Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

When making tough decisions about those who are close, it is hard to know what the right call is. This is something that George from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men knows far too well. When George’s mentally impaired companion, Lennie, accidentally kills his bosses’ wife, George is faced with the question of what to do. Ultimately he decides that the best thing for himself and for Lennie is to shoot him. Although it could be argued that murder isn’t right for any reason, in this instance, George made the right decision to kill Lennie although it wasn’t an easy one. Sadly, in almost any other ending scenario, Lennie would end up dead or in a mental hospital. If George had not killed Lennie, Carlson or Curly would “’shoot ‘im in the guts’”(Steinbeck 96). Even if Lennie somehow did make it to a court, the result may have very well been the same. People with severe learning or mental disorders, like Lennie, generally cannot be held accountable for their mistakes because they often have poor judgment skills. This is why, according to deathpenalty.org, the death penalty for the mentally disabled was made illegal in 1986. However, in the time period that Of Mice and Men took place

Lennie was with his best friend in the world and talking about one of the only things that made him happy. He even “…giggled with happiness”(Steinbeck 96) before he was shot. This is very similar to when people humanely euthanize their pets. The owners do not want their pets to be in pain so they make a sacrifice to do what is right for their pets. George saved Lennie from suffering. If George had not been the one to shoot Lennie, like Slim said, Curley and Carlson could, “…lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage”(Steinbeck 97). Seeing as how Slim knows Carlson and Curley better then George does, his concern for the probability of an event like this to occur could have prompted George to kill