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Of mice and men john steinbeck essay on
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In the book, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, One of the main characters, George Milton, is faced with a very tough decision. George has to choose if he should kill his best friend Lennie, or not.
The world that George and Lennie live in had a huge influence on George’s decision. Everyone on the ranch was tough , and everyone kept to themselves and did not get into anyone else's business; It was a harsh and slightly ruthless world that was ruled by men. George has killed Lennie out of mercy because he had feared and believed that there would be no other way. He did not want to kill Lennie, but he knew that it would be worse if Curley had killed him, so he killed Lennie as painlessly as possible. George always thought of Lennie
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.
In ending of "Of Mice And Men", George kills Lennie after he killed Curley's wife. However, I can still feel sympathy towards George, and see his action as justifiable. In the beginning of the book I had sympathy towards George. The book starts with George talking to Lennie and from this you learn a lot about their relationship. After Lennie asks for ketchup, which they can't get, George gets angry at Lennie and says, “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble" (6). This shows the reader that George has given up a lot to take care of Lennie. He has given up his job security and a lot of his happiness because he takes care of Lennie. In chapter 3, the reader finds out how George and Lennie started traveling together, and from this the reader can infer that George travels
“I killed my best friend,” was the exact thought that hovered in George as he watched his best friend, Lennie, recumbent, cold, and still, on the grass by the riverbanks. In the book of Mice and Men, George faced the dilemma of knowing that he had killed the one he loved the most. Though it was no accident, it was for the good of Lennie. If Lennie had been allowed to live, he would only face the worst of what life has to offer. So instead of having to watch his best friend in pain, George took the initiative to end all of the cruelty of the world and send Lennie to a better place. Therefore, George was justified in killing Lennie.
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
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.
The novella Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck introduced the reader to the character George. George is faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to kill his best friend. His best friend, Lennie has a mental disability that resulted in his brain not fully developing. In the 1930’s no one respected people with a disability. George had to constantly run around trying to get Lennie out of trouble and he never had time to himself. Finally when Lennie was getting hunted down by a lynching party for the second time, George thought maybe it was best if Lennie wasn't around anymore. George was devastated that he would no longer have his companion by his side but he could no longer look after Lennie. His decision was tough but he killed Lennie out of love.
In 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck George is seen as one of the main protagonists of the novella. He is portrayed as a very selfless and noble character as he takes care of Lennie and defends him from the more malicious characters, such as Curley and his wife. George represtents the lack of opportunity for workers in 1930s Amercia as he is forced to travel around constantly and make little money for his work to survive from month to month.
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.
George Milton is an intensely creative and compassionate man, but also one that experiences a lot of moral conflict. George takes Lennie’s welfare upon him and does his best to keep Lennie in line and keep them out of trouble. However, when the burden becomes too much on George and he realizes Lennie will never change, he makes the choice to end Lennie’s life. Regardless, Lennie and George are both benefited by the other’s company. Their relationships is a great example of how human companionship awakens the best aspects of a person, but can also shed light on the worst. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George Milton embodies the idea of whether it is better to be selfless and in difficult company, or alone and selfish, but free.
One reason is that perhaps as George and Lennie had done at their previous job when Lennie had found himself in a similar predicament, they could have hidden somewhere until the others had given up trying to find them. This could not happen, for their dream of owning a ranch could not happen without Candy’s deposit of $350 toward the property. Another reason could be that Lennie’s Aunt Clara had made George promise to care for Lennie on their travels, and George broke that promise by killing Lennie. This is true, but Lennie was becoming a big responsibility for George, and he knew that killing Lennie would be the kindest and most legitimate
Even from the very start of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George’s character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life.
“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”- John Steinbeck. George has Lennie back when Lennie gets in trouble, so he doesn’t have to face it alone. An ideal friend is a person who gives their love and respect, will never leave and betray you and have each other backs
Throughout, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, their are hard decisions that the characters don’t want to make, but need to. Even though they don’t want to, it is a necessity that they do, or situations that are not wanted could get worse. Particularly in this time period, every decision had tension on it for what the outcome would be. Especially George, he had to make many decisions throughout the book that are very difficult or to prevent from creating a bigger problem. Some of his decisions were larger than others, but some even if they didn’t seem very important were just as important in the long run.
Do you think you could work up the strength to take the life of another person, especially one of your own loved ones? In John Steinbecks’s novella “Of Mice and Men” well known character George Milton is forced to face this heartbreaking decision. In this novella you were taken through the lives of two best friends, Lennie Small a giant sized man with an even larger heart, who is a prisoner inside of his own body due to mental illness and his leading man George Milton a smaller built and more head strong man who takes lennie on as his own responsibility caring for him and looking out for him as if he is his own. Through the story you will see these two men taking on their journey through life with one another encountering new friends, as well as well as new struggles attempting to find success in the American dream until it is shattered by a hard decision that faces George resulting from a sequence of misfortunate events. George gets torn between giving up his best friend to be locked away, giving him up to face a hard death, or lastly to provide lennie with a more merciful death himself. At the end of the story george realizes that the best thing he can do for lennie is
George was always protecting Lennie until the end of the story even though I still believe he was protecting him. Furthermore, he just had to kill Lennie to keep him for doing more bad stuff after he did what he did. George had to be brave and very courageous to kill his friend Lennie after all they had been through. He saved Lennie from a horrid death and being lynched. He also put a drastic end to their perfect world or their dream. However, George might be a little more at ease now knowng Lennie isn’t going to be around to get in his way. He could finally be happy and figure out his life purpose and pursue the dream for both of their sakes. Even though we will find out how Lennie is a static character.