George Killing Lennie Justified

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.

Sometimes the hardest situations in life force you to make a difficult decision and that is exactly what George has to do. The book “Of Mice and Men” is a story based on 2 men, George and Lennie in the 1930’s. George and Lennie are traveling farm workers. Most travelers don’t travel with others, but Lennie and George have a different situation. Lennie is mentally challenged and a family friend of his, George, promised Lennie’s aunt Clara that he would take care of Lennie and do what is best for him while they are out working. Although some would argue that George did not make the right choice, George’s decision to kill Lennie was right due to the fact that Lennie would have lived a harsh life in prison, Lennie might have suffered in a mental institution and leastly Lennie wouldn’t have had the right medical attention to help with his gunshot wound.

George was right to kill Lennie. Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child, while George on the opposite, is an independent individual. Yet such two different people have formed a “family”, clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation during their journey. Innocent Lennie is mentally challenged with no ability to understand abstract concepts like death. He consistently does not mean to do the things that put him into trouble, and once he does get into trouble, he has no conscience to define his actions in terms of guilt. Consequently, the dramatic scene unfolded - George had no choice but to kill his best friend Lennie after he knew that Lennie killed Curley’s wife. Was George right to kill Lennie? This essay

Before arriving at the Ranch, George and Lennie worked at the Weeds and had to desert their old jobs because Lennie had grabbed a girl's dress and she “tells the law she been raped” (Steinbeck) and the “guys in weed start a party to lynch Lennie” (Steinbeck). Lennie also hurts animals like the mouses the “lady would give to him” and “she stopped givin’ ‘em” because Lennie “always killed ‘em” (Steinbeck). Lennie had killed Curley’s wife in a violent struggle where “Lennie had broken her neck.” The evidence provided proves that Lennie hurt and killed people or animals countless times, which makes Lennie an immediate threat to those around him even if it was unintentionally. George recognizes this and decides that killing Lennie prevents him from accidentally hurting or killing someone else making George’s decision to kill Lennie

And Lennie has to watch what he does himself too. First, George did the right thing by killing Lennie because Lennie held George down. In the article on page 10 it states, “If I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble.

George a kind caring friend or cold blooded killer? As we read Of Mice and Men we watch as George and Lennie’s friendship develop as they work on the farm. They encounter many problems along the way because of Lennie’s mental disability;George basically takes care of him since Lennie has no one else, they’re very close and they always got each others back. Then after all that we are hit with very heartbreaking ending. Where George has to decide whether or not to kill Lennie.

“‘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.

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

Throughout the novel, George showed qualities of leadership, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, sense of fraternity, sense of respect for others, and sense of human dignity. These character traits of empathy to keep himself and Lennie alive. Lennie had a mental disability that everyone overlooked, he was very tall and broad, and did not realize his actions or strength. George felt guilt over Curley’s wife death and was unsure if the law would find

George retells the dream and prevents Lennie from seeing the shot coming. From George’s stance, the euthanasia was an acceptable act of love since Lennie would have had to go through a slow agonizing torture: lynching or shooting. Lennie’s death was inevitable, and running away again was not going to resolve it the second

One way the book “Of Mice and Men” demonstrates that it was the right decision of George killing Lennie is because even if they both run away George will not feel safe with Lennie, and will be even more scared that he will make more trouble than he already did. With the situation of Lennie 's disability it gets worse because Lennie cannot control his strength. For instance, when Lennie

“Lennie never done it in meanness” but he never learned from his mistakes (95). Although, he often “tried not to forget,” ultimately Lennie was incapable of remembering his past mistakes, leading to the recurrence of the same errors (4). If Lennie were to survive, he would most likely continue this course of action, and many more people would be in peril. Thus, there is a reason why society wants “to lynch Lennie” (42). They want to “shoot [him] for a coyote,” because Lennie is essentially a rabid animal that has been sick too long to save (13). He is still sweet and caring, but there is blood on his hands and as time continues his hands become dirtier and dirtier with every life he harms. After a certain point society would realize that all efforts to help Lennie would be in vain and eventually a judge would face the same choice as George: should he save one life and endanger thousands or condemn one life and spare millions? Either way someone would die; the only question is whether that person should be an innocent passerby brutally murdered by Lennie, or if it should be Lennie, the man who had brutally murdered an innocent

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

     In Of Mice and Men, George shows the weight of responsibility on taking care of Lennie. George knows he could be better off without Lennie. “When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts,” George finally expresses. He even tells

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck George kills his best friend Lennie. George’s reasoning for this is that Lennie is killing too many people and has become a burden. Lennie does not realize that he is doing wrong by accidentally killing animals and people. George says that he is doing this for other’s benefit when really he is doing this for his own good. This was wrong of George and he is guilty because even though Lennie was accidentally