Imagine seeing the person your best friend go out and kill another human being. But, now you can't be on his side to back him up. You were obligated to make him pay for what he had done. For many, this may sound fictional or very unrealistic. But for George Milton this was the case. George has been taking care of Lennie for quite a long time, ever since Aunt Clara asked George too. Lennie has always been unintelligent and unaware of his surroundings. However, what lee now had done took his unintelligence to the extreme. Lennie had killed the wife of Curley. George and the guys at the ranch and had found out, and Curley was furious, he wanted revenge. George was obligated to pull the trigger. There is no doubt that George had done the right …show more content…
"He had brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head". (Steinback 106) Curley wanted to kill Lennie himself, and make it hurt as much as possible. As Lennie saw it, he had no other option then to kill Lennie. Wanting to make it hurt as least as possible. George put the gun right up too Lennie's head, which would make him die instantly and not have to suffer in pain. Compared to the way Curley wanted to kill Lennie, by shooting him in the gut so he would stay alive, while suffering and bleeding out. Without a doubt this quote demonstrates how George felt obligated to kill Lennie in the least hurtful way possible. Also, after shooting Lennie George's body language after he had killed Lennie told the reader he did not want to kill Lennie to make him suffer. After George killed Lennie the author states "George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him". (Steinbeck 106) Meaning only one thing, George really kept having second thoughts on killing Lennie. As he began too think about it and realized Lennie is going to suffer far less if he would shoot him at that moment. Because Curley would have hurt him horribly, and George would have to witness these fatal events taking place right in front of his eyes. George may have regretted killing Lennie, however deep down he knows he did the right things by flowing his obligation of not …show more content…
Meaning, Curley killing Lennie would result in no significance to him, but because if the bond George and Lennie have established, Lennie suffering in George's hands would mean the most to him. George said, "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun". (Steinbeck 41) Meaning George and Lennie have virtually and unbreakable bond that was formed. They have been together for a long time now and have done everything together. George needs Lennie as much as Lennie needs George, they provide comfort and support for one another even if Lennie does takes it over board many times. They have an amazing bond therefore George knew that Lennie was going to get killed, and he knew he needed to be the one to do so. In addition, At the begging of Mice of Men candy's old dog was suffering and everyone at the ranch knew it had to go. Slim and candy had no connection therefore when slim had shot what meant mist to candy, he regretted not shooting the off himself. "Quote about candy regretting not killing his dog". Connecting back to the first quote. Candy knew it would mean more to him if he were to kill the dog himself, and let the animal he loved to suffer in his own hands, not in a strangers which would mean absolutely nothing to him. The author wants to describe how an Individual is obligated to
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.
Even if George hadn’t killed Lennie, Curley would of killed Lennie himself, and Curley would of torture Lennie before killing him. Curley had always hated Lennie and he wouldn’t of hesitated to kill him. His anger had excited the other men, making them want to kill Lennie too, “Curley carried a shotgun in his good hand… Whit said excitedly “I ain’t got a gun”(97). They even sent the dogs after him. If George hadn’t shot Lennie, he would of been torn apart by ferocious dogs; it would of been really painful for Lennie. If the dogs didn’t rip him apart, Curley would of done it himself. George knew that and that’s why he shot Lennie himself. He wanted Lennie to have a peaceful death. He made Lennie comfortable and happy, then he slowly raised his gun and shot him, Lennie didn’t even feel a thing. What George did to Lennie was best for him; he
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,
“I'm going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself.” (Steinbeck 96). In the book, Of Mice and Men, Curley shows that he is a very truculent person. He wants to diminish Lennie, Lennie doesn't realize there is a complication because he can not develop things in his mind as easily as the other men. At the end of the story, Lennie makes a very bad mistake and in response he gets killed because he becomes a danger to other men. Mercy killing in Lennie's situation was the better decision because his friend George shot him. George was putting him out of his , if George wouldn't have killed Lennie then Curley would have. Through the whole book Curley talks about his hatred for Lennie, and at the end he shows it by threatening Lennie's
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,
In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie learn to travel and experience the world together as they take on a new job working on a ranch in central California "bucking barley" for the ranch owner and his son. Lennie, not being able to control his actions, hurts too many people and things and men were chasing after the two, so George decides to take action and shoot Lennie. Although some may disagree, George did the right thing by shooting Lennie because he could not have avoided hurting someone else in the future, he could not eventually learn that the things he did were wrong due to his disability, and he could not learn to eventually control his own strength.
George does not make a wise decision in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. George chooses to kill Lennie because of Lennie’s uncontrollable killing. Lennie does not mean to kill anyone but he is unaware of his strength. George thinks he is doing the right thing by killing Lennie, but really he is making a huge mistake. He believes that he is doing this for the sake of others but his decision if immoral. George was wrong for doing this, he does this for his benefit, and he is guilty.
Any good person does not want to watch a friend to be hurt, and George is no exception. George is most worried for Lennie when Curley says ‘“i’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big dumb bastard myself, even if i only got one hand.”’ (steinbeck 48). this is when Curley, Slim and Carlson are getting together to find Lennie and hurt him and kill him. George thought
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
The Great Depression affected millions of people in America, two of those people affected were George and Lennie. George and Lennie are migrant workers that struck a job in California. George can be described as the brains of the partnership, while Lennie is more of the muscle. In the story Lennie has a fascination with feeling soft objects. This later gets them in trouble in the town of Weed. Once they get to the job, they go months will no big problems. Until, Lennie accidentally killed The owner’s son’s wife. After this happened Lennie ran off, and all the workers went to go find him and kill him. George does find Lennie before any of the other workers, and even with the chance to escape, he shoots Lennie. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the murder of Lennie was not Justified.
George knew that Lennie would never be truly happy without him. George knew that if he didn’t get to Lennie first, than Lennie would go to jail . He also knew that Lennie couldn’t live without him, because Lennie depends on George to always be there for him. Lennie humiliated Curley when Lennie broke Curley’s hand. Curley said to the guys around him, “‘I’m going in shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand’” (98). George knew that Lennie would be tortured by Curley because Lennie killed Curley's wife and humiliated him when Lennie broke Curley’s hand and won the fight, so George had to kill Lennie to keep him from suffering. Lennie would either in jail and suffer because Lennie doesn't have George, or be killed and tortured by Curley and suffer because Curley won’t kill him fast. George only had one choice and that was to kill
I’m arguing why George should have killed Lennie in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.Curley was going to make Lennie’s death painful anyways. Curley was mad about his hand and losing his wife so he thought he would shoot Lennie.”Ill shoot him in the guts”(Steinbeck).Lennie was going to die either way so why not just get it over with.George should have shot Lennie because he may be slower but being slower does not get you out of murder.George should have killed Lennie when he saw Curley’s wife’s dead body because he got nervous and scared for him because George knew what the guys were going to do to him .”I know what I have to do” (Steinbeck) I think the quote proves my point because George knows he is going to have to kill Lennie.Lennie
Did George do the right thing by killing Lennie? George shot Lennie to save him from a dreadful and painful death. Curley demanded that they find Lennie to kill him, Curley orders them to fetch Crook’s shotgun, and the pack sets off after Lennie. George kills him so he does not feel like Candy who felt very bad after letting a stranger kill his dog. George decides to put him out of his misery like Carlson did with the dog. Lennie couldn’t survive on his own.
The parallels between Lennie and George’s relationship and the relationship that their workmate, Candy had with his dog reaffirm the power dynamic between George and Lennie. In the novella, Candy must kill his dog because it is old and weak. Candy felt such extreme regret when it came time to kill his dog, that instead of doing