...Of Mice and Men In the novella Of Mice and Men, George kills Lennie. There is question whether or not George was validated in his decision. Provided Lennie did not have malicious intent, George was justified in his decision to shoot Lennie because Lennie caused trouble and burdened George. To begin, Lennie caused many of the conflicts in the novella. In chapter three, Slim and Carlson were giving Curley a hard time about his wife's carelessness. Lennie is smiling during this event. Even though Lennie is thinking about the ranch, this is not the time nor place to be smiling. Curley says brutally, '"What the hell you laughin' at?'" (Steinbeck 62). In this quote Curley shows he is heated. He is also putting all of the blame for the situation with his wife on Lennie. This tends to be a theme throughout the book causing more trouble. After Curley confronts Lennie, he becomes very aggressive. "Curley was balanced and poised. He lashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right"(...
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...for the trial of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the physician convicted of second-degree murder for helping 130 terminally-ill patients commit suicide, had to decide whether or not he was justified in assisting the death of these patients. After reading Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the readers have a chance to take a side on relatively the same issue of whether or not mercy killings are justified. The novel is about Lennie Small, a huge, mentally impaired man, and George Milton, a friend that looks after Lennie, searching for work in California during the Great Depression. Towards the end of the novel, Lennie enrages Curley by accidentally killing his wife, and George is left with the decision of whether or not to kill Lennie himself. George decides to shoot him solely out of love for his friend, but this killing initiates a debate in which the readers can take sides about his righteousness. Some people believe that George is justified in killing Lennie and should have done it, while others would argue that George should not have done it and should be held accountable for murder. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George Milton should have shot Lennie Small because George is his friend and knows what is best for Lennie, and he knows that if Lennie lives, he will suffer. Other people may believe that George should not have shot Lennie and should therefore be punished because Lennie has mental issues and his killing of Curley’s wife is a complete accident. Because of his mental...
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...Is Killing a loved one ever justified? How would it be decided when to kill them? Yes killing another person can be at times. Like when George thought about killing Lennie it was not in hate, it was in Lennie’s best interest. These questions are fought in John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men. George was justified in killing Lennie since the other men would have tortured Lennie, he also saved Lennie from himself, and George vowed he would take care of Lennie and George thought this was Lennie’s best option. First of all George saved Lennie from being tortured by the other men especially Curley. George was justified since he gave Lennie mercy and made his death instantaneous. He prevented Lennie from a long and painful death. For example...
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...story “of mice and men” by John Steinbeck, George has the option to kill lennie or let Curley kill Lennie, because Lennie accidentally killed the wife of his enemy and is now on the run not completely realizing the impact of what he did. George can not find any other option but to kill Lennie. George feels like here is no other option but this one,and that it is the best choose for Lennie. George shooting Lennie is justified because George will not have to take care of two people, Curley will not kill Lennie with hate, and George would feel bad for Lennie if he was not the one that killed him because him and George have been through alot together lately. First of all,George was justified because Lennie does not know right from wrong....
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...The conclusion of the book Of Mice and Men suggest that George's action to shoot Lennie was justified for acceptable reasons. The first reason would be because George had to look for a new job in a new place due to Lennie's misbehaviour. He would cause many problems that led them to move from place to place so they wouldn't get mobbed. For example, they had to flee from Weed because Lennie felt a lady's dress very roughly and she thought Lennie wanted to hurt her so the men were looking for Lennie because they thought he wanted to rape the lady. Another reason would be Lennie seemed to forget every single thing he was told. George would have to repeat himself over and over again so Lennie could remember the things he wasn't allowed to do for...
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... 2013 Essay #3: Of Mice and Men The American idea of justice sometimes operates under a layer of mythology. Our “innocent until proven guilty” principle predicates itself on the idea that those accused of a crime will have a fair trial and will be justly judged by their peers. It is an elaborate system established to thwart prejudice and to prevent the public from jumping to conclusions, to protect the innocent and to punish the guilty. In John Steinbeck’s Great Depression-era story Of Mice and Men, justice is carried out without a trial. No laws are taken into consideration, but instead an angry mob of men with guns is present. Mobs react with violence for real or imagined crimes at their own discretion, not waiting for legal justice to take course. Steinbeck expresses the idea that when justice fails people take matters into their own hands through George’s decision to kill Lennie. On the surface, the answer seems obvious to most people. Of course George should not have killed Lennie; murder, after all, is wrong no matter what the circumstances. Yet it is not as simple as that. Throughout the book, Lennie seems to be unaware of what is right and wrong, and this makes him a burden to George. Every time Lenny did something bad, they had to quit their jobs and start somewhere else. If George had let Lennie live, Lennie would not have been able to look after himself properly. Lennie couldn’t look after a puppy – let alone himself. Lennie was bound to hurt someone...
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...Assassination is not always a crime. In certain situations it is necessary to commit a murder for the safety of the majority. The novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck proclaims that George have the righteous and appropriate reason to take his best friend Lennie’s life. Although George is justified in killing Lennie, many people would argue that killing someone is still considered murder and he could have had other options. George is justified in killing Lennie because Lennie’s actions were slowly escalating, and since he already killed someone most likely he would do it again. To start off, Lennie first the mice his aunt Clara gave him, following the mice was Slim’s puppy, and his last victim was Curley’s wife. The bus driver dropped...
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...John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men In John Steinbeck's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, one of the predominant themes that govern the story and characters in the book is friendship. One of the ways in which friendship plays a large role is in the area of mercy killing, which affects the main characters as well as the supporting ones. The two major mercy killings that occur in the book are those of Carlson's killing of Candy's old dog, and of George's killing of Lennie. In both of these examples, the killer kills the other out of mercy and love, not for the usual motives of hatred, rage, anger, etc. The killing of Candy's dog is an excellent example of mercy killing in the aforesaid novella. Candy's dog was in terrible condition, and it could barely be said that the ratty old thing was even alive. It stunk like a dozen skunks, was nearly blind, could barely hear, had arthritis that was so bad, the old mutt couldn't sit down, had no quality of life, and probably had urinary and bowel problems, a miserable condition that is almost assured in old dogs. This instance of mercy killing, however, was more driven by peer pressure than the typical case of mercy killing. When someone kills another loved one out of mercy, it is normally done to put the afflicted one out of their misery, torment, anguish, distress, etc. The other ranch hands thought that the dog reeked more than any of its other conditions, which was the only one that they, too, could experience. Candy's dog loved its master...
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...John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men In John Steinbeck's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, one of the predominant themes that govern the story and characters in the book is friendship. One of the ways in which friendship plays a large role is in the area of mercy killing, which affects the main characters as well as the supporting ones. The two major mercy killings that occur in the book are those of Carlson's killing of Candy's old dog, and of George's killing of Lennie. In both of these examples, the killer kills the other out of mercy and love, not for the usual motives of hatred, rage, anger, etc. The killing of Candy's dog is an excellent example of mercy killing in the aforesaid novella. Candy's dog was in terrible condition, and it could barely be said that the ratty old thing was even alive. It stunk like a dozen skunks, was nearly blind, could barely hear, had arthritis that was so bad, the old mutt couldn't sit down, had no quality of life, and probably had urinary and bowel problems, a miserable condition that is almost assured in old dogs. This instance of mercy killing, however, was more driven by peer pressure than the typical case of mercy killing. When someone kills another loved one out of mercy, it is normally done to put the afflicted one out of their misery, torment, anguish, distress, etc. The other ranch hands thought that the dog reeked more than any of its other conditions, which was the only one that they, too, could experience. Candy's dog loved its master...
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...In the novella Of Mice And Men George was justified in killing Lennie because Lennie was justified in killing Lennie because Lennie was dangerous and a burden To begin Lennie was harmful to others and his surroundings. In chapter 1 in the book, Lennie kills a mouse from the very start. This introduces from the beginning that Lennie is harmful. As the story progresses Lennie goes on to kill a puppy (Steinbeck 85) and most importantly Curley's wife. (Steinbeck 93) These actions show that Lennie was detrimental to his his peers and surroundings. In addition, Lennie was a burden upon George. In the novella, George can not keep a steady job because of Lennie. In chapter 4 George says “course Lennie's a god damn nuisance most of the time.”...
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...the novella, Of Mice and Men( By John Steinbeck) George and lennie have this problem. At first i thought what the heck why did George kill lennie, but then after going over the book i realized that it was for his own good. George killing lennie is justified because if he didn’t do it lennie would’ve been killed by the other men out of hate and vengeance,George was saving lennie and not hurting him, plus Lennie was never going to get better and George knew that. One reason is George would’ve felt bad not killing lennie himself because the other men would have only been killing lennie out of hate and vengeance. “Look candy. This ol’ dog jus’ suffers...
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...without evil or criminal intent, for which there can be no blame.” Without out a doubt whether it may be justified or not the act of murder is messy. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, almost concludes when Lennie Small, a guy who had a mental illness accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Unfortunately, the book tragically ended with George Milton, another struggling migrant worker and Lennie’s friend, murdering Lennie. On the contrary, many people see how George can be justified for this action for having Lennie's best interest in mind and for saving him from a path of destruction in the future. However, George’s decision in ending Lennie’s life can not be justified because George did it for his own selfish needs, Lennie could have escaped like he did in Weed, and even though he was mentally ill, he still had the right to live. For example, George can’t be justified for killing Lennie because he killed Lennie...
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...it’s hard, but for George it didn’t seem that hard. Was it justified when George killed Lennie. No it was not, “If I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an’ not have no mess” (Steinbeck 103). George told Lennie, face to face, that he didn’t want him anymore. A lot of people might think that George killing Lennie was justified, but when you look at all the quotes and all that George says to Lennie, George was being selfish. He wanted to have a life of his own without Lennie dragging behind him. This was just a selfish act of killing, George killing Lennie was not justified. One reason I believe that George killed Lennie for his own selfish reasons because he had to take care of Lennie. “ I told his old lady I’d take care of him” (22). “My life would be so much easier if i didn’t have to deal with you” (10). It was George’s responsibility to take care of Lennie. He got so tired of it, and trying to make him smarter and into a George 2.0. He...
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...In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the author describes the many hardships of George and Lennie as they search for work so they can purchase a farm of their own. After Lennie mistakenly kills Curley's wife, George is faced with either murdering his life long best friend, or he could allow the villainous farmers to capture and torture Lennie. George was not justified in killing Lennie because they were great friends, and Lennie was not trying to cause any difficulties. One reason George was wrong in shooting Lennie was because they were exceptional friends. While George was explaining this, he said, George says, “ With us it ain’t like that, we got someone to talk to that gives a “darn” about us” (Steinbeck 14). Since Lennie did...
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...way out is euthanasia. In Of mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Candy’s dog is getting older every day, without any treatment. This hurts not only the dog, but it Candy as well. This is an outcome to the dog being with Candy from day one. In addition, Lennie has an illness with no antidote, he’s intellectually disabled. With that in mind, George knows about this and is frightened about what Lennie does throughout the day, making sure he’s not causing any trouble, or who Lennie speaks to. Considering what Candy and George were going through, before they decided to mercy kill their best friends, it must have hurt them more than it hurt the dog and Lennie. In the book, Candy’s dog...
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