comfort, sympathize, and understand them. The friendship between George and Lennie outlined the core of Of Mice and Men, and although it’s sometimes idealized and exaggerated throughout the novel, there is no question of its sincerity.
Loneliness and Companionship are one of the many themes that are conveyed in the novel Of Mice and Men, By John Steinbeck. Many of the characters admit to suffering from loneliness within the texts. George sets the tone for these confessions early in the novel when he reminds Lennie that the life of living on a ranch is among the loneliest of lives. However Lennie, who is mentally disabled holds the idea that living on a farm very high. "Tending the rabbits" is what Lennie calls it. Often when Lennie is seaking encouragement he askes George to tell him how its going to be. Men like George who migrate from farm to farm rarely have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. George obviously cares a lot for lennie, but is too stubborn to admit to it. The feeling of being shipped from place to place leaves George feeling alone and abandoned.
George’s relationship with Lennie has made him selfless; his conversations, with and with out Lennie, are generally revolving around Lennie, although in the case of their dream-ranch George seems to find fulfilment for himself as well. Due to these altruistic tendencies that he shows throughout the novel, a danger is bestowed upon George; he tends to care for Lennie far too much, and too little for himself. In occasional moments, he escapes his sympathy and compassion for Lennie, and realises the burden that he causes. This usually results in George taking his frustration out on Lennie, which can often harm his simple mind, leaving Lennie upset and forced to confess to his own uselessness, and George feeling guilty for what he has caused. We can learn very little about George through his actual conversations, which made it necessary for Steinbeck to focus the novel on him in particular, and let the reader gain an closer insight on him through his actions. Generally, he seems to be caring, intelligent and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. This illustrates a major theme in Of Mice and Men, the dangers that arise when one becomes involved in a dedicated relationship.
“I want you to stay with me, Lennie. 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 was dead.” (page 13). After Lennie and George fight over the dead mouse, Lennie tells him that George would be better off if Lennie went to the mountains to live in a cave. George doesn’t let him. He tells him that he wants him to stay because not only did George somewhat promise Lennie’s dead Aunt Clara that he would take care of him, but he also learned how to live and adjust with the fact that Lennie has kind of a childish mind.