...of being ethical. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George’s decision to kill Lennie is ethical. According to the Common Good Approach, George’s decision was ethical, as Lennie’s existence benefitted others more dead, than alive. This is because of his almost inhuman strength. However, he was also an irreplaceable worker, as described by the skinner, Slim. “’Say, you was right about him. Maybe he ain’t bright, but I never seen such a worker. He damn near killed his partner buckin’ barley. There ain’t nobody can keep up with him. God awmighty I never seen such a strong guy.’” (39) One can argue that because of his...
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...Lennie Small was a man of great strength and a childish mind. His companion, George Milton, is a man of great wisdom and average physical features. These two men have traveled and worked together, and shed blood, sweat, and tears together. It is without a doubt that these men have formed an unbreakable bond of friendship between each other. Though Lennie committed a careless act of murder, Curley was not going to stop until he fulfilled his revenge for his wife’s murder. This resulted in George taking the life of his best friend out of love, safety, and friendship. George may have taken his friend’s life, but he did it for the greater good of Lennie. Lennie was George’s only companion, and the only person whom George cared for like family. Like Candy, George would rather be the one killing his friend than having a stranger torture and end his friend’s life because he loves Lennie and wants him to have a peaceful death. George’s decision to kill Lennie prevented him from the possible verdict of a mental institution. Lennie’s dependent personality and mental state would make a mental institution a horrible place to spend the rest of his life. By killing Lennie, George made a tough and thoughtful decision to prevent any more misfortunes to his friend. Also, not only did this decision free Lennie from misery. But also it resulted in George to be a lonely man. In addition, by killing Lennie, George made a decision to save the population from the careless but harmful acts of Lennie...
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...recurring theme. The book closes with a final decision by George which results in the death of Lennie, a mentally challenged character who is accompanied by George. This, though sad, was the right choice for the reasons of sparing Lennie, helping the public, and most of all, saving George from stagnation. Lennie was a danger to himself. He brought trouble wherever he went, such as touching a little girl’s dress out of curiosity, causing him and George to be run out of weed, losing their jobs. He was also too dumb to understand the consequences of his actions, such as drinking water from a stagnant pool as demonstrated in this quote; “ ‘Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night’...’You drink some George. You take a good big drink.’ He smiled happily.” (Steinbeck, 3). Lennie was a danger to others, he killed many animals by accident, and then was only mildly concerned. He was “too stupid to know his own strength” (Steinbeck, 62), which caused serious issues, such as when he broke Curley’s hand. This resulted in Curley hating Lennie even more, and an illogical and emotional reaction to the death of his wife,...
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...Mice and Men, almost concludes when Lennie Small, a guy who had a mental illness accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Unfortunately, the book tragically ended with George Milton, another struggling migrant worker and Lennie’s friend, murdering Lennie. On the contrary, many people see how George can be justified for this action for having Lennie's best interest in mind and for saving him from a path of destruction in the future. However, George’s decision in ending Lennie’s life can not be justified because George did it for his own selfish needs, Lennie could have escaped like he did in Weed, and even though he was mentally ill, he still had the right to live. For example, George can’t be justified for killing Lennie because he killed Lennie...
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...is carried out without a trial. No laws are taken into consideration, but instead an angry mob of men with guns is present. Mobs react with violence for real or imagined crimes at their own discretion, not waiting for legal justice to take course. Steinbeck expresses the idea that when justice fails people take matters into their own hands through George’s decision to kill Lennie. On the surface, the answer seems obvious to most people. Of course George should not have killed Lennie; murder, after all, is wrong no matter what the circumstances. Yet it is not as simple as that. Throughout the book, Lennie seems to be unaware of what is right and wrong, and this makes him a burden to George. Every time Lenny did something bad, they had to quit their jobs and start somewhere else. If George had let Lennie live, Lennie would not have been able to look after himself properly. Lennie couldn’t look after a puppy – let alone himself. Lennie was bound to hurt someone after the Weeds incident. No one could control Lennie from doing all the “bad things” he does. Even George does not know how to stop him because in the end Lennie kills Curley’s wife. George provides justice for Curley’s wife and stopped it from ever happening again. Carlson insists on shooting the Candy’s dog because he claims it is too old and ill to be of...
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...helping 130 terminally-ill patients commit suicide, had to decide whether or not he was justified in assisting the death of these patients. After reading Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the readers have a chance to take a side on relatively the same issue of whether or not mercy killings are justified. The novel is about Lennie Small, a huge, mentally impaired man, and George Milton, a friend that looks after Lennie, searching for work in California during the Great Depression. Towards the end of the novel, Lennie enrages Curley by accidentally killing his wife, and George is left with the decision of whether or not to kill Lennie himself. George decides to shoot him solely out of love for his friend, but this killing initiates a debate in which the readers can take sides about his righteousness. Some people believe that George is justified in killing Lennie and should have done it, while others would argue that George should not have done it and should be held accountable for murder. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George Milton should have shot Lennie Small because George is his friend and knows what is best for Lennie, and he knows that if Lennie lives, he will suffer. Other people may believe that George should not have shot Lennie and should therefore be punished because Lennie has mental issues and his killing of Curley’s wife is a complete accident. Because of his mental disability, Lennie has a tactile deficiency and likes to pet soft things to help calm himself down...
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...Persuasive I think that George should have killed Lennie because it was the right thing to do. Lennie was getting out of hand so someone had to put a stop to it. Curly was going to kill Lennie anyway and Lennie would have known it was coming, but with George killing Lennie and halving Lennie think about the new place and tending rabbits Lennie never saw it coming. It was better this way because Lennie wouldn’t have seen it coming and George would not have been sad that Lennie was dead. Although the ranch hands could have locked Lennie up instead of killing Lennie he would have suffered by not halving enough food in the room/jail. George shouldn’t have killed his best friend, but “Lennie done another bad thing”. Lennie was not George’s best...
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...In the Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men” George made the right decision to kill Lennie. He was killing animals and people. It’s also costing George jobs money. He killed him for his own good and it was a painless death. George really cares for Lennie, who was his childhood friend. George was very responsible while Lennie couldn't even care for himself because he was mentally disabled. He killed mice, rabbits, puppies, and even a woman. Slim gives Lennie one of his puppies but Lennie accidentally kills it by hitting it too hard on the ground. He killed Curley's wife by shaking her so hard her neck breaks. He doesn't kill her on purpose and the only reason he did that was because she wouldn't stop yelling. Not to mention Lennie was a strong...
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...Relationships come down to two critical things; loyalty and sacrifice. Good relationships last forever and are supportive, such as Lennie and George. They would sacrifice anything, so they can make each other happy. On the other hand, bad relations are created when people are sneaky and selfish, like Curley and his wife. They made bad decisions and are unsympathetic towards each other, which is the opposite of what a loving married couple should do. Being loyal and not putting yourself first is hard, especially as a ranch worker in the book Of Mice and Men. This book takes place in California during the Great Depression. Throughout the book, they show the many problems that workers in general have to face. They also portray the idea of the...
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...Is it acceptable for people to kill? Is it EVER justified, even if the person committing the crime thinks it is satisfactory? In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men , George Milton is confronted with these questions, which have major consequences, with little time to think of the possible outcomes. Even though George may be able to keep his crime hidden, the law is the law. If a person disobeys it they pay. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and Lennie would have been better off in prison serving out a sentence for the crime he committed. Thus, George should be punished for killing Lennie because he is supposed to take care of Lennie, George wanted to be by himself, and he stole a gun and used it when it was not permitted to him. One of the many reasons the killing should not be justified is because George Milton made a promise to take care of Lennie, and murdering Lennie did not fulfill that promise. In fact, it was the exact opposite. In chapter 2 when George was speaking to the boss about...
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...descriptions such as ‘God-like eyes’ he is quickly established as a character with an excellent moral conduct. In contrast, Curley is described as ‘alla time picking scraps with big guys’. With Slim, we can constantly compare characters with him, to intensify their weaknesses. For example, Slim has an ‘authority so great that his word was taken on any subject’, whilst Curley ‘wore high-heeled boots’ to superficially show power. This comparison highlights Curley’s inner insecurity as we see he has to dress for respect whilst this comes to Slim naturally. Slim is also a character assessor on the ranch – his judgement on Lennie is that ‘he’s not mean’. All the time leading up to this, we as readers have probably already arrived to this opinion, but by an authoritive figure like Slim repeating it we can be sure of the innocence of Lennie’s actions. Furthermore, Slim’s power on the ranch makes him a voice of justice throughout the novel. Because justice is so subjective, Slim’s views provide an objective way of evaluating George’s latter decisions in the novel. We are initially surprised when we learn that Slim ‘drowned four of [the puppies] right off’, as it would be seen as a form of murder. However, his initial God-like descriptions deter us from seeing the wrong in his actions – but we consider that if he had not done this, the other puppies would have all starved. Through Slim justifying the doctrine of double effect, we realise how practicalities can take precedence over ideals...
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...by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie are friends who look after each other. Lennie is mentally handicapped, and sometimes gets into trouble because of his strength. George does everything he can to keep Lennie safe, but this is a heavy burden placed on his shoulders. When Lennie makes a fatal mistake, George makes a choice that will haunt him forever: to kill his best friend. His choice to mercy-kill his own friend, rather than seeing him put into a jail or insane asylum, was the only possible choice. One event that influenced him was the death of Candy’s dog. While in the bunkhouse, Carlson convinces Candy that the dog, who is too old to do any work, would be better off dead. Even Slim agrees that the dog’s suffering would end if he was put down. Since Slim is looked upon as the leader, Candy has no choice but to let go of his dog. After the dog is dead Candy says to George, “I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog.” (Steinbeck, 61). This is a foreshadowing of Lennie’s impending death, and of how George chooses to mercy-kill Lennie later in the book....
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...and Lennie Small on their search for work in the Salinas Valley of California. Friends since childhood, George and Lennie settled for work on a ranch where troubles soon arose. While trying to protect Lennie, George was faced with a crippling decision and upon great consideration, shot Lennie in the back of the head. George made the right decision killing Lennie because, on his own, Lennie would not be able to take care of himself. Also, George realized that due to the fact that Lennie killed an innocent girl, they would not be able to run away from the problem this time. Some people may argue that George did not make an acceptable decision in killing Lennie, however, if George did not kill Lennie,...
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...Protector In the book, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, George made the correct decision when he shot Lennie. One of the first reasons it was good that George shot Lennie was because Curley was going to shoot him anyways but the way Curley would have shot most likely wouldn’t have killed him right away and then Lennie would have just suffered. “I’m going to shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand . I’m gonna get ‘im”(Steinbeck). That quote proved the first reason because, the way George shot Lennie, Lennie was killed instantly. If Curly were to shoot him, he would “shoot the guts outa him”. Lennie would have ended up with a extreme amount of pain and suffering and George didn’t want that. The second reason it was good for George to shoot...
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...George kills Lennie. There is question whether or not George was validated in his decision. Provided Lennie did not have malicious intent, George was justified in his decision to shoot Lennie because Lennie caused trouble and burdened George. To begin, Lennie caused many of the conflicts in the novella. In chapter three, Slim and Carlson were giving Curley a hard time about his wife's carelessness. Lennie is smiling during this event. Even though Lennie is thinking about the ranch, this is not the time nor place to be smiling. Curley says brutally, '"What the hell you laughin' at?'" (Steinbeck 62). In this quote Curley shows he is heated. He is also putting all of the blame for the situation with his wife on Lennie. This tends to be a theme throughout the book causing more trouble. After Curley confronts Lennie, he becomes very aggressive. "Curley was balanced and poised. He lashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right"(...
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