Preview

Lennie and George Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
535 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lennie and George Essay Example
There are times in people’s lives when they have to decide if the situation has to be condemned or justified. In this novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, alot of the controversial incidents happened at the peak of ones emotion. This is referring to when George shot Lennie, but this is not the only time in this novel where this had happened.

George’s actions were justifiable when he shot Lennie in the back of the head because he was only trying to save his best friend. George killed Lennie to protect him from the terrible things that would have happened to him if he lived. George knew that if Curley had gotten a hold of Lennie first he would have tortured Lennie before he shot him. George didn’t want that to happen. He wanted Lennie to die without really noticing, without feeling a whole lot of pain, instead of what he knew Curley would have done. Which is why he was telling Lennie of their dream, telling him that he wasn't mad at him and that he could still tend the rabbits. He wanted him to be happy when he left so that he didn’t really realize what was happening. Another way his actions were able to be justified was because he was putting him out of his misery, Lennie wasn’t really actually happy so George had to kill him.

However George’s actions could also be condemned, Lennie was his best friend and he could have just run away and he would have been happy. He told George that he could go live in the mountains so why didn't George just let him run, let him be happy. George and Lennie had a dream, they were so excited about their dream and he just threw it all away with one shot. He let go of everything he had ever wanted in life and he also betrayed Lennie. Lennie did what George had always told him to do if he encountered such an event and Lennie followed through with those actions and even so was still killed, which isn't all that fair. Yes, he may have killed another human being, so he should be punished, but not killed. It is never

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    I believe george was justified in shooting lennie, george realized he would not want anyone killing lennie for something he did not mean to do. But also george knew if anything was to happen to him lennie would not be able to live on his own.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, George makes a rash decision, and that decision is shooting Lennie. I think George made the right decision shooting Lennie because Curley would’ve made sure Lennie was tortured, and Lennie got to die happy. Also, George gets to make sure no one else can get their hands on Lennie, causing him to get hurt worse than what already happened.…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Did George Kill Lennie

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    During this time, Candy said, “Curley gon’ta wanta get ‘im lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed” (94). So George vowed “I ain’t gonna let ‘em hurt Lennie” (95). And when the mob marched through the woods, George goes ahead of everyone and kills Lennie himself. He keeps his vow of not letting anyone kill Lennie, while not technically hurting him himself, since Lennie “jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and lay without quivering” (106). This means that George saved Lennie from a slow and painful death, while also avoiding him getting into any new trouble. This is only one of the parallel episodes in the book that involve euthanasia, or mercy killing.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    when George shoots Lennie it was justified in the way that it was in the way of mercy saving Lennie from the torture that Curley would have done to Lennie if George did not kill Lennie himself. George did not want Lennie be killed because of what he did, and in the book George finds the body before everyone else and…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many believe that it is immoral if George to kill Lennie. Despite the fact that he is killing him and killing is thought to be morally forbidden, one needs to understand why he thinks its the best thing to do. George is doing what he thinks is right. It is not immoral of George to kill Lennie.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a story based around the hardships of migrant workers in the Great Depression of 1920’s and 30’s America. The story follows the central protagonists, George and Lennie as they settle into life at a new ranch. However through the climax of the story Lennie ends up in a tough situation, leaving George to kill his only friend. The question is was George right to shoot Lennie in their situation? Or did he betray his friend in the worst way possible? This essay will explore the predicament of George and whether the actions he took were indeed the right actions.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One may want to say that what George did, that is shooting Lennie, was either the right or wrong decision. To put it into such a black and white decision, right or wrong, good or bad, compassion or unjustification, cannot fully describe the choice that George made. You cannot truly say if what he did was right or not, but simply that he had to. What George did was something that his moral compass told him must be done. How can you say that they would have gotten away if George had done otherwise, that they would have escaped and made it to another ranch and continued on with their lives. Chances are they would not get away, chances are Lennie would have died either way, creating a situation even more cataclysmic on Georges…

    • 135 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    George has been the one to step up to the plate and take that position. They got kicked out of Weed because Lennie went to feel a lady’s dress, and she accused him of rape. George somewhat felt guilty because as his caretaker it is his responsibility to make sure and keep an eye on him. George has to keep a close eye on Lennie and make sure that he is doing right. Any wrong thing that he may do could easily fall back on George, and they can lose everything, such as their job and shelter. At the end of the book, George had had enough of watching Lennie do wrong. He knew that after killing Curley’s wife, it could be something much worse, and being the friend he was he couldn’t watch him go through that…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lennie and George's partnership is more like a bond since they get along well, and they both have different mind sets so they make a great team when it comes to solving sitiations that need to be solved. They both have very good chemistry and they like to talk about the same things most of the time, but since Lennie isn't all the way there, he might ask the same thing over even though he knows them by heart. I mean, if George wants to repeat himself he can, but it's nice to know that George can care for other people when he wants to care for them. Their partnership is also about how they have each other's back no matter what they both do, it's like if they are a shield for each other when needed the most. Even though George is the one with the street smarts, and he know what he's…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What George did was right. George killed Lennie because George didn't want Curley to kill him. If Curley killed him Lennie would have suffered. George thinks that if he kills Lennie it will be pain free, so…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the end of the story Of Mice and Men, George faced the moral dilemma of killing his best friend Lennie or letting Lennie face the consequences of killing Curley’s wife. He made the right decision in killing Lennie. His reasoning behind it was mostly for Lennie’s benefit but there was a small portion of George that was glad to do the job. Although it would’ve been right morally for Lennie to be turned in to the police and face justice for his actions that just doesn’t happen due to the type of situation they’re in.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order to live a happy life , there are many sacrifices that you're going to have to take.George shooting Lennie was a sacrifice that George had to take in order to be happy and content with his life.So George definitely have the right to shoot Lennie. Lennie was causing so much mischief on the ranch such as killing Curley's wife and killing a puppy. George also kills Lennie in a more humane approach. George killing Lennie was out of pity and also out of love and care.In the book the character Candy ends up having his dog get killed by a fellow collegue by the name of Carlson. Candy regretted not being able to shoot his own dog because it would’ve been more merciful for him to do it than a stranger. The situation of Candy’s dog foreshadows that Lennie is going to die. The situation also teaches George a lesson causing George to be the person to shoot Lennie. George killing Lennie was the most merciful thing that he could do for Lennie.George not only wanted to end Lennie’s suffering but to also end the trouble that Lennie was causing on the ranch.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If George hadn’t shot Lennie when he did, Lennie would’ve suffered a slow, painful death and no one deserves that. “He {Curley} worked himself into a fury. ‘I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts. Come on, you guys.’” (page 96) Being shot in the guts doesn’t sound like the best way to go does it? I don’t think so. Given the choice of suffering or dying quickly, I would choose the latter.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The voices came close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices. Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.” “Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta.”And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men, is a highly acclaimed book which most students have read. However, he brings up a lot of issues that were plaguing the world at the time. One of the main characters, named Lennie, was a mentally impaired man who cared so much for things, he would accidently kill them. As his friend, George knew that no one would allow Lennie…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Then Lennie remembers in his hallucinations that George always gave him priority, he would always give him more than ½ of the food, and not so much for himself (Pg.101). It didn’t matter if he ate, but Lennie had to eat since he was a bigger dude and he had mental issues. Then they were looking for jobs George found an opening, but before they entered the farm he warns and gives Lennie advice on what to do if he gets into a mess or some trouble (Pg. 30). So George considers what Lennie has gone through in the past and reminds him where to hide if they get into a messy situation. Since other people wanted to kill Lennie, George killed him instead because he thought it would be cruel if some stranger would make him suffer pain before he executed him. Therefore George made his death painless and simple. He probably put himself in Lennie’s situation. After doing that he made a decision that seemed right, even if it hurt George mentally because he never wanted Lennie to leave him and not like that because it was like killing his own…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays