In some circumstances, mercy killings can be justified in order to prevent unnecessary suffering. This is demonstrated in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men about two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who travel together during the Great Depression. George travels with Lennie due to his mental disabilities, often causing him to run into trouble. When Lennie accidentally kills the boss’ son’s wife, George makes the incredibly difficult decision of killing Lennie to protect him. George wants to prevent Lennie from suffering at an insane asylum, and from being tortured because he is mentally challenged. Curley vows to make Lennie die a painful and slow death by shooting him in the stomach for revenge. George especially does not want Lennie to feel guilt or unnecessary pain when he passes. …show more content…
After Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife in the barn, Candy tells all the men and the men make a plan to find Lennie. George talks to Slim and says that Lennie did not kill Curley’s wife out of meanness. Slim helps George understand what will happen if Lennie did not die by asking George “s’pose they lock him [Lennie] up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good George” (Steinbeck 97). George recognizes that Slim is correct and ending Lennie’s life is the best option. George realizes that he cannot live knowing that Lennie will be taken to an insane asylum and they will “strap him down and put him in a cage.” George knows that Lennie cannot survive on his own, let alone survive in a in a “booby hatch” where he will be locked up all alone. George realizes that suffering in a insane asylum is “no good” and can be avoided. George wants to protect Lennie at all costs. Lennie will experience so much unnecessary pain in the insane asylum therefore George makes the correct decision to kill Lennie
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.
As George becomes aware of the situation he begins to ponder what will happen if Lennie gets away. George understands that Lennie would not be capable of providing for himself out in the wild. As George contemplates allowing Lennie to be free of all the men, he “[is] a long time in answering” (94). George is one of the few men who understands Lennie’s mental limitations, he knows Lennie would not remember how to survive and “the poor bastard’d starve” (94). He
That ain’t no good, George.’”(Steinbeck 97). Because Lennie killed Curley’s wife, he committed a felony. George wanted Lennie to be thrown in jail at first. He wanted Lennie to be arrested because he thought it was the best thing for Lennie but then Slim told him it would not be good for Lennie. It would be bad for Lennie because Lennie would not understand his rights because he’s mentally challenged and locking him up in a cage would just hurt Lennie. George then realized he needed to kill Lennie so nobody would mistreat him. George is protecting others from Lennie.”’Lennie-if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before…’”(Steinbeck 15). George has been with Lennie for many years and he knows how Lennie will never learn and he will keep committing bad stuff. George knew something was going to happen at the ranch because Lennie has always done something wrong. George tried to prevent something from going wrong but he couldn’t. As a result he had to put down Lennie so he would not hurt anyone ever again. George felt the hard choice of killing Lennie was the right decision for George because Curley wanted to get his revenge, Lennie would be mistreated in prison and he was
Lennie dreams of living on a wide open ranch with George where he tends to the fluffy little rabbits he loves so much. Nevertheless, Lennie sadly never reaches his ultimate goal as his flaw finally becomes his fatal flaw. Lennie kills Curley 's wife by shaking her so hard that her neck breaks. He does not kill her on purpose but Lennie does not know his own strength. He is only shaking her like that because he wants her to stop yelling.
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 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,
In the words of Jack Kevorkian “In quixotically trying to conquer death doctors all too frequently do no good for their patients’ “ease” but at the same time they do harm instead by prolonging and even magnifying patients’ dis-ease.”. His excellent quote shows one that mercy killing can help a person stop suffering with a prolonged death.In Stienbecks novella Of Mice And Men Lennie falls victim to his impulses and makes himself suffer and George suffer the concequences. George reveals how mercy killing is necessary in some cases because it stops suffering, prevents worse from happening, and may help society continue working.
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.
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
‘Please don’t,’ he begged. ‘Oh! Please don’t do that. George’ll be mad.’” Lennie killed Curley’s Wife without knowing what he was doing.
George never ended up getting paid for his hard work on ranches because of Lennie. That could have been a reason for George shooting Lennie, it partly was, but when Candy said "I ought to of shoot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my... Lennie ainẗ handy, but this Curley punk is gonna get hurt if he messes around with Lennie.(36). This shows that Lennie is going to hurt by Curley in the future.
Another option for Lennie would be the placement in an asylum. Here, he would receive food, shelter, mental health treatment, and possibly medication. Finally, Lennie could have also been placed in jail. He would have food and shelter, but more importantly, he would have the protection from the revengeful actions of Curley. However, if allowed to live, Lennie would have suffered. If Lennie were placed in jail, he would have been bullied and assaulted by the other inmates. They would quickly be aware of his mental challenges and take advantage of him. Unfortunately, George would not be there to protect and comfort him. In an asylum, Lennie would have truly suffered. Mental health treatment in the 1930s often consisted of being restrained in a strait jacket or even offered a lobotomy. Many would cringe at the thought of a lobotomy, a process of which certain parts of the brain would be performed surgery on. Lennie’s brain without a lobotomy is already malfunctioning, if he had been offered a lobotomy, he would become nonfunctional. No emotions, no movement,
George later on kills Lennie because he felt to bring the matter into his own hands; killing Lennie almost instantly with only one pull of the trigger on the back
In the book, Of Mice and Men, the issue of mercy killing is brought up many times throughout. Whether or not something is a mercy depends on the situation. The definition of a mercy kill is when a person or animal is killed to prevent or stop suffering and pain. By killing pups that weren’t going to get enough milk Slim was preventing the slow and painful death. “She couldn’t feed that many,” (Steinbeck 39).
Curley's wife, an accident that seals his own fate and destroys not only his dreams but George's and Candy's as well. In the beginning Lennie used to pet mice that his Aunt Clara used to give him, he would always end up killing them because he didn't know his own strength. Lennie never killed any pet or person purposely; he pets too roughly and kills them accidentally. An example of his rough tendencies is in the first chapter (page7) when Lennie wants to keep a dead mouse and George wouldn't let him Lennie says" Uh-uh. Jus' a dead mouse, George.