Of Mice and Men Essay
Of Mice and Men
As human beings we understand that murder is wrong, but there are occasions when murder would be a more compassionate and humane choice for the victim than what they would otherwise face. This is illustrated perfectly in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The central character, George, was morally justified in killing his friend Lennie, because his motives were born out of compassion.
George was trying to protect his friend by killing him. Lenny was a man with a simple, childlike mind. He was completely unaware of his immense strength and because of this ignorance, he unwittingly killed a woman. When a manhunt ensued, led by the woman's husband Curley, George was able to protect Lenny one final time from the cruel and torturous death awaiting him. There was no way for Lennie to escape death. Curley would never have allowed him to live. Candy, a fellow bunk mate, made this very clear to George when he said, “You don't know that Curley. Curley gon'ta wanta get 'im lynched.” Death was Lennie's fate, but George didn't want to see his friend hurt and dying in pain and confusion. He knew Lenny didn't kill the girl out of meanness. “Lennie never done it in meanness. All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of 'em mean.” Anyone could attest to the fact that meanness was not a character trait Lennie had. The only protection George could offer was that of a less cruel death.
George felt that if his friend had do die, it should be quick and painless. He wanted Lennie to have a sense of calm in his final moments and he wanted him to “never know what hit him.” Candy had a dog that needed to be shot and put out of his misery. When the time came, a fellow farm hand put a bullet in the back of the dogs head “so he wouldn't feel nothing” The dog was a loyal and blindly trusting friend that had outgrown his usefulness. The same thing could be said about Lennie. He was a person, but his innocent mind made him more
As human beings we understand that murder is wrong, but there are occasions when murder would be a more compassionate and humane choice for the victim than what they would otherwise face. This is illustrated perfectly in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The central character, George, was morally justified in killing his friend Lennie, because his motives were born out of compassion.
George was trying to protect his friend by killing him. Lenny was a man with a simple, childlike mind. He was completely unaware of his immense strength and because of this ignorance, he unwittingly killed a woman. When a manhunt ensued, led by the woman's husband Curley, George was able to protect Lenny one final time from the cruel and torturous death awaiting him. There was no way for Lennie to escape death. Curley would never have allowed him to live. Candy, a fellow bunk mate, made this very clear to George when he said, “You don't know that Curley. Curley gon'ta wanta get 'im lynched.” Death was Lennie's fate, but George didn't want to see his friend hurt and dying in pain and confusion. He knew Lenny didn't kill the girl out of meanness. “Lennie never done it in meanness. All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of 'em mean.” Anyone could attest to the fact that meanness was not a character trait Lennie had. The only protection George could offer was that of a less cruel death.
George felt that if his friend had do die, it should be quick and painless. He wanted Lennie to have a sense of calm in his final moments and he wanted him to “never know what hit him.” Candy had a dog that needed to be shot and put out of his misery. When the time came, a fellow farm hand put a bullet in the back of the dogs head “so he wouldn't feel nothing” The dog was a loyal and blindly trusting friend that had outgrown his usefulness. The same thing could be said about Lennie. He was a person, but his innocent mind made him more