Lennie Small Murder

In the story Of Mice and Men, one of the main characters by the name of George fires the round of a Luger pistol into the back of his best friend’s head, Lennie Small. Without context, this would be seen as murder, as a crime. But, in this particular scenario, this act was not murder, it was mercy. Lennie was a disabled man, he was forgetful, unempathetic, and easily frightened. Not to mention he just killed a woman. Lennie is not a terrible man, a bit disadvantageous maybe, but all the same he has never hurt a single thing with malice. He simply can’t understand what he does is wrong, he can’t comprehend death. “And Lennie said to the puppy “Why do you got to get killed You ain’t so little as mice. I didn’t bounce you hard.” (Steinbeck 85)

This trend continues when he kills the Curley’s wife, the previously mentioned woman. When she finally is killed, Lennie doesn’t react in the way a normal person would. He says to himself “I’ve done a bad thing” (Steinbeck 91). Then continues to hide a measly half of her body underneath some hay. If we trace the story back, one will find Curley isn’t on the best of terms with Lennie. Lennie is tall and full of muscle, Curley is a miniscule, scrawny man. Due to this Curley is quite intimidated by Lennie, and that clashes with Curley’s egotistical personality. Furthermore, Curley’s father is the owner of the ranch, meaning he has somewhat of a reputation to live up to. All of this leads up to Curley hunting down Lennie. While he claims he wants to kill him only for the reason he killed his wife, but it can easily be inferred that Curley has been waiting for an opportunity like this. This is where the “murder” of Lennie comes. George spared Lenny by shooting

In today’s world, only five states allow Mercy Killings, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, California, and Vermont. Brittany Maynard is a person who actually described why she wanted to “kill herself”. Brittany decided she wanted to take part in a mercy killing by reason of she was destined to die anyways. In 2009, Brittany was diagnosed with a brain tumor and she would most likely die within six months. She believes it would be better for her to die on her own terms, and while she was comfortable. In fact, she dies in her own bed surrounded by her family. Much more of a comfortable death than what would've happened if she decided to let the tumor run it’s course. According to “Death With Dignity Advocate Brittany Maynard Dies in Oregon” by Bill Briggs, Brittany died peacefully, and on her own terms. This connects the killing of Lennie Small because George also ensures Lennie dies peacefully. George is simply giving Lennie a better