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Examples Of Euthanasia In Of Mice And Men

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Milan Kundera once said,“Dogs do not have many advantages over people, but one of them is extremely important: euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case; animals have the right to a merciful death.”. Kundera references the act of euthanasia where animals and people are killed in a painless manner. In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, chapters two and three display an example of euthanasia being used where dogs are euthanized to prevent a life full of suffering. The plot follows the main characters George and Lennie who find work at a ranch during the Great Depression. In chapters two and three Slim is forced to kill puppies since he is unable to feed all of them and they won’t live a healthy life. Candy is an elder who lives …show more content…

Carlson had been guilting Candy into euthanizing his dog, "He's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?" (Steinbeck,44). Carlson indicates that Candy’s dog being alive is hurting him more than helping, and Candy being selfish is making the dog suffer tremendously. Carlson reflects upon the time period of the Great Depression, when owning a weak dog might make you useless and disposable in a ranch environment. Candy risked losing his position on the ranch in exchange for keeping a disabled and useless dog he had cherished greatly. According to the article "Reasons for and Against Euthanizing" from Petquerks.com, "Unlike human beings who are covered by health insurance,your pet's treatment might have come from your pocket" (Reasons for and Against Euthanizing, 2). The article presents the idea that animals don’t have the advantage of healthcare, which means that the owners of these pets will pay a lot of money for treatments to hopefully cure their pet's illness. However, these treatments could be simply hopeless if the pet has incurable diseases, which causes the expenses for temporary treatment to become a money-pit for owners. Pet owners need to decide when it is right to euthanize their pets, especially if the expenses to relieve pain are draining their wallets. …show more content…

However, when people are in pain, they aren’t in the state to make a decision; specifically, in Candy’s case, his dog can’t speak, so he has to make the logical decision; Candy had been selfish and unable to make the decision about ‘plugging the plug’. The article states that euthanizing animals is acceptable when an illness reaches a point of no return, "If your dog is suffering from a terminal illness,your best efforts will only prolong her life for a few months, but eventually she will die." (Reasons For and Against Euthanizing, 1). Candy’s dog was going to die because he was disabled and old. He would have had to live a life full of excruciating pain; therefore, killing him was the best choice considering the situation. The owners of these animals need to make a decision regarding their pet's long or healthy life. Therefore, it requires considering the cost of the medicine along with the financial status regarding the medicine’s cost. If the animals have incurable conditions, logically, it would make more sense to euthanize them, considering they were going to pass away either

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428 Words | 2 Pages

When the workers return from the fields, Carlson says “He ain’t no good to you... Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?”(44). Carlson and the other workers want to shoot Candy’s dog because it smells horrible and is too old to herd sheep. Because Candy’s dog is so old, it cannot eat on its own and is dependent on others to survive, and this causes the workers to treat it unfairly. Furthermore, when Candy and Lennie explain to Crooks about their dream, he responds by saying “You’ll be a swamper here till they take you out in a box.

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283 Words | 2 Pages

Whyn’t you shoot him, Candy?” (Steinbeck, page 44) This clearly proves that the dog is just suffering and has become too old to live. As Candy and the dog are growing older, the dog is not able to do anything and cannot survive on its

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635 Words | 3 Pages

Page 49 paragraph 3 And this harsh conversation goes on until Candy says just take him, as if he has lost all hope. Now why would Candy want to live either he lost his only friend and now inside has a bubbling boil of lava that hurts him. So with Carlson put up with the dog he can’t take it anymore and kills the dog on the spot without Candy saying

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477 Words | 2 Pages

The most important reason the dog should be euthanized is because of its poor quality of life. The dog can not eat nor chew because the dog's teeth have gotten so old and the only thing it can have is milk. Carlson argues, “ Got no teeth, [darn] near blind, can’t eat. Candy feeds him milk.

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580 Words | 3 Pages

The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is a tale set during the Great Depression, which is both heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. It teaches lessons about the importance of dreams, friends, and the need for sacrifice. In doing so, it includes several examples of euthanasia or in other words, mercy killing. At one point in the story, George is forced to kill his good friend Lennie which has been a good companion to him for many years. Although George clearly loves the man, he should euthanize him so he doesn’t have to suffer through what Curley might do to him and so he doesn’t have to deal with the discrimination he gets from other men like Curley.

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943 Words | 4 Pages

If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head-” he leaned over and pointed, “-right there, why he’d never know what hit him. ””(44). As seen in this quote Carlson says that Candy should just shoot his dog to end his suffering. In the end, Carlson is the one to shoot Candy's dog and bury him. This is definitely an act of euthanasia.

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890 Words | 4 Pages

Sometimes the right thing to do is to kill another individual under proper circumstances. John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is an excellent example of euthanasia. The story takes place in Soledad, California during the Great Depression and many people such as the characters in this book work as mobile farmers on different ranches. George, Lennie’s only friend and caretaker makes the right decision and shoots Lennie to prevent him from suffering, being harmed, and killed much more severely by Curley, the boss’ son and an evil character in Steinbeck’s novel. If George had not killed Lennie mercifully, Curley would have come through the brush a minute later and shot Lennie in the guts, which is one of the most tortuous, painful, and bloody deaths one can have.

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690 Words | 3 Pages

In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, there are two main characters George and Lennie. The problem in the book is that Lennie acts as a child inside a giant man's body which causes lots of problems throughout the story, and George acts as Lennie's caretaker and he tries to keep Lennie out of trouble. Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. Euthanasia is used when a person cannot make a decision or cannot make their wishes known. For example a person who is in a coma or is too young (like a baby) cannot make a decision to end their life.

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632 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout life, experiencing loss and grief is something that most will find inevitable. It will always be hard to see someone you love pass on, however, there are less painful ways for bystanders to watch loved ones go. Euthanasia, more commonly known as mercy killing, is one of these painless treatments that allow patients to put an end to their incurable suffering, while also giving their companions a chance to move on. During John Steinbeck's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, this controversial topic has come about on multiple occasions and will surface again in the most impactful final chapter. Chapter 5, the chapter previous to the ending chapter, is the turning point for this acclaimed novel and is where the spiral toward euthanasia

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802 Words | 4 Pages

Patrick Bateman Mr. Irby English 3 7 March 2023 Euthanasia in Context Animal shelters are often surrounded by angry people holding signs saying, "These dogs deserve a second chance!" or "Stop gas chambers!". Protesters against animal euthanasia often believe that murder and euthanasia are one and the same, though the official definitions differ greatly. While euthanasia is easy to define in the case of animals, which cannot communicate and aren't as intelligent as humans, the line between ethical and unethical killing gets blurrier with people. For example, in the 1937 novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George shoots his mentally disabled friend Lennie after Lennie accidentally kills their boss's daughter-in-law.

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459 Words | 2 Pages

According to Christian beliefs, euthanasia is the same as getting an abortion, it’s sinful, and is considered murder. In this novella, Of Mice and Men by the well-known author John Steinbeck, a man named George kills his friend-a mentally slow man named Lennie in a so called act of euthanasia. In that, Lennie’s death by George is considered murder. Lennie absolutely loved life and didn’t intend to kill or hurt anyone, ultimately he was planning on “living off the fatta’ the land” with George and just living his own American Dream. Despite the ownership George felt towards Lennie, much like a dog and it’s master have a specific relationship, George had no right to kill Lennie.

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725 Words | 3 Pages

In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there is a ranch in the town of Soledad, California during the great depression. One important character of the story, a swamper named Candy, has an old dog that Carlson, a ranch hand, wanted the dog put down because he was in the way and was suffering in pain. The reason for killing the dog is that he is suffering in pain. He has no teeth, can barely walk, and he is blind along with if Carlson killed the dog it would be a painless death and Slim, a mule skinner who works on the ranch, agreed that the dog should die seeing how slim's opinions were law.

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793 Words | 4 Pages

(Steinbeck 49). It is very sad that Candy is the only one affected by this. But later on he realizes that it was the right thing to do, and killing the dog was a good idea. Finally, one last reason it would be okay to kill someone or something, is if it for someone 's own safety.

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451 Words | 2 Pages

"You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn 't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody 'd shoot me..." - ( Steinbeck, 60. ) Candy, and his dog.

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1219 Words | 5 Pages

Candy struggles to come to terms with his pets fate and eventually sees through as he no other choice. However giving his dog away to death affects him emotionally. He becomes lost, as we read, “(he) stared at the ceiling .. (he) did not move nor answer … he continued to stare … he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silent.” This reinforces the idea that Candy feels upset and lost, it helps us understand that Candy is emotionally depressed because of his dogs passing.

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