The Consequences of Lennie's Carelessness in In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

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Doing careless things can lead to the downfall of an individual. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Lennie does careless and thoughtless acts that lead to the downfall of himself and others around him. The careless actions of Lennie were apparent through Lennie and the pups, Lennie and Curley’s wife, and Lennie and George. Thoughtless actions appear in many ways such as animal cruelty. Lennie likes to feel soft items such as velvet, fur and items such as puppies. In the introduction to the story and characters, Lennie was carrying a dead mouse just to pet it. He was traveling with George, his best friend, who acted fraternal to him. When George and Lennie went to work on a different ranch, Lennie was promised a puppy from Slim, the grave lead skinner. The pups were tiny and were newborns. Lennie’s instructions were to leave the pups in the nest. But on a frigid night, he takes one of the pups out. George said, “You get right up and take this pup back to the nest. He’s gotta sleep with his mother. You want to kill him? Just born last night an’ you take him out of the nest” (Steinbeck 43). Lennie had disobeyed Slim and George and took out the pup from the nest. Lennie really likes to pet pups, and that characteristic gets the best of him. Taking the pup out of the nest was a thoughtless idea and eventually led to the downfall of the pup. Lennie’s actions led to the death of a pup. Lennie had disappeared to the barn where the pups and horses were. He was visiting the pups. “Lennie looked at it for a long time, and then he put out his huge hand and stroked it” (Steinbeck 81). Lennie had killed a pup by hitting it in the head when it tried to bite him. He did not think hitting the pup in the head through and it lead to the downfa... ... middle of paper ... ...George terminated Lennie for a truly unknown reason. But the event would not have taken place if Lennie had not killed Curley’s wife or gotten them fired in weed. Ultimately, Lennie’s previous actions caused the downfall of himself and the downfall of George emotionally. Inconsiderate actions can lead to a person’s downfall. Different people broke down due to the actions of Lennie with the pups, Lennie with Curley’s wife, and Lennie with George. All in all, a person might be influenced by their thoughts to formulate poor decisions.. This knowledge can affect today’s society. People should think twice before choosing to do one thing or another, for if everyone made inconsiderate decisions, the world would not be able to reform, due to everyone’s selfish choices. Everyone would turn into selfish and unsympathetic people. These careless decisions do not benefit anyone.

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