Unfortunately everyone has had to put down an animal at one point in their life, but is it acceptable to put down a fellow human? In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, as readers, we are faced with this question. Everyday thousands of animals are put down because there is no hope of them having a family to care for them, but can we ever truly justify putting down a fellow human being because they require special care? Unlike pets or other animals, humans possess the ability to communicate clearly with others and reason with them. In this book George, Lennie’s “friend”, ends Lennie’s life, only with no verbal warning to Lennie. Lennie was unfortunately killed when he could have possibly lived a better life if George gave him the chance. Lennie should not have been killed because he could have potentially been a valuable asset, a good friend to keep company with, and a kind person at heart. …show more content…
George was a good worker, but Lennie was an amazing worker with a tenacious work ethic and stamina. Lennie had incredible strength, but sometimes he did not understand just how massive he was. Many times throughout the book Lennie is caught hurting people or killing animals on accident. The biggest reason Lennie should not have been killed was because he was a major asset in the working force. That means he could have helped continue to bring in money towards the farm they dreamed about operating someday. Some could argue that he was also a hinderance. As soon as Lennie was in an isolated environment on the farm, it would have been hard for him to find trouble. George gave up on Lennie and was tired of dealing with him, so he shot him. Killing him was a costly
Imagine that your dog suffering unimaginable pain. The vet has no way of relieving this terrible state she is in. Her eyes look so sad. Hearing her moans are unbearable. She's restless and can't get comfortable no matter which way she lays.
If you think about when a dog is in pain or extremely sick to the point where you cannot make them feel better, you put them down to take that pain go away. George was taking away Lennie’s pain, his pain may not have been physical but mentally it was there, and it was what made him hurt so many people even if he did not mean to. If Lennie was not euthanized by George, he may have gotten in a lot of trouble with Curly. Lennie does not understand what he did wrong and may have gotten beaten to death which would have been long and extremely painful. Instead, George took his life fast so that he did not have to suffer.
While in the book, Lennie was described with animal traits, which makes him look innocent on the outside. On the other hand, something inside of him might awaken and turn Lennie into a dangerous beast. According to George’s decision expressed as “He looked steadily at his right hand that had held the gun” (Steinbeck 107). He predicted the only outcome for Lennie was death, but it was not decided on which person to kill Lennie. Eventually, George had to do what is right for Lennie, his one and only irreplaceable
Another reason Lennie should not have been killed for what he did was because Lennie doesn't know his own strength. George should not have killed Lennie because he should of taught him that he is stronger, when the first accident happened in Weed. George should have taught Lennie how to control himself when he was little.
Lennie with his simple mind, always gets into trouble. This time, Lennie gets himself in a bind once again, that George can’t save him from. George decision to kill Lennie in the story, was due to his responsibility, sympathy, and love for Lennie. George’s decision to kill Lennie was out of sympathy for him.
as obvious from his unintentional killing of Curley's wife that he was unable to live in society without doing wrong. George put an end to Lennie's life so that Curly couldn't shoot him in the stomach andIn John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, George made the right choice to kill Lennie. Lennie was a pleasant and well-meaning man, but he had a mental illness that made him hazardous. Lennie had killed a lady and an animal in the past because he was unable to control his own strength. If George hadn't killed Lennie, he might have unintentionally hurt himself more as well as many people George had to make a really difficult choice.
Lennie’s pure strength and actions led his best friend George to kill him, so that he doesn’t get in any more trouble. George killing Lennie was a justified murder because Lennie was too dangerous, Lennie would have been killed anyways, and he only would slow George down and drag him into trouble. Lennie was way too dangerous to be kept alive, because he has no comprehension of his true strength. He was just too mentally challenged to even understand his sheer power.
Some people might think in the opposite side that George should not killed Lennie because Lennie did not mean to anything. He has done it without knowing how strong of himself. Lennie made many troubles this might be because of his disability, but this is the reason that he deserves to live. He has done many thing that make George get into trouble and It is better if Lennie has to die because of George shoot him not the other. "All the time he coulda had such a good time if it was not for you” (Steinbeck).
George made the right decision to kill Lennie because they were best friends and it would hurt George even more if he had to know someone else did it. For example when Carlson killed Candy’s
In the novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George’s decision to kill Lennie at the end of the novel was justified. George and Lennie were best friends, and have been since they were little. They got ran out of Weed(the old farm they used to work at) for harassing a girl and not letting her go. He was just scared from her screaming and kicking. He didn’t mean to harm, or scare her.
The main reason George killed Lennie is because Lennie would have killed somebody again. And the evidence is clearly there, the pet mice that he killed, the poor puppy that he accidently hit to hard, and especially Curley’s wife. He almost killed the girl in weed if he had gone any further. The sad thing is is that he doesn't know how strong he really is, nor does he know what he’s done wrong in the first place.
Although, Lennie’s actions probably weren’t his fault, with him not being able to learn from his actions and remember that his own strength is too much for him that he became a threat. George, pained to do it, knew what was best for Lennie and other people/animals, and had to end his life. Overall, even though George had to make some pretty drastic decisions and someone’s life got taken away, it was all for the best and nothing bad will no longer happen and who knows, maybe George will get to live his
Another reason is the ranchers would’ve killed him no matter what so this way George ensured it was fast and painless. On the other hand, this was condemned because George had been saying how his life would be so much better without Lennie and this allowed him to be able to live that life. George's decision to kill Lennie was justified because Lennie was going to be killed no matter what. After all of the ranchers find out that Lennie killed Curley’s wife, Curley states that he is going to kill Lennie, "I'm gonna get him.
It is clear that George did not have the right to end Lennie 's life in such a selfish way. George always talks to Lennie about how fabulous they are when they are together at their own ranch and from day to day I end up with their life in a very cruel way. In conclusion, it can be said that George 's reasons for ending George 's life were enough to do so since Lennie was a very dependent person and could not stand alone. George tried to help him at all times as far as he could, but still Lennie was still in serious trouble, that 's precisely the reason why George wanted to prevent Lennie suffering in the future because he realized that he could not live alone.
George’s decision to kill Lennie was ultimately for his benefit. “The hand shook violently, but his (George) face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger” (Steinbeck 106). The quote which states how Lennie dies also shows that George was nervous and hesitant in killing Lennie. Scarseth explains in the article, “Friendship.