How Did George Kill Lennie Justified In Of Mice And Men

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In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck many hard decisions were made. In this novel two Characters George and Lennie get kicked out of their last city and travel to soledad to start their new life. Lennie causes lots of commotion at the ranch which turns people against George and Lennie. At the end of the novel George kills Lennie which raises the question if he fairly weighed all of the options and if his choice was justified or condemned. One reason why this was a justified decision is that George only wanted the best for his best friend. Another reason is the ranchers would’ve killed him no matter what so this way George ensured it was fast and painless. On the other hand, this was condemned because George had been saying how his life would be so much better without Lennie and this allowed him to be able to live that life. George's decision to kill Lennie was justified because Lennie was going to be killed no matter what. After all of the ranchers find out that Lennie killed Curley’s wife, Curley states that he is going to kill Lennie, "I'm gonna get him. I'm going for my shotgun. I'll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I'll shoot 'im in the guts. Come on, you guys"(48). This quote means that Lennie is going to be murdered no matter what. When George hears Curley say this to all of the ranchers he wants to ensure Lennie will die a fast and painless death. If George were to let the ranchers get Lennie, then Curley says he will “shoot him in …show more content…

George killing Lennie and if it was justified or condemned is a very controversial discussion and could go either way. So think about these factors and ask yourself the question if what George did was justified or