Of Mice And Men Mercy Or Murder Essay

Murder or Mercy Mercy killings are very controversial, many believe it is a form of murder where the perpetrator can masquerade behind the victim’s problems as an outlet of innocence, while others believe it is an ethical way to save someone from further pain or problems in life. Such as what Gigi Jordan was faced with, “The weepy mother confessed to taking Jude Mirra’s life in February 2010 at the swank Peninsula Hotel but insists that it was a ‘mercy killing’ to spare him from abuse at the hands of almost half a dozen people”. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, we see a very similar thing happen when one of two migrant workers, George Milton, is faced with the decision of killing Lennie Smalls, his mentally disabled companion, after

“Curly's face reddened. ‘I’m going,’ he said. ‘I’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself. Even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im’” (Lee 98). George realizes the trouble Lennie has gotten himself into and what will happen if he does not get to Lennie first, when Curley finds out about his wife’s death, he is furious and wants Lennie to be severely punished. George feels that he is the only one that should be able to put him out of misery because of all they have gone through together. This is a decision made of compassion and understanding of Lennie’s situation, a mercy killing. Not a cold, malicious killing that murderers are characterized

The event is similar to a killing that happened in Ohio when a husband shot his dying wife as a death pact. “Murder or mercy killing? One story that dominated headlines this week raised that question in a particularly dramatic fashion: An Ohio man is accused of shooting to death his ailing wife of 45 years, possibly as part of a "death pact" promise to prevent her from suffering” (Lynch). Many Americans are starting to speculate if mercy killings are murder or to prevent suffering. An event that started this debate was when John Wise, 66 of Massillon, Ohio shot his wife while she was in the hospital as a death pact. Wise said that his wife was in a very serious medical condition and said that there was a feeling that she would never recover to any quality of life. Many believe that John’s actions were warranted as a mercy killing, because of his wife’s situation. However other believe his actions were uncalled for, without a doctor’s diagnosis of a terminal illness. Although most of the evidence points to the killing as a mercy killing, judges and juries still realize the situation John’s wife was in out of sympathy for her condition. There is similarly another event like this in Of Mice and Men, when George kills Lennie in an effort to put him out of his misery, to stop any other harm or pain to fall upon