Humans only do things if they feel it is worthwhile or valuable. Value is defined as the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. It is as individual as people are: One person might value a healthy family while another might value something as simple as a cup of Starbucks. These things are significant to the people who do or own them, therefore they have value. Value can also be found in learning, and even more important to many is education. Books are significant to the readers because of the information they hold. Some books have more value than others, and one book in particular has important concepts. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck provides insight on The Great Depression, meaning in language, and complexity in moral judgement. …show more content…
All life began in Nature; before man, it existed without human disturbance. Steinbeck portrays this relationship by not introducing humans until the third paragraph. The story starts and ends in nature, bringing it full circle into the only thing humans can not conquer, showing that in the end, everything goes back to Nature. In addition, the peace of the setting foreshadows because it is almost too blissful to be true, like the calm before the storm. The readers can infer that tragedy will follow, because most beauty is destroyed through human actions. There is also value in the actual words, not just the meaning. The author uses a verbal phrase (participial phrase) showing action without a whole new clause. Half of the sentence consists of predominantly prepositional phrases providing important information on the setting and showing relationships. This is valuable because it reduces choppy sentences, adding many sentences into one. Contrasting this flow of phrases and clauses to make perfect sentences, there is rough and incorrect grammar in the book as well. While George and Lennie are sitting by the river, talking about their dream, George reprimands Lennie on what they are going to do once they get to the farm. George states “An’ you ain’t gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed neither” (4). This sentence has double negatives and inaccurate verb tenses purposefully showing incorrectness to reflect the …show more content…
Humans constantly make decisions based on moral judgment, making it very valuable to everyday life. There are many different moral conflicts that occur during the book, but the most important one occurs at the end, when George decides to shoot Lennie. George is talking to Lennie about their dream house with rabbits and a garden, and is lifting up the gun behind him. Steinbeck writes, “George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again” (52-53). Trying to decide if he is doing the right thing, George pauses and is almost unable to go through with it. This scene has the greatest moral value because it brings many questions about right and wrong. Is it correct to do the wrong thing for the right purposes? Is it okay to harm someone to save others, or themselves? Lennie was innocent, but he was a danger to other innocent people as well. He didn’t deserve to be killed, but he didn’t deserve the pain that Curly would have inflicted upon him for killing his wife. There are no completely correct answers to these questions, as George displays in this scene. This parallels life because humans make difficult moral choices everyday, although maybe not this intense. A similar situation could be putting a dog to sleep. The owner doesn’t want to do it, but they know it will save their pet from experiencing future pain. This is an act done out of love, tearing the heart apart. It is difficult
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.
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
In fact, near the ending of the story, he unintentionally snapped Curley’s wife’s neck trying to quiet her (91). Failing to recognize his own strength, Lennie accidentally took her life, proving that he was perilous. By shooting Lennie, George prevented Lennie from accidentally injuring or killing anyone ever again. His verdict was correct in view of the fact that he sacrificed his friend’s life with the intention to protect the lives of others. Furthermore, George’s decision protected Lennie. As a punishment for his deeds, The workers wanted Lennie executed. George realized this and told candy, “Curley’s gon’ta wanta get ‘i'm lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed,” (94). In consequence of killing Curley’s wife, Lennie unknowingly put himself in harm's way. Curley’s motive for wanting to kill Lennie was spite and revenge. So, instead of allowing Lennie to be murdered alone and afraid, George took matters into his own hands and made sure his friend died knowing he was cared for and full of hope. Through it's ironic, George’s choice protected Lennie from the malice of others, thus keeping him unafraid and unharmed. However, others may believe
There was no stopping the inevitable. The workers would have gotten the dog killed any way they could. The same is true for George. Curly and the workers no matter what would have killed Lennie. George could not stop them from killing Lennie. He could only save Lennie from the fear and loneliness he would feel if a stranger killed him. Who knows what they might have done to Lennie if George wouldn’t have saved him from them? They might have shot him in a place where he would have died slowly or they might have hung him or a combination of both and he would have died alone and afraid.
out of moral, to shoot Lennie. It was the right thing to do, and even though
The sound of ice swerving in the crystal clear glass echoed through my ear. I was at the Old Susy’s place regretting the decision I took for Lennie. I drank until noon and went back to the ranch. As I entered, I noticed everyone was looking at me with deep concern in their eyes. I wasn't in the mood to talk so I went straight to my bed. I heard Candy’s footsteps inch closer to me.
... him (72). Lennie tries his best to protect George and does not let anyone talk about him also (72). George is not the only person that tries to protect Lennie. When Curly’s wife come into the barn and tries to cause tries to cause trouble, Crooks and Candy stand up for him. They tell her to leave them and also to leave Lennie alone, because they know that Lennie cannot defend himself (80). When George and Candy find out what Lennie has done to Curly’s wife, they do not want to say anything about it. Candy tells George, that Curly will kill Lennie. But George will not let anyone hurt Lennie (95). Lennie trusts in George, and believes everything that he is telling him. When George is ready to kill Lennie, Lennie reminds him that they got each other, even if they are not a family (104).
“I killed my best friend,” was the exact thought that hovered in George as he watched his best friend, Lennie, recumbent, cold, and still, on the grass by the riverbanks. In the book of Mice and Men, George faced the dilemma of knowing that he had killed the one he loved the most. Though it was no accident, it was for the good of Lennie. If Lennie had been allowed to live, he would only face the worst of what life has to offer. So instead of having to watch his best friend in pain, George took the initiative to end all of the cruelty of the world and send Lennie to a better place. Therefore, George was justified in killing Lennie.
“I ain’t gonna let em’ hurt Lennie.” (Steinbeck 95) This shows that George loved Lennie and that he should be executed out of love instead of hate. George also knows that Curley would torture Lennie to death and George couldn't imagine Lennie going through all that pain so he took it upon himself to save Lennie from the
Although Lennie does not mean any harm, George still expects him to make poor choices. Lennie unintentionally kills Curley’s wife which causes the ranchers to ponder his fate. Society, in this case the ranch, does not recognize Lennie’s disability as a factor to his poor choices. The ranchers do not respect Lennie’s disability and decide he has committed an unforgivable action. Lennie has killed a human and for true justice to be served he needs to suffer the same consequences as any other.
It is often said that literature is a voice for social commentary. How is this true? Many books go straight to the point and thoroughly explain an issue, yet other books hide these problems inside of the story for the reader to find themselves. Of Mice and Men, a novella by John Steinbeck, presents many different problems in 20th century United States, that the country is still struggling with today. The author targets these controversies, and lets the audience search for them while reading the book.
Steinbeck develops the theme of power through his depiction of the foreshadowing natural world. Nature remains the only constant in a world of sporadic variables and power is accentuated in its duplicity. Externally nature appears mellifluous, tranquil and unperturbed, internally however lies something far more sinister. The clearing into which George and Lennie stumble may resemble The Garden of Eden, but is in fact a place with dangers lurking at every turn. The rabbits that sit like ‘grey sculptured stones’ ‘hurry noiselessly’ for cover at the sound of footsteps, hinting at the predatory world that will inevitable destroy George and Lennie. Through this, Steinbeck exposes nature as a powerful but vicious symbol of the cruelties of life, as its external beauty establishes a sense of purity which the world cannot sustain.
Even though the book has its rough spots, Steinbeck portrays the true bond of friendship that even people as close as siblings have. Throughout the story, George and Lennie stand up for each other, understand one another, and George always knows what is best for Lennie. George did not want to kill Lennie, but at the same time, he did not want him to have to suffer the horrible consequences; he knew that Lennie’s death would be beneficial to Lennie in the future. Furthermore, George knew what was best for Lennie and decided to kill him for his own good.
Value is the wish that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or utility of something or principles or standards of behaviour; one's opinion of what is significant in life . As human beings, there’s things we value as such, as material and physical values, economic values, moral values, societal values, political values, aesthetical values, spiritual values and rational values. As humans, we would like to think we are in charge of our own values and what is worthy of our desires (instrumental values). Merely this is incorrect for there’s intrinsic values, values that are valuable for the grounds of their nature such as life. For lesson, our human body demands water, why do we drink water because we need to life, but why do we need to life?