“In the end it all came down to companionship, to friendship, to sacrifice, to compromise” (Richard Russo). This is truly what it came down to in the final scene of John Steinbeck’s classic novel Of Mice and Men. Lennie and George, two migrant workers living in the Great Depression time period, experienced a great deal of trouble and happiness during their time at the ranch. Lennie is an immensely strong person, but has a mental age of a five-year-old giving him a diminutive amount of control over his strength, and he has a strange obsession of soft things, especially rabbits. George is a normal person who reluctantly promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara that he would take care of Lennie during their travels as migrant workers. Both men have a dream …show more content…
of owning their own property and living by themselves like a pack of wolves. One day at the ranch Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife, a furious Curley rounds up a search team to find Lennie and kill him. Meanwhile, George meets up with Lennie at the brush pile George told him to hide near. Conflicted with his values and his companionship to Lennie, George ends up shooting him in the back of the head. Many people have mixed feelings about whether Lennie’s death was justifiable or not. Lennie’s death is justifiable because Lennie was going to have a premature death anyway, Lennie was too dangerous, and the voice of reason in the book agrees with the morality of the decision. Although more information supports the justification of George’s crime, reasons can be provided to show otherwise.
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 …show more content…
decision. First, Lennie’s death via George is justifiable because Lennie was destined to die a premature death anyway, especially concerning this time period. Candy’s reaction to Carlson shooting his dog: “I oughtta of shot that dog, myself George. I shouldn’t oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog” (Steinbeck 61). In the final scenes of the story George is reminded of what Candy says, and if Lennie will die anyway George believes he should kill him rather than let a stranger do it. Also, Steinbeck foreshadowed that as caring for Candy’s dog was becoming a hassle and was useless to the men, they shot the dog; this is the same predicament that applies to Lennie and his fate. Another detail is that Lennie’s fate is destined to end here because Curley and the other men were coming to kill Lennie. George, knowing that Curley will most likely beat and torture Lennie, decides that he should give Lennie a quick and painless death for Lennie’s sake. Secondly, Lennie was too dangerous especially with the kind of strength that he possessed.
An agitated Curley got into a fight with Lennie because Lennie was laughing at how Curley couldn’t keep his wife in check. While Lennie is being beaten up by the experienced fighter that Curley is, Lennie hears George telling him to fight back so he grabs Curley’s hand and crushes it to a pulp with the ease of a knife slicing soft butter. The effortlessness by which Lennie crushes Curley’s hand is frightening and it requires the combined effort of Slim and George to pry Lennie’s hand off of Curley. George knows that this kind of strength will be a consequence of nothing positive, and the only way to prevent this is to kill Lennie. Also, while petting his pup in the barn, the pup bites Lennie because he had done something it didn’t like, this results in Lennie breaking the pups neck therefore killing it. This is another display of Lennie’s robust strength being combined with his five-year-old mentality, to produce harm to
others. Finally, the voice of reason in the story, Slim, agrees with the philosophy of the decision to kill Lennie. When Slim is asked about his opinion on Candy’s dog’s fate he says, ”Carl’s right, Candy. That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wisht somebody would shoot me if I got old an’ a cripple” (Steinbeck 45). Slim reacts to the death of Candy’s dog as an act of mercy, and the situation of Lennie and his life is similar to this thinking. Also, when Slim sees George holding the gun next to Lennie’s dead body he says,”You hadda, George. I swear you hadda” (Steinbeck 107). Slim knows that George is lying when he says that he had to kill Lennie because he had a gun and was threatening to shoot him. Slim knows that George shot Lennie because he thought it was the right thing, and he agrees with that decision. Therefore, Lennie’s death is justifiable because Lennie was going to have a premature death anyway, Lennie was too dangerous, and the voice of reason in the book agrees with the morality of the decision. Lennie’s actions cost him his life, and everyone who knows George and Lennie well agrees with the choice that George had to make. Although Lennie is the one who made all of these decisions and choices, he does not know what to do for his brain and mental capacity is limited. Lennie was doomed for a short life, and especially in this time period everyone that was a normal person was accepted in society but if someone was not normal they were treated differently. George made a valiant and bold decision to kill Lennie; George had to sacrifice some of his values so that others could be met. “Sometimes it ends up different and it is better that way” (Unknown). In Of Mice and Men George and Lennie never did get their ranch, but both men found themselves in a better place.
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.
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
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.
There was a heavy rain outside, but other than that, the room was silent. George stared at the bunk where Lennie slept, unable to sleep. He was filled with hatred of the world that forced him to kill his own friend. As the night dragged on his hatred shifted to Curley’s wife, then Curley. “If Curley hadn’t let his tramp wife go around and cause trouble Lennie would still be here” George thought. Just then, Lennie appeared in front of him with a look of deep sadness and pain. Seeing Lennie’s pain and suffering, sent him over the edge. “That god damn Curley!” George thought, grabbing Carlson’s gun while he slept. “This is all his fault!” he thought, consumed by rage. He shuffled over to where Curley slept and pulled out the gun. George aimed the gun at Curley and pulled the trigger. An instant later he is horrified by what he has done. A couple seconds pass and Slim comes into the
One of Lennie's many traits is his forgetfulness. He easily forgets what he is supposed to do, but he somehow never forgets what he is told. An example of how Lennie is forgetful is when he has the mice in his pocket and when he went to pet them they bit his finger. “Lennie picked up the dead mouse and looked at with a sad face. When they bit him he pinched them, and by doing that he crushed their heads” (page 5) . This is important because he knew that if he squeezed their heads they would die, but since he is forgetful, he squeezed anyway. Another example of how Lennie is forgetful is when he grabbed Curley's hand and crushed it. “ Curley’s fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. Lennie squeezed on until George came running in shouting ‘let go’. The next moment Curley was on the ground wailing while he held his crushed hand” (page 64). This event is important because Lennie had held on, not knowing what to do next, until George told him what to do. A final exampl...
Which then brings me to the next scenario in the book when a little more damage happening. “Let go Lennie” (Steinbeck 63) is what George shouted when Lennie was essentially breaking Curleys hand into little pieces. The quote resembles George having to keep Lennie from crushing Curley's hand even more. Lennie is strong but lennie can't seem to realize or make it click in his head because of Lennie's
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,
Steinbeck gives a lot of reasons for George to stay with Lennie, but his critics also have some merit in their criticism that the story isn't believable. Steinbeck's critics suggest that Steinbeck is "simply sentimental in this regard." There are some very compelling reasons George would like to stay with Lennie... but being "sentimental," towards Lennie has nothing to do with it.
Due to child like qualities, Lennie is a person which would be easy prey and a vulnerable person. Lennie is a vulnerable person who is quite dumb. His has an obsession for touching soft thing and this will often lead him in to trouble. But poor Lennie is an innocent person who means no harm to anybody. When he and Curley get into a fight Lennie is too shocked to do any thing. He tries to be innocent but, when told to by George grabs Curley’s fist and crushes it. George is Lennie’s best friend and Lennie does every thing he tells him to do as demonstrated in the fight with “But you tol...
Consistently throughout the story George and Lennie were there for each other; in fact towards the very beginning Lennie and George discussed how they were better off than most guys because they had each other (14). When George killed Lennie a part of him died too, George knew murdering Lennie would hurt him mentally and emotionally. However he did it because he wanted what was best for his friend no matter the cost. His actions were altruistic and that made his decision the more favorable one. Another instance when George was selfless was when he gave up his dream. Throughout the story George and Lennie dreamed of and worked towards owning their own piece of land together. However, after discovering Curley’s wife dead, George returned to reality and informed Candy that they would, “never do her” (94). After losing his friend George understood the impossibility of achieving the American Dream. Beforehand George knew he would not want to live out his dream without Lennie, so by protecting Lennie and giving up on his own dream he put Lennie above himself. Conversely, someone may believe that George's actions were selfish and that he benefits himself by killing Lennie. After George comes after Lennie, the dim-witted man asks if George was going to yell at him. Reluctantly George told him “If I was alone, I could live so easy,” (103). Although George said
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
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.
Loneliness and Companionship are one of the many themes that are conveyed in the novel Of Mice and Men, By John Steinbeck. Many of the characters admit to suffering from loneliness within the texts. George sets the tone for these confessions early in the novel when he reminds Lennie that the life of living on a ranch is among the loneliest of lives. However Lennie, who is mentally disabled holds the idea that living on a farm very high. "Tending the rabbits" is what Lennie calls it. Often when Lennie is seaking encouragement he askes George to tell him how its going to be. Men like George who migrate from farm to farm rarely have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. George obviously cares a lot for lennie, but is too stubborn to admit to it. The feeling of being shipped from place to place leaves George feeling alone and abandoned.
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.