In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George was overall morally justified for shooting Lennie because he had good reasons to do so. George did take Lennie’s life but he did it to save Lennie from the pain of Curley’s wrath. If George did not kill Lennie, then he would have had to suffer through life in jail or an asylum or torture from Curley. Many people think that George was responsible for Lennie, so the murder was not justified. However, George was justified because Lennie had hurt others before and had strong potential to hurt again. One of the main reasons why George was actually justified for the killing is because Lennie had hurt others in the past and would most likely continue to do so. When they were in Salinas, Lennie got into very similar trouble when he wouldn’t let go of a girl’s dress. When George was asked by Slim what had happened in Weed he explained, “Well that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in a irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day. An’ at night we scrammed outta there” (42). This shows us that Lennie is trouble, brings it wherever he goes, and this is why they moved to Salinas. When at the ranch Lennie not only kills his puppy, he also breaks Curley’s hand, showing that the trouble that follows Lennie happens quite often. Lennie smiled with this bruised mouth. “I didn't want no trouble," he said. He walked toward the door, but just before he came to it,
I believe that George, in no way should be punished for killing Lennie. He did it for the right reasons and it was best for Lennie in that situation. The closure George and Lennie hot from this ordeal was better, and easier this way for both of them. This is a little bit of information on way I believe George was justified in killing Lennie.
Justice! What does it mean to be justified? Tricking your best friend? Betraying and ending his dream? Gunning him down from behind? Well, in the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, two men, George and Lennie, shared and worked for the same dream until several problems occurred, when eventually their dream lead to Lennie's demise. It was justified when George shot Lennie because Lennie made multiple poor mistakes, it was the only necessary thing to do. Many people argues it was unjustified to kill Lennie because they could have escaped together, however Lennie is a nuisance and tends to cause trouble
George and Lennie were best friends for a long time, more like brothers. Lennie is about as bright as a 2 watt bulb, so George couldn’t really get mad at him when he accidently killed Curley’s wife while feeling the softness of her hair. “…’I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know’”. The two had planned a future together—a future in their own dream ranch, a ranch where no trouble would ever bother them. “’You…an’ me. Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em’”. Then after he tells him about the rabbits that Lennie is so fond of, he shoots him in the back of the head where he knows it will not hurt him, and Lennie will not know what hit him. This is the peaceful alternative to what Curley had in store for him. Curley's exact words were "shoot the bastard right in the guts." George's euthanizing of Lennie makes the mentally incompetent Lennie die with dignity. Had Curley gotten to Lennie first, Lennie would have suffered. This shows you how much George cares for Lennie, no matter what he does or the crimes he commits. He’d always be there to help Lennie get right back up to his feet, make him forget all his worries, and move on like nothing happened. I strongly believe George was the right person to kill Lennie, and made the right decision in doing so, rather than to let him suffer in the hands of Curley.
As many people who were out to get Lennie, the only person qualified to kill him was George. George has been there for Lennie, his whole life, “Him and me was both born in Auburn… When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a little while” (Steinbeck 40). Furthermore, George was only trying to take away more suffering later in the future. Since Lennie killed Curley’s wife,
It has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt at this point, Lennie's innocence is not very accepted with the world because of his size, age, etc. He can’t really learn to change his ways due to his disabilities. Lennie can’t even understand why the bad things he has done are bad. Also, the fate he would meet at Curley's mutilated hands is enough to convince George that his only real option is to make Lennie's death as quick and painless as possible. Lennie would have died at the hands of Curly anyways, which would have been a much more painful and dehumanizing death for Lennie. He couldn't be taken to a mental hospital and in the depression, these were basically non-existent and spending a life in jail would be even more torture for a mentally ill person than death itself. George did what was right because he prevented Lennie from doing anything this terrible again, he stopped Lennie from a more painful death, and he really didn't have any other responsible
The first reason why George is justified in killing Lennie is because Lennie is worthless like Candy’s dog. Candy’s dog is causing trouble for the men, and suffering while it's still alive “Ain’t nothing left for him. Can’t eat, can’t see, can’t even walk without hurtin’( Steinbeck 47). Like Lennie, the dog is physically impaired. The dog can hardly walk and Lennie has some trouble moving around. Lennie is worthless, because he does
One reason George had to kill Lennie is because his punishment could have been worse. For example, on page 96 curley said he was going to take a shot gun and shoot him in the guts. “I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big ______________ myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts. Come on guys.” (Steinbeck 96). This states that Curley and other fellow ranchers were going to do horrible things to Lennie. Since George didn’t want Lennie to suffer, George took
He knew that it was his responsibility to kill Lennie. He killed Lennie because he was responsible for him. George also killed him because he did not want to feel guilty or bad like Candy. George also didn’t want Lennie to have a painful death by the hands of Curley’s gang. He knew that it would be best for him and Lennie for him to do it himself. He wanted Lennie to feel comfortable and he wanted to tell him how he felt. George says “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want you to know”(Steinbeck 106). George did the right
In the story to prove it, it says “They got to bring him in, I guess. They ain’t no way out. Maybe they won’t hurt ‘im. He said sharply, I ain’t gonna let ‘em hurt lennie”(steinbeck 95). This is important evidence because you see why George makes his decision on killing lennie because he keeps killing and now he just killed and human. Another reasoning for killing being acceptable because also in the book it says “le’s go now. He turned suspiciously on George. You're coming with us fella. Yeah said George. I’ll come. But listen, curley. The poor b*****d’s nuts. Don’t shoot ‘im. He didn’t know what he was doin’ “(steinbeck 98). This evidence is important because it shows how George didn’t want them to kill lennie and he wanted to because lennie didn't understand what he was doing and that he knew lennie didn't know that was wrong of him to do. So he needed to kill lennie in order to protect the rest of the community from lennie hurting
First and foremost, George has to constantly continue to repeat rules to Lennie because Lennie is undisciplined. Like, after Slim gives Lennie a puppy Lennie brings the puppy into the bunkhouse with him even though George told him he was not supposed to. For example, after Lennie comes into the bunkhouse John Steinbeck writes that George " reached down and picked up the tiny puppy from where Lennie had been concealing it against his stomach." (Steinbeck) In this quote it shows that Lennie disobeyed the rules that George has set with him so he could get the puppy this means that Lennie is undisciplined because he broke the rules even though he knew that there were specific rules that were not supposed to be broken. consequently, George has to repeat himself many times and treat Lennie like a child by fixing the things that Lennie messes up and disobeyes the rules. So George was justified in his decision to kill
First of all, George was not justified for killing Lennie because they could have escaped as they did in Weed. As talked about in the paragraph above, Lennie has a fascination with feeling soft things. When they were in the town of Weed, Lennie went to this girl and felt her dress. She panicked and he didn’t let go of her, so she claimed that he raped her. George and Lennie then had to escape a mob of people trying to kill them. “ ‘We run. They was lookin’ for us, but they didn’t catch us’ “(Steinbeck 7). If they could have escaped a mob in Weed, they definitely could have escape a group of ranch workers. In the book the screaming of the workers could be heard, but they still were not there.
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
Was George justified with killing lennie? In my opinion it was right and i will tell you why. The reasons is the events leading up to lennie’s death, was it justified, was it an example of euthanasia?
As the shot gun sounded all you heard was the dead silence of Lennie falling to the ground and rolling by the rivers edge. The terror arose for the other men when they heard the gunshot assuming the worst, that George was the one shot. All the men thought it was time for Lennie to die, They never put into consideration how nice of a man Lennie was he just had a little mental disability. After reading the book you might have a different opinion if you thought Lennie should have been shot by George, but they were practically brothers they have been together since they were youngins. In this case I do not think George was justified in killing Lennie because he didn't mean for harm to got towards Curley’s wife, he had a mental disability and,
George shouldn’t have killed lennie because it’s murder, his best friend and the got away last time so why couldn’t they get away this time. Since George killed Lennie if he got caught by the cops then he would have been sent to prison. “Wilts, he’s deputy sheriff. Le’s go now.” He turned suspiciously on George”( Steinbeck 98). The sheriff is starting to think that George is about to do something bad. It was wrong for George to kill Lennie because he told his aunt that he would take care of Lennie, and Lennie was his best friend. Since George told Lennie’s aunt that he would take care of Lennie. So therefor he should have tried everything to get Lennie out of trouble. “ Got kinda used to him”(Steinbeck 40). When George took Lennie