The Condemnation of George Should the law kill those partially innocent of a crime they commited? In the book Of Mice and Men two farm hands, George and Lennie, find work on a ranch. They both share a dream to own their own plot of land. In the end, Lennie does something that ends with George shooting him. This essay will show that George’s actions against Lennie were wrong, because Lennie had a mental illness, George planned to kill Lennie, and finally Lennie was not given a fair trial. The first thing that shows that George is wrong is that Lennie has a mental illness. Lennie’s mental illness prevents him from always having full control of Situations that he’s in. We learn this through what George says “ ‘Well, he’s seen this girl in a red …show more content…
Our government states that if a murder is intentionally planned out, then that person will be put on trial. Both George and Lennie commited murder in the book Of Mice and Men. In the case of Lennie, he did not intentionally try to kill Curley’s wife. Instead, he was trying to keep her quiet so that George would not be mad. In the case of George, he intentionally planned to kill Lennie. We know this for certain, because he steals Carlson's luger. The first evidence that shows George stole Carlson’s luger is when he says to Candy “ ‘Now listen. We gotta tell the guys. They got to bring him in, I guess. They ain’t no way out. Maybe they won’t hurt ’im.’ He said sharply, ‘I ain’t gonna let ’em hurt Lennie. Now you listen. The guys might think I was in on it. I’m gonna go in the bunkhouse. Then in a minute you come out and tell the guys about her, and I’ll come along a make like I never seen her. Will you do that? So the Guys won’t think I was in on it?’ (Orwell 95)” The proof is finalized when Carlson states “‘The Bastard’s stole my Luger,’ he shouted. ‘It ain’t in my bag.’(Orwell 97)” This shows that he purposefully stole the Luger to shoot Lennie. If these events had happened in modern society, George would have been put on
C/R: It is true that George was only trying to save Lennie from a horrible punishment that the boys were going to bring upon him however, there were other options than killing Lennie. George didn’t have to kill Lennie, they could have run away from the mob that was chasing them, for George got to Lennie before anyone else did. They had time to escape. Therefore, George is at fault for Lennie’s death; if George really thought of Lennie as family, he would have thought of another way to get out of the problem.
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
Lennie's stupidity and carelessness constantly causes him to unintentionally harm people and animals. When he gets into sticky situations, George is there to help him get out of them. Ever since Lennie's Aunt Clara died, George has felt that he has a sense of duty
This shows throughout the book with the many different mistakes Lennie makes. Lennie starts off by killing mice, then he kills a puppy and finally a woman! After Lennie kills Curley’s wife George responds by saying “I should of knew… I guess maybe way back of my head I did.”(Steinbeck 94). George knew it was gonna come to this and he probably also had a feeling Lennie was going to continue to kill more people or animals. Plus, when the character in the book; Candy asks who did it, George says “Ain’t you got anr idea?”(Steinbeck 94). That shows that George knew he was gonna have to do something about Lennie. George was going to have to do something about Lennie sometime, and after George killed a woman he knew there would be no other choice that to kill Lennie through non voluntary
Unfortunately, Lennie had a disability, and back in their time, disabled people were treated horribly. For instance, “...over 60000 disabled people were sterilized without their consent.” (1927). Additionally, “Doctors require to register anyone known to have any “genetic illness” such as “feeblemindedness” (1993). Lennie would’ve had horrible things happen to him without consent. He would’ve been killed, hated, and labeled as dirt, smudging the image of a perfect race. Everyone would’ve considered him a “disease” and that would’ve slowed the progression for disabled rights. If George hadn’t shot Lennie, Lennie would’ve faced discrimination, even up to being sterilized without consent. George’s decision saved Lennie from
Lennie is broken and incomplete in many ways. He has a mental disability which differentiates him from the others. He depends on George for everything and cannot do things on his own even though he is a grown man.
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
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
George is an admirable character because he has the courage to kill Lennie himself instead of letting the other men find and kill him. George shows great concern about Lennie when Lennie asks him if he will give Lennie hell about accidentally breaking Curley’s wife’s neck. Instead, George simply replies, “You can’t remember nothing that happens, but you remember ever’ word I say”(Steinbeck,101). Due to Lennie’s mental disorder, he can not recall much from his past which is another reason why George regrets what he has said in the past. In reality, George
The harsh reality is one which hit everyone in America in the 1930. People found work hard to find and crime was on the uprise. This meant, unfortunately, that innocent people were the easy prey and, as we see in the Of Mice and Men, there were plenty of characters that were easy prey. Of Mice and Men characters have and do thing that make them vulnerable in way which do cause trouble. In this essay, that harsh reality and easy prey will be shown through to see which characters are the most vulnerable.
George says that none of his other friends are quite like Lennie. They did not have a true relationship with him. George also says that Lennie is an annoyance most of the time, but he got used to it and eventually could not get rid of him. This shows that George is lonely, due to the loss of Lennie. It is proven that Lennie causes George to realize his need for others in his life.
First, when Lennie sticks his head in the scummy water from the stream in the beginning of the book it shows his inability to think things through before he carries through with them. Another example includes when he grabbed the woman’s dress in Weed. He did not think it through when a normal fully mentally capable person would be able to think that grabbing a strange woman’s dress would not be appropriate. Similarly, he almost duplicates the situation except this time instead of finally letting go of the dress he accidentally killed Curley’s wife resulting in a worse outcome than the situation in Weed. Lennie is unable to think for himself in a safe and well opinionated manner, therefore, he needs someone like George to take care of him and prevent him from bad situations. However, the worse part about Lennie’s neverending trilogy of mistakes is that he does not learn from them. He makes the same mistake of killing multiple mice because he pets them too hard and never learns to be more gentle. George states in the novel ,”He’s awright. Just ain’t bright. But he can do anything you tell him.” (Steinbeck 22) This statement shows that though George is telling the boss how well he can work, he is also expressing how he doesn’t make decisions for himself and that he needs George to take care of him. George also says,” Yeah, you forgot. You always forget, an’ I got to talk you out of it.” (Steinbeck 23) This statement also portrays some of the reason he doesn’t learn from his mistakes. Lennie has a very difficult time remembering anything other than instructions that George gives him. George could not have just let Lennie go because he would not be able to make good decisions, nor could he take care of himself on his own, therefore George made the right decision to end Lennie’s
Is there ever a good time to kill someone? George was put in a tight spot. Should he kill Lennie or should he not kill him? If someone’s in pain or asks to be killed is it alright to kill them? George killed Lennie did he have the right? Did George have a choice? Was it the right or wrong thing to do? These are the questions that will be answered in this paper.
About 45% of people in the 1930s believed that mercy killing was necessary for children born deformed or for people with mental handicaps (Moyers). In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the novel ends when George Milton realizes that to save his companion, Lennie Small, from his mental disability, he has to kill him. The book depicts it as a friend saving Lennie from the pain and suffering that he might go through in the future. The action should not be justified as saving him, but rather as a crime, ripping him away from his future and his life. Lennie’s death was a murder, not a mercy killing.
George knew keeping Lennie alive He never understood things the way “normal” people do. He is like a giant baby, not able to make any decisions himself and pure at heart. George is wise and witty is fully capable himself, yet he sticks around Lennie regardless. “… if I was alone I could live so easy.