Everyone makes difficult decisions. George felt though an extremely difficult choice, killing Lennie himself was the right decision. Curley was gonna get his revenge and George did not want that because he did not want Lennie to die painfully. “‘I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts.’”(Steinbeck 96). When Lennie killed Curley’s wife, Curley wanted to give him the most painful death. Curley wanted to shoot Lennie in the stomach which wouldn’t kill you at first, Instead you would bleed out slowly and painfully. George didn’t want Lennie to suffer so he knew he had to get to Lennie before Curley did and kill Lennie the fastest and least painful death he could which he did. Lennie would be arrested and thrown in jail for …show more content…
what he did. “‘An’ s’pose they lock him in a cage.
That ain’t no good, George.’”(Steinbeck 97). Because Lennie killed Curley’s wife, he committed a felony. George wanted Lennie to be thrown in jail at first. He wanted Lennie to be arrested because he thought it was the best thing for Lennie but then Slim told him it would not be good for Lennie. It would be bad for Lennie because Lennie would not understand his rights because he’s mentally challenged and locking him up in a cage would just hurt Lennie. George then realized he needed to kill Lennie so nobody would mistreat him. George is protecting others from Lennie.”’Lennie-if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before…’”(Steinbeck 15). George has been with Lennie for many years and he knows how Lennie will never learn and he will keep committing bad stuff. George knew something was going to happen at the ranch because Lennie has always done something wrong. George tried to prevent something from going wrong but he couldn’t. As a result he had to put down Lennie so he would not hurt anyone ever again. George felt the hard choice of killing Lennie was the right decision for George because Curley wanted to get his revenge, Lennie would be mistreated in prison and he was
protecting other people from Lennie. Even though for George it was a hard decision to befriend Lennie, in his heart he felt it was the right choice. George could’ve had a better life without Lennie.”’ if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble.’”(Steinbeck 11). George chose to stay with Lennie and to keep moving from place to place . George did this instead of settling down and living his dream. He knew Lennie would of been better off with him so he befriended Lennie. Lennie can not take care of himself and George knew that. “‘ Used to play jokes on ‘im ‘cause he was too dumb to care of ‘imself.’”(Steinbeck 40). Lennie is mentally challenged. He did not even know when a joke was being played on him and he could not speak for himself. George had to be there for Lennie and he knew that. Lennie would of been lonely without George. “‘When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just came along with me out workin’.’”(Steinbeck 40). Before the ranch, all Lennie had was his Aunt Clara and George. Then when Aunt Clara died, Lennie only had George. George knew he could not leave Lennie because isolation would just hurt Lennie since he can not do anything himself. George knew he could of lived a better life without Lennie but he knew Lennie could not take care of himself and he would of lived in isolation.
As we journey through life, we must make difficult decisions, even when few options exist and the situation is grim. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the decision George faces after Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife is complicated, as none of his choices are good. The importance of his relationship with Lennie forces George to look at the big picture and act in Lennie’s best interests, even though the action he must finally take will result in a weight that he will carry forever.
George shoots Lennie because he sees what the other people on the ranch would do to Lennie. After asking Curley if he could not shoot Lennie, Curley tells George that, "'I’m gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im'" (50). This shows that the others on the ranch weren't going to consider that Lennie was disabled, and Curley would try to make his death very painful. This gives George a motivation to kill Lennie: so he could make his death as painless as possible. This makes the reader have sympathy towards George. Additionally, the result of George killed Lennie, who would be the closest person to George to die at his hands, leaves George devastated that he had to do something like that to his best friend. Even though it is the best option and if I were in that scenario, the thing I would do, it understandably still makes his feel heart-broken. Ultimately, the whole book has made me feel sympathy towards George, but the ending makes me feel so much
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
If Lennie survived, society would have discriminated against him, even tortured him. Yes, George also committed murder, but he acted out of self-defense and stopped other situations like this from happening. If Curley got ahold of him, he would’ve tortured Lennie. Ultimately, George cared for Lennie, and he would do anything to keep him safe and happy. They were best friends. George didn’t kill him ruthlessly like Curly would have. He shot Lennie mercifully. George simply wanted the best for him. With that in mind, George shot Lennie to help
After Lennie makes his mistake of killing Curley's wife the other characters want to brutally kill him being led by Curley but George who realises that this is a cruel way for Lennie to die and that he can’t save Lennie he decides that Lennie must have a merciful death. The reader infers when Curley says “ ‘I know who done it,[...][It was lennie].I know he done it. [...] I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun[...]I’ll shoot him in the guts’ ” ( 96). In this quote we understand that Curley plans on killing Lennie but in a more painful way than Lennie deserves. Thus George realizes that Lennie is about to be killed in a horrific way so he intervenes and kills Lennie in a peaceful way. This shows that mercy killing is to be done over the horrific way that Curley wants to take out Lenie. Because Lennie would have a much worse death than needed and Lennie could have put up a fight, George completes a mercy killing as the safest
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,
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
George did not ask Lennie if he wanted to be killed. Mercy killings are usually a patient requesting the action, so it’s usually not done without consent like the situation in this book. Also, there were many other options for Lennie like him living in the mountains as he mentions. “‘George gonna wish he was alone an’ not have me botherin’ him.’ He turned his head and looked at the bright mountaintops. ‘I can go right off there an' find a cave,’ he said. And he continued sadly, '--an' never have no ketchup--but I won't care. If George don't want me...I'll go away. I'll go away'"(Steinbeck 100). The evidence proves that there were other options than killing Lennie. He could have lived in the mountains with or without George. They could have hidden in the brush somewhere far away from Curley, and none of these actions would’ve been necessary.
There is only one way an author can get their readers to cry, laugh, and love or just enjoy their master pieces. That one way is through the uses of literary devices such as similes, metaphors and personification. These are the small things that brings the author`s thoughts and ideas alive. The author`s ability to use literary devices through the book helps in direct characterization and lets readers get a better understanding of Lennie and George, the two main characters Of Mice and Men. It also helps in keeping readers thinking on their feet and constantly questioning George and Lennie`s next move while in Salinas, California. John Steinbeck, in his novel Of Mice and Men, makes use of similes and foreshadowing to keep readers in touch with the characters and at the edge of their seats throughout the story.
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.
Another reason why it was a good thing that George shot Lennie was because if the other guys would have shot him they would not have shot him so he died right away like George did. On pg 92 Curley proudly stated “I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself.” Finally, to keep Lennie out of trouble, George shot him. Lennie was always getting in trouble, but before George shot Lennie, George told him something I think he had wanted to say for a long time. On page 101 George said “Ain’t gonna be no more trouble.” to Lennie.
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.
Because in the book ‘men of mice’ Lennie already got in trouble at the place called weed because he loved this girls dress so he grabbed it and wouldn’t let go so she screamed which got the law involved in it and they had to get away. Also Lennie killed Curliest wife by grabbing her hair which shows that if George didn’t kill him himself then that would mean that Lennie would get in trouble again and do something that could get him killed and George can’t always be there to save him from all the
While there were other elements at play, Lennie had to do with the majority of them. Not only his mental disability, which often got both him and George into trouble, but his inability to recognize his own strength. This leads to him accidentally killing Curley’s wife. He snapped her neck without even realizing that he had. “And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (Steinbeck, 5) - this quote tells what happened to her, and he does not know that he did it. Curley, given his already hostile disposition towards Lennie, is beyond furious. He intends to kill Lennie. So, in his cleverness, George misleads them, and goes to find Lennie at his sanctuary, where he goes whenever there’s trouble. George took Carlson’s gun with him, realizing and knowing what he had to do. When he found Lennie, they chatted for a while, and George made sure Lennie was distracted. He then raised the gun to the back of Lennie’s head and pulled the trigger, instantly killing Lennie. This is commonly known as a “mercy killing”. Another example of a mercy killing is bringing your pet, whether it be old, diseased, injured, etc, to the vet to have it put down, put to sleep, etc. George did this not only for Lennie, out of benevolence as opposed to what Curley might do, but for himself and for the greater good. Case in point, this unforeseen event dissipates the dream, as George shared it with Lennie, and with Lennie out of the picture, there’s no reason to continuing said dream, if a major part of it is gone and
George killed Lennie purely out of love, compassion, and to save him from being locked up in jail or shot by Curley. After George and Candy find Curley’s wife dead, they debate whether or not Lennie should be punished for his crimes. Candy and George argue, “‘He’s such a nice fella. I didn’ think he’d do nothing like this.’ George still stared at Curely’s [dead] wife. ‘Lennie never done it in meanness,’ he said. ‘All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of ‘em mean,’” (Steinbeck 95). This shows that Lennie cannot apprehend situations that go on around him and that taking his life would mean no one else's life is being put at risk by him. Therefore, George shooting Lennie was the appropriate decision to make for himself, Lennie, and the rest of society. On the same note, a man in Ohio shoots his wife because he believes she never would have gotten better after experiencing a triple aneurysm that put her on life support.