Death Of A Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The Death of a Friendship By definition, murder is the unlawful killing of a person by another person. However, the difference between a murder and a mercy killing is not easily defined, as proven in Of Mice and Men. The novella, written by John Steinbeck, takes place in the 1930s. This era was full of hardship and untrustworthiness. The storyline is focused around a mentally challenged man named Lennie, and his strong-willed buddy called George. George and Lennie are migrant workers who travel together, which is not common considering the lack of trust among men of this time period. However, these two men are very close. That being said, George and Lennie trust one another. In fact, they trust each other so much that they planned out a future

Similarly, mother Gigi Jordan insists that she took the life of her autistic eight year old son “to spare him from abuse at the hands of almost half a dozen people,” (Rosenberg). Gigi Jordan and George possess a commonality, neither wished to see the person they look after in any pain. As Lennie’s best friend, George did everything in his power to make Lennie’s suffering as minimal as possible. In order to distract Lennie before pulling the trigger, George talked to him about their future. Specifically, George addressed the rabbits that Lennie believed he would have the pleasure of taking care of. George painted a clear picture by saying “We gonna get a little place,” and then going into more detail (Steinbeck 105). With each detail George described, Lennie got increasingly happier. Once George and Lennie had discussed their whole makebelieve future, George pulled the trigger and quickly ended Lennie’s life. The reader can assume that some part of George felt guilty, but the fact that Lennie was at peace provided him with relief. A true best friend would doing anything in their power to make their friend happy, and that is exactly what George did for