How Should George Be Punished For Lennie's Death

Whether killing is ever justified or not, is a question that people face more than most would think. People such as police officers and soldiers meet that decision in their daily lives and in their situation killing is justified because it is necessary in saving their life or a civilian’s life. In the novella Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George Milton was faced with a similar decision. When Lennie Small killed Curley’s wife, George decided to take the law into his own hands, and shoot his best friend instead of turning him over to the proper authorities for a fair, lawful, and just punishment. George should be punished for the death of Lennie because Lennie did not understand what he had done, he did not put George in any immediate

Lennie was mentally handicapped and he was not sure of what he had done when he accidentally killed Curley’s wife. This was much like the situation in Weed that was referred to in the beginning of the book. George had told about the time that Lennie had wanted to feel a dress that a woman was wearing. Lennie grabbed the dress and she started screaming. Lennie, out of fear, held on. However, in the conflict towards the end of the book, Curley’s wife had told Lennie to feel her hair. She asked him to stop soon after, but he would not. Curley’s wife started to scream and Lennie held on in fear of getting into trouble. Steinbeck wrote, “Lennie began to cry with fright. ‘Oh, please don’t’ Lennie said, ‘You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will. He ain’t gonna let me tend the rabbits.’” Lennie was scared and did not know what was happening. Lennie’s mind, resembling that of a child, had assumed the worst. All he knew was that he was going to get in trouble and the worst possible thing that could happen to him in his mind is that he could lose the privilege of tending to the rabbits. And like many times before with Lennie killing multiple mice and a puppy, it was accidental. Even though killing another person is never the right thing to do, accidental or on purpose, Lennie’s mental disability creates a slight