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Character analysis for george int. he book of mice and men
Character analysis for george int. he book of mice and men
Aspects of psychology in of mice and men
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Of Mice and Men is a story of the co-dependent relationship between an intelligent migrant worker and his only friend who struggles with understanding his own strength and social etiquette. In the final section of the story Lennie makes the mistake of accidentally killing Curley’s wife. As all the workers find out they set out in groups to find and kill Lennie. During all this chaos George grabs Carlson’s luger and goes out to meet Lennie at their hiding place. Once there George makes a decision out of courageous love to kill Lennie before Curley and the others get a hold of Lennie. George’s decision to kill Lennie was for courageous love because Curley would’ve killed Lennie in a much more painful way, Lennie would have ended up in a mental …show more content…
In the text, Curley angrily says, “I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill that son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot ’im in the guts”(96). Curley says this as he sees his dead wife for the first time, without any mourning or despair he wants to go out and take revenge on Lennie. Curley is still angry at Lennie about his hand being crushed and this whole situation makes Curley as angry as ever. Curley wants to kill Lennie by shooting him in the gut with a shotgun. This is an extremely painful and slow way to die. It involves dozens of BBs penetrating the stomach and slowly the victim will begin to bleed out, from all the bullet holes, in extreme pain. On average it takes multiple hours for a person to die from a wound to the stomach. George killing Lennie, saves him from hours of pain and misery that a shotgun shot to the stomach would inflict. On top of that Lennie has the mind of an eight year old child, so he wouldn’t understand what was going on and this painful wound would cause many tears and a lot of …show more content…
At a mental institution Lennie would lose all the positive qualities of living. As a dangerous incredibly strong man Lennie would have been tied and chained to his bed and locked up in his room. At the institution Lennie would never be able to see George again let alone have a conversation with another human being. If being tied and chained was deemed no longer humane Lennie would be placed in a Utica Crib, this was basically a coffin except it had bars like a crib. Then Lennie would be placed in a locked up in a room all alone and worst of all he would be without his best friend. Often times the patients of mental institutions were left to rot away in their own feces, these institutions were considered to be hell on earth. Also the doctors were constantly using the mental patients for experiments and to find out what caused them to have these mental
“Nobody’d listen to us” (81) exclaims Crooks when talking about being ignored. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the characters Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy experiencing loneliness and isolation while living on the ranch. These characters attempt to socialize, succeeding and failing. Loneliness and isolation of the characters results in yelling, bullying, and even a broken neck.
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.
In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s insecure character is shown through what other characters say about him. One instance in which Curley’s insecure disposition is shown is when the other men are talking about him after he verbally attacks Lennie. When George demands to know why Curley disrespected Lennie, one of the other men responds saying Curley tends to pick fights with big guys like Lennie and furthermore explains, “Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy” (26). A great deal of Curley’s insecurity stems from his size. Despite superficial efforts to make himself appear bigger, Curley knows he will never amount to the size and strength of the other men on the ranch. To compensate for his size, he often times tries to prove himself through fighting.
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
People were terrified and disfranchised, John Steinbeck created Of Mice and Men which sets place during the ¨dirty thirties¨ (time of the Great Depression) a time where strength could not overcome aloneness and alienation. The child-like character Lennie was one of the most misunderstood characters even with his best friend and caretaker George. In the beginning, they were uncanningly together in a society of loners during the time having only each other, so close many assumed they were brothers. Throughout the story George had vowed to take care of Lennie, however under the circumstances he faced he chose to shoot his ¨best friend¨. What truly led up to this and how would the story have gone differently if George did not kill Lennie?
This is because Curley only is hunting Lennie down to kill to keep his macho up and not all because of Lennie really killing his wife. For example, right before Slim, George, and Curley head out to find Lennie, Slim suggests that Curley stays with his dead wife but Curley refuses by saying, “‘I’m goin’,’ he said ‘I’m gonna shoot the guts out of that bastard myself…’” (98), and it uncovers how much he did not care about his wife's death, or her life in general. and saw the death as an opportunity to kill Lennie. Another up to snuff example of that was Curley saying, “‘I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts’” (96). This presents how Curley did not even bother to report Lennie to the cops to get the time that he deserved but his first thought was to get his shotgun and shoot him in the guts. Not just only was it Curley and his wife's fault for Lennie’s death but so was one more
George did not ask Lennie if he wanted to be killed. Mercy killings are usually a patient requesting the action, so it’s usually not done without consent like the situation in this book. Also, there were many other options for Lennie like him living in the mountains as he mentions. “‘George gonna wish he was alone an’ not have me botherin’ him.’ He turned his head and looked at the bright mountaintops. ‘I can go right off there an' find a cave,’ he said. And he continued sadly, '--an' never have no ketchup--but I won't care. If George don't want me...I'll go away. I'll go away'"(Steinbeck 100). The evidence proves that there were other options than killing Lennie. He could have lived in the mountains with or without George. They could have hidden in the brush somewhere far away from Curley, and none of these actions would’ve been necessary.
As in all stories, characters are forced to make some of the toughest decisions. They must walk the line between right and wrong, a line that isn’t always clear. In the story Of Mice and Men, George Milton makes the unforgettable decision to shoot his friend, Lennie Small. While there is argument between whether George’s decision was right or wrong with no true answer, the ideas of morality and friendship play into his decision. There is also truth when saying that George did make the right decision to shoot Lennie. It is a scarring decision that he had to make, but the history, setting, and environment portrayed in this book makes this distressing choice the right one all the same.
Of Mice and Men Quarterly Measurement Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck that describes the journey of George, and his mentally disabled friend, Lennie, as they travel and work together on a ranch in California. The story of Of Mice and Men accounts for the experience of George and Lennie as they encounter different people on the ranch who live in solitude, such as Crooks, the negro stable buck, and the wife of the boss’s son, Curley. Crooks the stable buck is always alone because he is black, and during the time period of which the novel takes place, people with colored skin were discriminated and excluded from white social activities. Curley’s wife is alone most of the time because most of the men on the ranch stay away from her because they don’t want to get in trouble with Curley and because Curley doesn't pay attention to her. The loneliness that these characters experience impacts their personalities and actions in such a way that these characters are misunderstood most of the time.
Firstly, if George did not kill Lennie, Curley would have inhumanly killed Lennie. Curley plans to torture Lennie because he has killed his wife and wrecked his hand in the fight earlier in the book. For example: Curley says, “ I’m gonna shoot the guts out of that big bastard myself even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get im” (98).
“I never seen no piece of jail-bait worse than her” (George) what is the reader supposed to think about Curley’s wife?
John Steinbeck wrote a story about two men that only had each to depend on. Many of George and Lennie's struggles come from things they cannot control such as Lennie's mental issues. George and Lennie are very poor and they work on farms together, but they have to move a lot because Lennie always does something stupid. The greatest tragedy in Mice and Men was when Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife. She was the reason why Lennie ended up being killed. She knew of to manipulate others to get her way and that is what she relies on most of the time.
George shoots Lennie because he sees what the other people on the ranch would do to Lennie. After asking Curley if he could not shoot Lennie, Curley tells George that, "'I’m gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im'" (50). This shows that the others on the ranch weren't going to consider that Lennie was disabled, and Curley would try to make his death very painful. This gives George a motivation to kill Lennie: so he could make his death as painless as possible. This makes the reader have sympathy towards George. Additionally, the result of George killed Lennie, who would be the closest person to George to die at his hands, leaves George devastated that he had to do something like that to his best friend. Even though it is the best option and if I were in that scenario, the thing I would do, it understandably still makes his feel heart-broken. Ultimately, the whole book has made me feel sympathy towards George, but the ending makes me feel so much
“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.
Life is full of choices: where to go to school, where to live, who to marry, and what jobs to apply for, and most of the time each of us control what happens with these choices. What if those choices brought someone to the point of being trapped and feeling helpless? In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck the wife of Curley is in just that spot. She made the choice to marry a tyrant of a man and is now forced to live with the consequences of her decisions. Curley’s Wife is misunderstood due to the workers’ assumptions, Curley’s relationship with her, and her unclear background.