Mercy Killing In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the reader can be left conflicted as to whether mercy killing is can ever be right. Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck about two men on a ranch, George and Lennie, published in 1937. The book depicts the life of a mentally challenged man, Lennie, and his friend George as they drift from one town into a ranch in Soledad, California during the Great Depression. They come to the typical ranch of the time, but with the Boss’s son, Curley, being a pugnacious former boxer who seeks conflict with Lennie. Eventually, both a dog and a person are killed for what is thought to be for their own good, which may lead the reader to believe that the practice of doing this is heartless when it is very much justified in the context of the plot.

The death of Candy’s dog at the hands of Carlson and his luger could make the reader believe that Carlson is a vicious murderer who just wanted the dog dead when the death of the dog was just what Candy wanted and what was best for the dog. Candy’s dog had reached a point where he had no teeth, could barely walk, and was far past his days when he could run freely and herd sheep. Slim agreed with Carlson about killing the dog

saying, “Carl’s right, Candy. That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I got old an’ a cripple,”(45). When Slim says this, he is not trying to have the dog killed because he thinks that it is a nuisance, but because he genuinely feels that since the dog is in pain, it would be better off dead than suffering any longer. Furthermore, Slim is a charming man whose opinions are valued highly by the other men on the ranch, most likely because he can make good decisions and tell right from wrong. This could make his opinion even more valid, as he knows exactly what he is talking about. Moreover, this ordeal could also serve as foreshadowing to the future incident that results in Lennie’s death. While Carlson may seem ignorant and insensitive for proposing that Candy’s dog should be killed, it is clearly only because of Carlson’s blunt way of proposing it that leaves a bad taste in the reader’s mouth after the euthanization of Candy’s dog. While one could easily explain the mercy killing of a dog, explaining the same course of action involving a human life can become more convoluted.
While the killing of a dog could certainly garner strong emotion in some, the killing of a human is really a different animal altogether. While the death of Lennie could be considered murder by some, the shooting is wholly justified because of the suffering that would have come to Lennie if he was not killed by George. This is shown when Curley finds out about the death of his wife, and he reacts with extreme rage. Then, he leads the other men of the ranch on a hunt to put Lennie in the ground. Curley sums this up in one sentence, when he says, “I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts.” ( 96), angrily. What this quote shows that the reader is that Curley reacted to his wife’s death with fury, making his first priority to make the murderer suffer. While this tells the reader about what kind of person Curley is, it also tells the reader what kind of fate Lennie will have. In the case that Curley would not go through with his killing, the other option is that Lennie is caught by the police, and spends the rest of his natural life in deplorable conditions, most likely not quite understanding what he did to put himself in such an atrocious situation in the first place. On the other hand, Lennie could evade both Curley, the men on the farm, and inevitably, lawmen and escape into the woods, where he would most likely starve to death. All in all, Lennie was in a grim and inescapable situation. Therefor, when George pulled the trigger, he did so knowing that he was giving Lennie an escape from all of the horrible things that would have come to him. Lennie died peacefully, imagining his favorite thing in the world, with his favorite person in the world. While real physical pain and suffering, like what would have happened to Lennie, it could also be said that a mercy killing could offer someone an escape from extreme emotional pain.
Some readers could say that Curley’s wife is in a better place now, not having to worry about what she was always complaining and being miserable about. When Curley’s wife is killed by Lennie, she is innocently trying to have a conversation and let out her feelings. She tells Lennie this, saying, “I get lonely. You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad,”(87). This quote briefly tells the reader of the pain Curley’s wife is in. She is forced to talk to only someone who she actually says she does not like, and nobody else. In addition to that, Curley’s wife wishes that she was an actor, and indicates to Lennie that the life she is living on the ranch is not the life she wanted, and that she regrets many of the decisions she made in her life. While it was still a tragedy that Curley’s wife was killed in the way she was, there is no denying that she may have been put out of her misery by Lennie doing such a thing. In Conclusion, Curley’s wife helps show the reader that mercy killing, especially in the cases of Candy’s dog and Lennie can be justified, as some situations are better off just being put to a swift, peaceful end.
The theme of mercy killing in Of Mice and Men is a large one, and it is justified in the plot with a great deal of evidence supporting it.

Candy’s dog is likely 15 years old, can barely walk any more, and has no teeth, so when he is shot by Carlson, it was rationalized by the fact that he was suffering and most likely about to die anyway. Lennie was sadly put into a position where his only options were to die in a few different ways, or be in prison for the rest of his life. George gave Lennie a peaceful death, where he was thinking about what he loved. This is supported by the death Curley’s wife, who can show the reader that sometimes a death could be a blessing in disguise. Sometimes, a death can be tragic, but a person could always be in a better

place.