Pro Euthanasia in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

991 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is steinbeck message by killing lennie

The Ultimate Gift-Euthanasia

Prompt:

Defend or challenge the notion that George's act of killing Lennie was one of kindness

In John Steinbeck's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, George makes the decision of killing Lennie because he knows it is in Lennie's best interest. His act of killing Lennie is not considered criminal. George has good intentions in killing his companion. George is trying to prevent Lennie from being tortured and from his constant desire to please George and not cause trouble. Additionally, Lennie repeatedly places himself in difficult situations, and as a result, brings George into the circumstances. There is a close friendship between George and Lennie, and George had carefully thought out whether or not he should destroy his life. George is faced with witnessing the death of Candy's beloved, old dog and Candy's reaction to his death, which helps George to finalize his resolution. After several years of looking after Lennie, George knows what is best for Lennie, as well as the people around him.

George?s act of shooting Lennie can be looked upon as gracious. If Lennie had not left the world and his problems, a large amount of torture would fiercely come his way. The bloodthirsty mob, including the violent, disruptive Curley, has the mindset to demolish this ignoramus who killed Curley?s wife. Because of Lennie?s mental impairment and immaturity, he would not be able to handle such animosity. In saying that Lennie is not to blame for the death of Curley?s Wife, Lennie should not have to face the merciless people at the farm. George knows that Lennie is unable to survive in the world.

As disappointing as it is for George to know that he and Lennie will never be able to fulfill their everlasting ...

... middle of paper ...

... sheep dog and Lennie is an exceptional worker. Both Lennie and the dog are shot with Carlson?s gun at the back of their head. Carlson reasons with Candy in explaining that if he shot him in that location it would be painless. In knowing that Lennie was shot in the back of the head, George intentionally did this for him to have a more peaceful, pleasant death.

By examining George?s notion to kill Lennie, it is valid to say that his act was one of thoughtfulness and benevolence. Due to Lennie?s retardation, it is difficult for him to be independent. Lennie is able to escape being tortured, taken advantage of, and being so hard on himself just for George?s acceptance. George learns from Candy?s mistake of not killing his dog himself, and George takes the initiative to do it the right way. Euthanasia was a gracious way of George letting Lennie go.

Show More
Related

  • Of Mice and Men QQTT

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Decisions In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    As George becomes aware of the situation he begins to ponder what will happen if Lennie gets away. George understands that Lennie would not be capable of providing for himself out in the wild. As George contemplates allowing Lennie to be free of all the men, he “[is] a long time in answering” (94). George is one of the few men who understands Lennie’s mental limitations, he knows Lennie would not remember how to survive and “the poor bastard’d starve” (94). He

    Read More

  • Lennie Small Murder

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    Killing someone is never right. No one pointed a single finger to George for killing Lennie. They all thought it was ok since Lennie killed Curley’s wife, it is not ok to kill a person. All of them went out to drink after Lennie was dead. George did not even care, Lennie trusted George with everything. Lennie would probably be arrested for killing Curley’s wife, but he did not deserve to be killed. Lennie was a special person, he did not know his own strength. He never meant to kill Curley’s wife. George knew that but decided to kill Lennie anyways. That is not the definition of a true friend. No one accused George of anything, but instead were happy that Lennie ended up being

    Read More

  • Examples Of Euthanasia In Of Mice Of Men

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Does Steinbeck Make Difficult Decisions In Of Mice And Men

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Who Is Responsible For Lennie's Death

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • The Ultimate Sacrifice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Why Is Lennie's Death Justified

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    Therefore, George’s killing of Lennie was not done out of mercy, since Lennie did not consent and he was not suffering from a fatal illness. From the

    Read More

  • The Role Of Torture In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    than strict justice.”In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George decides to shoot Lennie instead of having Curley mercilessly torture and kill him. George makes the right choice by deciding to kill Lennie, if he didn’t, Curley would torture him and ultimately kill him because of his anger and hatred.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Murder In Of Mice And Men

    2516 Words  | 6 Pages

    George begins to hear the footsteps of the other men. To prevent the men from killing Lennie, George decides he has to kill Lennie himself. The scene is almost parallel to when Carlson shot Candy’s dog and Candy regretted that he did not kill his dog himself, but allowed a complete stranger to do it. As George talks to Lennie about the dream farm, “.[George] raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. He pulled the trigger.

    Read More

  • Justice In Of Mice And Men And Montana 1948

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lennie understands situations comparable to a child. His enormous strength and lack of intelligence cause Lennie to end up in trouble. Lennie has killed numerous mice, a puppy, and ultimately, Curley’s wife because he loves to pet soft objects. When Curley finds out about the death of his wife, George tries to defend Lennie. “The poor bastard’s nuts. Don’t shoot ‘im. He di’n’t know what he was doin,” insists George (Steinbeck 107). Curley wants to hunt George down and make him suffer. Lennie knows he did something wrong by killing Curley’s wife, even though he did not intentionally kill her. George realizes that he cannot stop Curley from killing Lennie after trying to appeal to Curley. Therefore, George kills Lennie in a humane manner. Lennie died thinking about living on a farm and taking care of rabbits. George tried to care for Lennie in a kind and reasonable manner. If George did not kill Lennie, Curley would have killed him in a cruel and unkind

    Read More

  • Sympathy For George In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    401 Words  | 1 Pages

    In ending of "Of Mice And Men", George kills Lennie after he killed Curley's wife. However, I can still feel sympathy towards George, and see his action as justifiable. In the beginning of the book I had sympathy towards George. The book starts with George talking to Lennie and from this you learn a lot about their relationship. After Lennie asks for ketchup, which they can't get, George gets angry at Lennie and says, “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble" (6). This shows the reader that George has given up a lot to take care of Lennie. He has given up his job security and a lot of his happiness because he takes care of Lennie. In chapter 3, the reader finds out how George and Lennie started traveling together, and from this the reader can infer that George travels

    Read More

  • Mercy Killing In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Candy tells George that he wishes he killed his own dog, that gets George thinking. George knew from the beginning that Lennie would be trouble in this ranch because it's a repetitive act of him. Lennie got in trouble in Weed with the girl, and George knew there was going to be trouble here especially with the flirtatious Curley’s wife even if Lennie never had any bad intentions. Towards the end of the book, George ends up going to Lennie first and killing him instead of allowing Curly killing Lennie. He ends up killing his best friend because Candy told George that he didn’t want “no stranger [to] shoot [his] dog” (61). And George decided to do the same to Lennie so no stranger would shoot

    Read More

  • Essay On Was George Justified In Killing Lennie Justified

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

More about Pro Euthanasia in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

Open Document