Of Mice and Men persuasive essay
Death, the one thing every person will eventually face, could be seen as an end or an entrance. What is your extent of a friendship? How far are you willing to go to help the person you care for? For many reasons, the majority of people think murder is immoral—especially if it was your own best friend. But sometimes we may have to go to the extreme, as long as we know it was the right thing to do from the heart because that’s how much you know you care. In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, I strongly believe that George was right to kill Lennie.
We can all argue back and forth whether George killing Lennie was wrong or not. But the fact of the matter is—there was no escape. George heard “a
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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.
So do I think George was right for
After going through all the evidence, I still believe very strongly that George was justified in killing Lennie. In anyway someone tries to spin it there's always a counter that justifies George still did the right thing. In our lifetime where there are many cruel people we’re obligated to do the right thing no matter the consequence, even if it's hard to do, it's best for
After Lennie has inadvertently murdered Curley’s wife, Curley’s lynch mob go out in search of Lennie. George’s decision is almost inevitable to spare Lennie’s life, rather than let Curley and his gang destroy the bit of life Lennie has.
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,
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
George promises Lennie many things once they get their own farm, “’O.K. Someday- we’re gonna get the jack together… ‘Specially if you remember as good as that.’”(15-16). So George killing Lennie was for his own benefit and it was a very immoral thing to do.
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
Is murder always bad? In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, a character who goes by the name of George shoots and kills his mentally disabled best friend on purpose. Some people would automatically think that George is a terrible human being, but based upon the situation the two men were in, George was only trying to protect Lennie. Even though George is tough on Lennie throughout the story, George is only trying to stop Lennie from getting into any trouble. Throughout the book, Lennie finds himself in troubled situations. His dear friend, George, often helps him out of these situations or shields him form harsh punishment. George’s actions justify his treatment and harsh actions towards Lennie.
Lennie would never be able to survive without George, Lennie would be miserable alone and scared.Lennie would have been tortured by Curley if George had not killed Lennie.Before George killed Lennie says "I remember the rabbits,George”.George and Lennie would not been able to get away since last time they had a head start . Lennie would suffer regardless with George even if he came to see him in prison.Lennie has no way out in this so George did the right thing by putting Lennie out of his misery by killing him.Curley would not just kill Lennie he would have made him suffer by torturing him because Lennie had humiliated Curly twice.
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
Another reason George had no other choice was that Lennie was not fully aware of his mental abilities as he was his physical strengths which often lead to Lennie getting in trouble like his one one incident that happened in weed before they came to the ranch. Also, aside from Curley’s Wife Lennie has killed other things before such as a mouse that he found, and a puppy on the ranch so Lennie could be a danger or potential threat to others on the ranch which would make sense to why George would have simply no other realistic choice but to kill him.
Some people think that George did not do the right thing by killing Lennie because there were alternative options for shooting him. But, if George and Lennie decided to run away, they would be running their whole life, and if George decided to turn Lennie in, he
The decision of killing should not be looked upon as criminal. George does not have a cruel heart nor does he take pleasure in killing Lennie. George wants what is best for Lennie and he takes the time to set up a nice, peaceful conversation on a topic of interest to Lennie. He instructs Lennie to ?look down there acrost the river, like you can almost see the place? (106). He reassures Lennie that everyone will treat him pleasingly.
“‘Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em.’ ‘Le’s do it now. Let’s get that place now’” (106). These are the last words that filled the air between George and Lennie, their last exchange preceding a pivotal moment in both of their lives. They conversation calms and soothes Lennie, who hopes to finally get the farm that he and George dreamed about for so many years. Yet unbeknownst to him, Lennie would soon be set free from his earthly bonds by his long-time friend; a bullet, shot from the barrel of George’s gun, would enter Lennie’s head and kill him instantly. That bullet was not one of self-gain and moral disrepute, but one of freedom and liberation from worldly restraints. While this remains a hotly contested topic in classrooms reading Of Mice and Men, George’s intentions in killing Lennie were overwhelmingly good-natured.
First here are the events leading up to lennie’s untimely death. Well lennie and george find a ranch but there is tension between curley and lennie because of his size. One day curley's wife and lennie are in the barn alone and lennie accidentally broke her neck killing her so lennie runs off. Curley sets out to find lennie and this is when george killed lennie. You might be saying the events don’t make it right. Well curley would have killed lennie one way or another.
George killed his best friend with nothing but sympathy and love. If George wouldn’t have killed Lennie, Curley would have in front of him. If Curley didn’t kill him he would have been put in jail or a worse place like an insane asylum. George killing Lennie was mercy killing and he did what he had to do for Lennie’s sake.