Mercy Killing In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

458 Words1 Page

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a novel written about two men named George and Lennie. The book shows a few examples of mercy killing. One of those examples would be when George had to end Lennie’s life. George put down Lennie because Lennie would have been locked up or killed if he had been caught, and if he managed to get away, he wouldn’t be able to take care of himself. Overall, he did the right thing. Lennie, if caught, would be locked up, or even killed. George killed him because that was honestly the best option for Lennie. In that time period, people with mental disabilities were not treated right, and if they hurt someone, they would be killed without mercy. Curley said that would “...shoot ‘im the guts”(96). Shooting someone in the guts isn’t a fast way to die. Curley had every intention to let him die slowly.George offered a quick, painless death. Some might say that he might be happy in an asylum, but back then, asylums didn’t treat the people there with care and …show more content…

He keeps saying that he’ll run away and live in a cave if he got in trouble. Considering that Lennie doesn’t even remember his aunt at certain moments, he wouldn’t have gotten very far. He is “...jus’ like a kid”(43). Many people compare him to a big baby and he isn’t too bright. He also hallucinated for a little bit. Lennie is next to the water, when he starts seeing his aunt and a rabbit, both of them criticising his decisions. He is clearly mentally unstable and unfit to live by himself in the woods. He has always had George with him, and that is the only reason he has lived as long as he had. He is an extremely dependent person due to his disability, so George did the right thing in killing him. Others would say that George and Lennie could go off together and find some other job, but there is no guarantee that he wouldn’t mess up again or that the people wouldn’t find them. All in all, George did the merciful

Show More
Related

  • How Does George Kill Lennie Death In Of Mice And Men

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the reasons why George should have killed Lennie is to keep him out of an institution. It is clearly not on the bright side for Lennie to be put in an institution. This is backed by Slim saying “…An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George.”(pg. 97) Lennie would obviously be miserable without George anyway, his only kind friend. Without George, Lennie wouldn’t know a lot of things he does now, or what to do in situations. Lennie has one of the rare mentalities that always needs someone by their side. These are all good reasons that it would be a good thing for George to put Lennie away rather than in an institution.

    Read More

  • Sympathy For George In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    401 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Essay On Was George Justified In Killing Lennie Justified

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Another option for Lennie would be the placement in an asylum. Here, he would receive food, shelter, mental health treatment, and possibly medication. Finally, Lennie could have also been placed in jail. He would have food and shelter, but more importantly, he would have the protection from the revengeful actions of Curley. However, if allowed to live, Lennie would have suffered. If Lennie were placed in jail, he would have been bullied and assaulted by the other inmates. They would quickly be aware of his mental challenges and take advantage of him. Unfortunately, George would not be there to protect and comfort him. In an asylum, Lennie would have truly suffered. Mental health treatment in the 1930s often consisted of being restrained in a strait jacket or even offered a lobotomy. Many would cringe at the thought of a lobotomy, a process of which certain parts of the brain would be performed surgery on. Lennie’s brain without a lobotomy is already malfunctioning, if he had been offered a lobotomy, he would become nonfunctional. No emotions, no movement,

    Read More

  • How Does Steinbeck Make Difficult Decisions In Of Mice And Men

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Examples Of Euthanasia In Of Mice Of Men

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    One important reason that shows George's actions of killing Lennie is a euthanasia is a very important reason. The reason is that Lennie can't really tell George that that he wants to die, but he actually does in a more indirect way. Lennie's mental state is very low and it would be hard for him to tell George directly and give his constant.

    Read More

  • Lennie's Dignity In Of Mice And Men

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically

    Read More

  • Mercy Killing In John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Why Is Lennie Wrong

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lennie has always been told what to do by George. George really helps him through problems that keep happening during the book. Lennie is incapable to live because he does not know his strength and George has to play the role as a living assistant for Lennie. Lennie does not mean to harm but because of his condition he essentially harms people. In the book it explains the

    Read More

  • Who Is Responsible For Lennie's Death

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Lennie's Mistakes In Of Mice And Men

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lennie’s unintentional mistakes resulted in the sudden end for him, but was done in the best way possible. As Lennie would’ve been subjected to a life of loss, running and suffering, George correctly made the decision in euthanizing him. While contemplating whether or not to euthanize him, George knew he very well could but it wasn’t the easiest decision to make on his part. If George wouldn’t of made the decision he did, Lennie would’ve had to run for the rest of his life with no account of what happened or what to do due to his mental illness. He would’ve been seen as a criminal and hunted down like animal which is inhumane and cruel. Although his mishaps weren’t meant to be as extreme as they were, the consequences were foreshadowed throughout

    Read More

  • Why Is Lennie's Death Justified

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    George also knew that Lennie had dug a hole for himself and could never get out. He knew they were looking for Lennie and wouldn’t stop until they killed him. He decided to do it himself in the kindest way he could. It’s like when Candy said about his dog, “I should of shot that dog myself.'; meaning it would have been kinder to the dog. Lennie was lying down, facing away from George and didn’t know he was going to be shot. He didn’t know what was going to happen, just like Candy’s dog.

    Read More

  • Conflict In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mercy Killing In Of Mice And Men

    422 Words  | 1 Pages

    This is the reason what George did in Of Mice and Men is acceptable even if not liked. After the killing of Curley’s wife, Curley was mad and was obligated in his own mind to find moral retribution that would never be settled until Lennie was suffering and, after suffering, dead. This is a astonishing example of when George was obligated as primary carer and close friend to Lennie to help him pass as quickly and painlessly as possible. In a situation where someone is suffering, like Lennie, from some condition, we are obligated to help the person pass as painlessly as possible. This is why George has necessity to help Lennie pass and why mercy killing is justifiably acceptable.

    Read More

  • Why Is George Important In Of Mice And Men

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, one of the reasons George should be punished for his actions was George was the only person who vowed to take care of Lennie but he ended up killing him. This quote ties with the reasoning because he promises to take care of him but does not do it. “I told his old lady I’d take care of him” (Steinbeck 22). Lennie could not function alone, even though he was a grown man. At one time he relied on the kindness of his Aunt Clara, but now George has betrayed the promise he made to take care of Lennie. Did Lennie do a bad thing? Yes but George was not watching him when he was doing

    Read More

More about Mercy Killing In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Open Document