Title
“My ultimate aim is to make euthanasia a positive experience” (Jack Kevorkian). Of Mice of Men by John Steinbeck shows has a very dramatic ending with the main character George, killing the other main character Lennie. George and Lennie are great friends, but it had to happen. This quote connects to what happened with George and Lennie because George did the best he could to make the euthanasia a positive experience for Lennie. George did this to Lennie as a friend, and he knew he had to do it because of Lennie's previous actions. The act of George killing Lennie was an act of euthanasia rather than murder. More specifically it is an act of non voluntary euthanasia.
One important reason that shows George's actions of killing Lennie is a euthanasia is a very important reason. The reason is that Lennie can't really tell George that that he wants to die, but he actually does in a more indirect way. Lennie's mental state is very low and it would be hard for him to tell George directly and give his constant.
…show more content…
This shows throughout the book with the many different mistakes Lennie makes. Lennie starts off by killing mice, then he kills a puppy and finally a woman! After Lennie kills Curley’s wife George responds by saying “I should of knew… I guess maybe way back of my head I did.”(Steinbeck 94). George knew it was gonna come to this and he probably also had a feeling Lennie was going to continue to kill more people or animals. Plus, when the character in the book; Candy asks who did it, George says “Ain’t you got anr idea?”(Steinbeck 94). That shows that George knew he was gonna have to do something about Lennie. George was going to have to do something about Lennie sometime, and after George killed a woman he knew there would be no other choice that to kill Lennie through non voluntary
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.
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
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.
Consistently throughout the story George and Lennie were there for each other; in fact towards the very beginning Lennie and George discussed how they were better off than most guys because they had each other (14). When George killed Lennie a part of him died too, George knew murdering Lennie would hurt him mentally and emotionally. However he did it because he wanted what was best for his friend no matter the cost. His actions were altruistic and that made his decision the more favorable one. Another instance when George was selfless was when he gave up his dream. Throughout the story George and Lennie dreamed of and worked towards owning their own piece of land together. However, after discovering Curley’s wife dead, George returned to reality and informed Candy that they would, “never do her” (94). After losing his friend George understood the impossibility of achieving the American Dream. Beforehand George knew he would not want to live out his dream without Lennie, so by protecting Lennie and giving up on his own dream he put Lennie above himself. Conversely, someone may believe that George's actions were selfish and that he benefits himself by killing Lennie. After George comes after Lennie, the dim-witted man asks if George was going to yell at him. Reluctantly George told him “If I was alone, I could live so easy,” (103). Although George said
First, when Lennie sticks his head in the scummy water from the stream in the beginning of the book it shows his inability to think things through before he carries through with them. Another example includes when he grabbed the woman’s dress in Weed. He did not think it through when a normal fully mentally capable person would be able to think that grabbing a strange woman’s dress would not be appropriate. Similarly, he almost duplicates the situation except this time instead of finally letting go of the dress he accidentally killed Curley’s wife resulting in a worse outcome than the situation in Weed. Lennie is unable to think for himself in a safe and well opinionated manner, therefore, he needs someone like George to take care of him and prevent him from bad situations. However, the worse part about Lennie’s neverending trilogy of mistakes is that he does not learn from them. He makes the same mistake of killing multiple mice because he pets them too hard and never learns to be more gentle. George states in the novel ,”He’s awright. Just ain’t bright. But he can do anything you tell him.” (Steinbeck 22) This statement shows that though George is telling the boss how well he can work, he is also expressing how he doesn’t make decisions for himself and that he needs George to take care of him. George also says,” Yeah, you forgot. You always forget, an’ I got to talk you out of it.” (Steinbeck 23) This statement also portrays some of the reason he doesn’t learn from his mistakes. Lennie has a very difficult time remembering anything other than instructions that George gives him. George could not have just let Lennie go because he would not be able to make good decisions, nor could he take care of himself on his own, therefore George made the right decision to end Lennie’s
Lennie’s unintentional mistakes resulted in the sudden end for him, but was done in the best way possible. As Lennie would’ve been subjected to a life of loss, running and suffering, George correctly made the decision in euthanizing him. While contemplating whether or not to euthanize him, George knew he very well could but it wasn’t the easiest decision to make on his part. If George wouldn’t of made the decision he did, Lennie would’ve had to run for the rest of his life with no account of what happened or what to do due to his mental illness. He would’ve been seen as a criminal and hunted down like animal which is inhumane and cruel. Although his mishaps weren’t meant to be as extreme as they were, the consequences were foreshadowed throughout
In conclusion, George killing Lennie was a murder because of lack of consent and Lennie was not suffering physically. In this society, people are scared of the unknown, and that is how they lived. No one realized what they were doing was wrong. But Lennie was just like everyone else, only different because of a small, mental setback. The characters did not seem to realize that Lennie believed in a future ahead of him, and that he had hopes and dreams just like them. Life is incredibly short, and no one should deserve
One of the reasons why George should have killed Lennie is to keep him out of an institution. It is clearly not on the bright side for Lennie to be put in an institution. This is backed by Slim saying “…An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George.”(pg. 97) Lennie would obviously be miserable without George anyway, his only kind friend. Without George, Lennie wouldn’t know a lot of things he does now, or what to do in situations. Lennie has one of the rare mentalities that always needs someone by their side. These are all good reasons that it would be a good thing for George to put Lennie away rather than in an institution.
After Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attack. He had the moral clarity that let him see that killing Lennie was the best thing for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing.
Lennie began to grow furious at her for dying because of how George would react if he found out. George was left with no choice but to kill Lennie for his own
An eight-year old boy walked in to his grandmother’s room to find her not breathing. He instinctively called 911, not knowing what his grandmother’s or mother’s wishes were. That should have been the end to his grandmother’s suffering, but it was not. In this instance, doctors insisted on keeping his grandmother on life support, despite his mother’s request and his grandmother was incapable of articulating her wishes. She didn’t want her mother on life support. Today in modern “democratic” medicine, physicians are suppose to serve and advise, and only in extreme situations of incapacities, emergencies, lack of available health care proxies, or patient’s waivers of decision making should they decide for a patient. Euthanasia should be the decision of the individual, not family, not government, and not the medical community.
Although the desire to give the most humane ending possible to a suffering individual is honorable, mercy killing is essentially murder. Merely excusing the fact that euthanasia is murder by arguing that it is implemented with good intentions is faulty reasoning. This would be analogous to condoning the act of stealing simply because it was done to relieve the suffering of hunger. Murder is a crime for a reason; it is the deliberate ending of a person 's life. Richard Huxtable, author of four books on euthanasia, advocates that, "...[life] should never intentionally be brought to a premature end" (58). In making this comment, Huxtable urges us to realize that utilizing assisted suicide can cut short one 's endowment of life. While it can be perceived as a compassionate alternative to prolonged suffering, the ethical considerations behind physician-assisted suicide demand careful
Humphry, Derek. “Euthanasia is Ethical.” Euthanasia. Ed. Carol Wekesser. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1995. 17-20. Print. Opposing Viewpoints.
In examining the different forms of euthanasia, it ultimately becomes clear that both voluntary and non-voluntary passive, or negative, euthanasia do not violate ethical principles as they act in such a way that they basically restore man’s right to death. This form of euthanasia “means discontinuing or desisting from the use of extraordinary life-sustaining measures or heroic efforts to prolong life in hopeless cases when such prolongation seems an unwarranted extension of either suffering or unconsciousness” (Russell 20). That is, it is an action that has the purpose of allowing death to occur naturally, whereby it becomes very difficult to criticize passive or negative euthanasia according to ethical and religious arguments. This form of euthanasia, although it can occur without ...