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Lennie Should Be Treated In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

513 Words3 Pages

Are people with mental disabilities, who have killed people, actually innocent? People, including those with mental disabilities, are still human beings. They should be treated as such. Yes, the court should be aware of that fact and consider if the fact may alter their decision. On the other hand, that person needs to earn a punishment. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Lennie is the one portrayed as a man with a mental disability. George, by the end of the book, made a final decision. He decided that he was impelled to kill Lennie. Although it may be reasonable not to kill Lennie, it can be argued that he should be killed. Lennie should not be killed, he has not done anything wrong. He has a mental disorder and has a tough time understanding certain situations. However, the men would not have taken that into consideration in the heat of that moment. They just wanted to get it over with so that Lennie would not have been in any sort of pain anymore. He is innocent and often has trouble understanding what he is doing. Though, he should have been monitored more …show more content…

This is an important topic considering how relatable this book truly is today. There is a great deal of people in this world who do actually suffer from mental disabilities. If an individual were to kill a person and that individual had a mental disability, would that fact be taken into consideration? Or would it just be ignored and have that individual just obtain a sentencing to the death penalty? Some may argue that it is not fair to ignore that fact. Others argue that it would be fair. Why would it not be fair? People who suffer from mental disabilities truly have a difficult time thinking about if this task is wrong or if this task is right. That does not imply if they happen to kill someone, they should just get away with it. There are always consequences after something unacceptable has been

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It sounds weird, but if he was put in a mental institution Lennie would probably wish he was dead. At the time of this book mental institutes were horrible places where people would be abused and treated like animals. Also if George didn’t get there before Curley would have shot Lennie in the stomach. If Lennie got shot in the stomach that would cause a lot of pain and Lennie getting shot in the back of the head he didn’t feel anything. It was for the best when George shot Lennie.

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1708 Words | 7 Pages

Most mentally ill people who are convicted on capital charges should not be executed, for three such reasons. Firstly, the executions would violate equal protection of the laws in any jurisdiction in which execution of children and people with mental illness of any kind that psychologically cannot fully comprehend what they are committing is barred. Secondly, many death sentences imposed on people with mental illness violate due process more so because their mental illness is treated by the aggravating factor, either directly or to create a separate aggravating circumstance. Thirdly, many mentally ill offenders, who are sentenced to death, will be so impaired to what is fully going on at the time of execution that they can not emotionally understand the significance of their punishment. Thus, they cannot be executed under the eighth amendment; Regarding this, the latter conclusion is required even if they are cured through some sort of treatment.

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1355 Words | 6 Pages

“Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community” (Nelson Mandela). Prior to the later part of the 20th century people with intellectual disabilities were often ridiculed, treated unfairly, feared, and locked away in institutions. According to Rhonda Nauhaus and Cindy Smith in their article Disability Rights through the Mid-20th Century, The laws of any nation reflect its societal values. The real life issue of discrimination towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States and Australia is demonstrated in the novel, Of Mice and Men by showing how this issue affects one of the main characters, Lennie Smalls.

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If juveniles have a mental disability they should not be sentenced to life in prison without parole, especially when it is a non homicidal crime. When children experience neglect and abuse it can take them down a dark path, which often leads to jail. Joe Sullivan's case is an example of this. As a child, Joe suffered from childhood abuse, which included both physical and sexual assault. This abuse took a toll on his mental state and led him to be easily manipulated by older kids.

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George Should Not Have Killed Lennie's Death

424 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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Argumentative Essay Of Mice And Men

507 Words | 3 Pages

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).

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George's Decision To Kill Lennie In Of Mice And Men Analysis

839 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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443 Words | 2 Pages

George killing Lennie is justified. Lennie was either gonna get killed by the other men or George. The other men were only doing it because they hated Lennie, George would have done it for the sake of Lennie’s safety and mental state. George would have felt guilty if he did not handle it himself. One reason George was justified in killing Lennie was that George had realized Lennie would never get better and their dream would never come true.

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728 Words | 3 Pages

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731 Words | 3 Pages

People today with mental disabilities are often criticized for not being “up to par” with everyone else in the world. This is true especially in the 1920’s, in which the novel Of Mice and Men takes place. Take Lennie Small for example, a large and hefty man, who has a mental disability. He, as a character, is blamed for the heinous act of murdering the antagonist’s wife, whose name is never revealed. It is true that Lennie does fracture her neck, but he does so without knowing.

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