Compassion In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Imagine, a small, nearly silent hospital room filled with quiet apprehension about what is about to happen; the silence masked only by soothing voices trying to bring the room to a state of peace. A man lies in bed, only kept alive by the life support that his been sustaining him for days. Then in a moment, the life support is gone and so is the man, released in a harsh act prompted by mercy, compassion, and good intentions. In John Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men, a another situation is prompted by compassion, but the result is a cruel act. Lennie attempts to show caring and tenderness to Curley’s wife, but it leads to her death in an example of situational irony. In addition, the kindness and compassion George shows to Lennie must end with Lennie’s

The last line of Of Mice and Men is said by Carlson. In regards to Slim and George after Lennie’s death, he says, “Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?” (Steinbeck 108). George is clearly negatively affected by what has happened. It makes it clear, George was not selfish in his act, but wanted only to show Lennie compassion and give him a gift. The mood conveys the good intentions that George had even in his brutal act of killing Lennie, further supporting the message that the most cruel vicious acts can stem from compassion and

Compassion and good intentions can often lead to the cruelest, harshest actions. Despite this, people still strive to do what is best for others and be selfless, even if it means making a decision that nobody wants to