Decisions In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the novel, of mice and men, George was faced with the daunting task of killing his best friend to prevent him from misery. The novel, Of Mice and Men, is a beautiful piece of literature that encapsulates the importance of good friends, and the novel also shows the importance of decisions. The two main characters in the novel are George and Lennie, George is a fairly intelligent and nurturing person that cares for Lennie more than anyone else does. George gives up an easy life to care for Lennie because of how much he loves Lennie despite the trouble Lennie causes him. Lennie is an extremely sympathetic and cordial person who has a peculiar fetish with petting soft things, this fetish causes trouble for Lennie and George. It places the duo

George realizes the severity of the situation when Curly starts speculating upon who it was that killed his wife. After Curly comes to the conclusion that it was Lennie he says, “I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself”(pg. 96). Curly is then enveloped in a state of rage that can not be changed, Curly has dedicated himself and the rest of the ranch hands to killing Lennie. George realizes the severity of the problem and is forced to make a quick decision that would save Lennie from an excruciating death. In the novel it says, “From the distance came the sound of men shouting to one another. George turned his head and listened to the shouts,” this shows the urgency of the situation and how the death of Lennie was impossible to veer from (pg. 107). George’s actions show the love that contains for Lennie. The death of Lennie was an inescapable act that required a well thought out expeditious

George consciously makes the decision to place the focus of Lennie’s mind on thing that Lennie desired most. George placed Lennie’s mind on the farm with the trees, the field of alfalfa, and most importantly the rabbits that Lennie would tend to. Lennie mentions numerous times, “I get to tend to the rabbits,” this dream of Lennie’s is the only thing that Lennie truly enjoys. George allows Lennie to relish in this dream one last time to let him enjoy his last moments of his life. When George and Lennie are still talking before Lennie is killed, Lennie says, “le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now,” and George replies with “Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta” (pg.106). Although, this dream is absolutely impractical George allows Lennie to enjoy his last moments and believe in this wonderful dream that these too have mustered up. George has done these most humane thing possible to Lennie, he provided him with a quick painless death in a time when any other route would have led to immense