Murder in "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

Categories: Of Mice and Men

Death, the one thing all of humanity will eventually face, could be seen as an end or an entrance. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men George was right to kill Lennie. People Think murder is immoral, but there is such a thing as mercy killing. 'The act of killing someone painlessly.'Sometimes we may have to go to the extreme, as long as we know it is the right thing to do. That's how we know you care. How far would you go to help someone you really care for? What is your extent of a friendship?

We can argue all day whether killing Lennie was right or wrong, but there was no escape for either Lennie or George.

George heard, ' a man's voice called up from the river, and another man answered'(100). There was no time to plan the next move to get out. Curly and the other men were already near. What were the options? There was none to save George and Lennie.

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George made a decision to save Lennie from the pain before Curly could get to him. 'The voices came close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices'(101). George made Lennie think of the good times and even the future. George told Lennie to think of what the farm would look like and how he could tend the rabbits.

Now think about this; would you kill your best friend or have a total stranger do it. Hopefully you would choose neither, but what if those were your only options.

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Look at it like this; your friend is mentally ill and no one respects him so they treat him like a dog. The stranger happens to hate your friend because he killed someone the stranger really cared about. The stranger doesn't want to just kill your friend but torture hime. Would you just hand over your friend? Would you comfort him? Would you tell him everything was going to be ok? Hopefully you would make him think everything is ok, confirm his safety, and to save him from any more pain from anyone else. I would put him out while he was comfortable and felt so good about himself. Now if it was you what would you do? Regarding the story, replace the stranger as Curly, a short insecure man, and your friend as Lennie and yourself as George.

George and Lennie were such good friends, you can even say they were brothers. Lennie wasn’t the brightest star in the sky. It was hard for George to get mad at Lennie when he accidentally killed Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife had the soft feel of her hair and Lennie truly adored it, maybe a little too much. He killed her by breaking her neck while holding her hair, but he really didn’t mean to kill her. Geaorge said, ''I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know'(101). This shows how much George really cared about Lennie.

No matter how big the crime was, George always was there to help Lennie get back on his feet. George made him forget all his worries, and move on like nothing happened. George was the right person to kill Lennie, therefore made the right decision to, rather than to let him suffer in the hands of Curley. There was a chance for Goerge and Lennie to escape. If they picked their route quickly and carefully, they could have gotten a very small chance of escaping. If you think about it, Curley and his men were already close. They were also on horses with guns.

Absolutely no one can outrun a bullet. George and Lennie could have gotten lucky and Curly could have missed however, the chances of getting shot were quite high. They most likely would not make it out alive. If they did survive they would travel to the next town, which was probably miles away. Curley and his men would be able to find them easier due to witnesses.

George was right for killing Lennie. It saved them both. Escaping was not a very good option. Lennie would have been caught and killed. Where would that leave George. In the same position as Candy and his old dog who was shot by Carlson? It was better for George to kill Lennie, because he knew how to comfort him, and Lennie was always at ease with George and believed in him. Killing Lennie was easy, yet emotionally hard for George to overcome. But it was quick, less depressing and Lennie was happy. Death is the one thing all of humanity will eventually face. It could be seen as an end or an entrance. And in this case, it was an entrance.

Updated: Apr 19, 2023
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Murder in "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. (2020, May 05). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/murder-in-of-mice-and-men-by-john-steinbeck-essay

Murder in "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck essay
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