How Does George Kill Lennie Friendship

One of the defining components of humanity is that humans are able to develop close relationships with one another, unlike any other species. Although sometimes diversity limits who we befriend, despite everything friendship is one of the most powerful bonds. People will go to great lengths to protect their friends. Similarly in the friendship of Lennie and George in which they have to surpass many obstacles to protect one another. In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses the characters of Lennie, who is strong and faces many predicaments with his mental health and George who is intelligent and sympathetic. These two individuals demonstrate that friendship has no boundaries, it is clear that Lennie has a disability making his relationship

with George difficult, but they put their differences aside and form a strong friendship. Even though Lennie is troubled. George has been always there for Lennie when he makes mistakes and he always helps him, he stays with him because he knows no one's perfect especially Lennie.

The fight scene creates tension between Lennie and Curley because Lennie seems to have no self control and when he harms people he is unaware of the damage this has to his dream of getting a small ranch with George and he also not only hurts himself with his actions but it also affects other individuals. In the middle of the novella, Lennie and George had just finished discussing their future when slim and Curley walk in and Carlson makes a remark about Curley's wife, Lennie finds himself smiling in pure bliss over how he is going to have bunnies. Curley then mistakes his smile and thinks that Lennie is mocking him. Curley then throws the first punch and Lennie is confused and cannot seem to fight back, but then George yells out, “ I said get him”(Steinbeck 63). Lennie finally has the audacity to fight back but he is not capable of controlling his own strength. He has little understanding of the situation, so when he is told to fight back, he over does it, hurting Curley in the process of defending himself, ultimately Lennie's violence has interfered with many of their past jobs. He also has trouble controlling his body so when he grabs hold of Curley’s hand everyone starts to yell at him and George exclaims,"Leggo his hand Lennie"(Steinbeck 64). Lennie gets really nervous and cannot let go of things when people yell at him so he panics and breaks Curley’s hand. George is worried about the consequences of his actions so he tries to stop him from hurting Curley any further. This traumatized many readers because Lennie shows what he can actually do to people that mistreat him. Even though he is unaware of how strong he is just the knowledge that he can break someone so easily is very intimidating.

Additionally, the scene where Lennie murders Curley’s wife is one of the most suspenseful because it displays his lack of empathy towards others and how he has little understanding of his actions . When Curley's wife tells Lennie to feel her hair because he likes soft things he cannot let go of her hair and when she begins to yell for help he panics and covers her mouth and says, “ I don't want you to yell . You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will” (Steinbeck 91). Instead of Lennie realizing he is doing something wrong he is worried about the aftermath and how George is going to react once he finds out that he hurt Curley’s wife. All he really seems to think about is George he does not take in the fact that he is strong and he can easily hurt anyone and anything. He really lacks empathy when he kills Curley’s wife because he only seems like he is sorry for a mere second and then he quickly thinks about George’s reaction and how he will not let him tend the rabbits. Once he has accidentally broken her neck, he is about to leave when he takes one last look at the dead girl and the puppy and he says,“ I'll throw him away, It’s bad enough like it is” (steinbeck 92). He does not remotely stop to feel sorrow for killing either one of them. His mind cannot seem to process that he just murdered a person and killed a puppy. When Lennie is in stressful situations he quickly loses his ability of judgment and reason, thus he has a lack of control over his strength and emotions making him vulnerable to hurt people and animals.

When George kills Lennie, he does it out of mercy because he knows that Lennie is becoming a menace to society, he knows he will have to live with himself for the rest of his life but he takes that choice rather than letting Lennie suffer.

The mob of the ranch workers want more than to just kill him, they want to torture him to death. Before George kills him, he makes Lennie visualize the land and bunnies, they were supposed to buy. As he is telling him about their future together " George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head . The hand shook violently , but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger"(Steinbeck 106). George by the end of the story has no more optimism left to take care of Lennie because no matter how many times George tells him not to do something he does it anyways. He knows that his best option is to kill Lennie even though this would be considered a heartless act. George has no other alternative because he cannot run away with Lennie, since he assassinated someone they would look for them and Lennie might just commit the same felony wherever they go. After George kills Lennie the ranch workers come and find Lennie dead and they ask George how he did it and “[when he replied] George’s voice was almost a whisper. He looked steadily at his right hand that held the gun” (Steinbeck 107). Somewhere deep down George knew that killing Lennie was the best option for Lennie's sake.

George has to live with this weight that will weigh him down till the day he dies. He would rather kill his friend with a painless death rather than watch him get killed by strangers.

Lennie had some disabilities that forbade him from feeling sorrow, but George on the other hand was well aware that he had just murdered someone.

Murder is murder, no matter what and him killing Lennie makes him just as cold-hearted but for him it is much more dreadful because he knew exactly what he was doing. When he kills Lennie you can sense that a part of George dies as well. The price of having a best friend is that you will do anything to keep them from pain and sadness, even if it means killing them and a part of yourself. In the end he lost his best friend and a part of himself.

All in all George and Lennie reveal the hardships of friendship and the dilemmas they can cause but everyone needs a best friend. Friends look out for one another and will give up anything to make each one another happy. When one picks friends one puts the differences aside and looks for the good qualities because in the end no one is perfect. Lennie and George understand this and they make it clear that mistakes do not define us because once something is done there is no turning

back.