Once in school there was a girl who couldn’t speak well. She could only make out a few words, but not sentences. Kids bullied her because of her issue. Teachers ignored her and let it slip. The kids bullied her even physically, and nothing was done to help her. Why did this happen? People are treated differently, but society does not wish to change at the whim of others.
“When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace” (Steinbeck 12). George does not lie and tells Lennie how good of a life he could of have. This quote shows that he is always thinking about how much money or how much easier his life would be without Lennie always holding him back. Ever since Lennie was a boy George has been taking care of him, and he never stops getting into trouble. George cannot keep a job because of Lennie, he cannot let Lennie even talk around anyone because he talks too much about the things that George does not want people to know. When Lennie killed Curley’s wife, George was finally fed up, and so was everyone else. He had reached his breaking point with Lennie, and so had everyone else. Lennie obviously was too mental to know what he was doing just like the time before that when he would not let go of that woman’s dress. Lennie just has no business around anyone, he is too dangerous even though he cannot help it.
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is the story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who are on a mission to live off the “fatta the lan’.” The story is based in 1930s Salinas Valley, California, and shows the troubles that George and Lennie meet while they work on a ranch to earn enough money to buy their own land. After a mishap leads to Lennie killing a rancher’s wife, George kills Lennie as an act of mercy for the safety of others and for Lennie himself. The differences and similarities between George and Lennie give light to what motivates their actions and how they function together.
Spoiler Alert: At the end of the book “Of Mice and Men”, George kills Lennie. It was a controversial death, with people from one side saying that George’s decision was justified, while others disagree and say that it was not justified. George’s decision to kill Lennie was justified by the fact that he had always looked out for Lennie, Lennie was going to die anyway, and he couldn’t bear to watch Lennie be tortured by the other workers.
Lennie is a gentle guy who can 't really control his reactions while in a sudden moment. He makes mistakes very quickly to where he can 't control the outcome. He is a strong guy who isn 't very smart, he lets george do all the thinking out of there group. And his short of intelligence escapes him when he gets into a serious matter. He makes a lot of mistakes very often, but he gets by because everyone knows how he is.
The words selfish and selfless are two completely different words with two completely different meanings, yet they get confused quite often. In “Of Mice and Men,” some readers may envision the character George as selfish or harsh towards Lennie, however, Steinbeck portrays George as selfless. George and Lennie find themselves in penurious situations very often. This is burdensome for George considering Lennie’s mental disability, and it should be expected that George will become infuriated with him at times. It is evident that George’s actions and words towards Lennie are selfless or caring represented by Lennie’s mental disability, his troublesome behavior, the life George could have without him, and why George kills him.
Within the novel it states, “Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it” (Steinbeck 15). This quote shows that Lennie is causing distraught to George, leaving him to potentially ruin their future. Also, George took in Lennie when Lennie’s Aunt left him to George, so George trusted Lennie to not cause trouble to his passion. Something distinct to an individual, a personality trait, is shown in Lennie as his behavior results in him making unwilling choices towards others. George shooting Lennie in the back of the head was a good choice, as he was causing to much harm to George, as George has to watch over him. Finally, Lennie’s death occurred as he does to much to the town and Curley, and putting Lennie out of his misery was a good choice.
Running away from a crime is never acceptable; Lennie ran away after committing the crime of killing Curley’s wife. A book called “Of Mice and Men,” written by John Steinbeck is about a long adventure with Lennie and George trying to fulfill their American dream. Their American dream was to own a farm, but it did not turn out the way they expected. George ends up shooting Lennie for the crime he had committed. George did make the right decision for killing Lennie because he is always ruining their chance to fulfill their American dream, causing trouble, and being harmful to the society.
Lennie’s mental difficulties often frustrate George, and at times he lashes out at Lennie. When Lennie complains, George explodes, “‘Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy’”(Steinbeck 11). Lennie doesn’t understand that George can’t give him everything. At times, George gets angry that he always has to support Lennie, “‘You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get’”(11). George always has to come to Lennie’s aid when he gets into trouble, “‘You do bad things and I got to get you out’”(11). These issues dishearten George, because he is forced to constantly travel to new places to stay ahead of the law. Even when he isn’t with Lennie, George still complains. When talking to Slim, he says, ‘“Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time’”(41). Overall, George believes that even though Lennie is a loyal friend, he is a pain to deal
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. And then about a year later when Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife, the whole farm was after him. George shot him in the temple of his head for a quick and painless death. Lennie had to be killed because he didn’t know his own strength. And he was too dumb to realize what he was doing. Also Curley and Carlson would’ve tortured Lennie and then killed
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. Love. That too is what Of Mice and Men is all about. Lennie and George, disparate types, are all against good reason, friends. They share a good dream. They love one another” (Scarseth 3). George killed Lennie out of love because he knew Lennie would suffer if he lived longer. Even though the action was bad, George decided it was best to kill Lennie to protect him. He knew that if Lennie was still alive, he would suffer greatly for two reasons: Curley wanted to avenge his wife and eventually Lennie would be sent to jail. If Lennie stayed alive, then Curley would have taken him and tortured him through immense amounts of pain for a long period of time. In addition, Lennie would theoretically have been sent to jail because he would be accused of rape and
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
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. However, no one has the right to end a person 's life, no matter what the reasons for it. A person 's life is individual and
This conclusion cannot be drawn directly, but George’s words during Lennie’s final moments imply that George did not kill his best friend for malicious reasons. George lets Lennie know that he’s “‘... never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know’” (Steinbeck 106). After all the anger that George has shown towards Lennie, he utters these words now so Lennie can die with a sense of peace. George does not want to pull the trigger, but he knows that the further consequences of Lennie’s actions will only worsen. To save Lennie from Curley’s wrath, possible imprisonment, and perhaps years of suffering, George takes Lennie’s
George kills Lennie because he is Georges responsibility. When Lennie was younger, his aunt Claire would have to look over him because he didn’t have enough sense to know right from wrong. George told Claire that he would take care of Lennie when she died. George told Curleys old man that he told Lennie’s wife that he would take care of him but he really meant Lennie’s Aunt Claire. George and Lennie both have the same dream together and every time Lennie would get in trouble George would get him out of it. When George told Lennie about their American dream, Lennie would interrupt and say ''But not us!'' (Steinbeck 14). meaning we got each other. George and Lennie knew each other for a long time and if someone had to have killed George. It should have been Lennie. Candy said he should have been the one to shoot his dog and not a stranger.