Justified Death In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Justified Death

Of Mice and Men was an inspiring book about a couple of men just trying to get by in the Great Depression. George and Lennie had known each other for a very long time and had grown to depend on each other. The most controversial topic from this book was why George killed Lennie. It was the right thing to do for multiple reasons. One of the many reasons for george to kill George is that Lennie was a danger to those around him as well as himself. Another reason is that Lennie couldn’t survive with George telling him what and what not to do. The last reason is that if George didn’t kill Lennie, Curly would painfully kill him. Being dangerous for the people around and to himself is more than enough reason kill him.

Lennie can’t control his strength, or himself. On their way to the ranch Lennie keeps petting a mouse in his pocket and “you've broke it pettin' it.” (Steinbeck 9). Killing a

I believe that killing Lennie was justified because if George, smart and strong, didn’t kill Lennie, then Lennie would’ve had a slow, painful death. “You don’t know that Curley. Curley gon’ta wanna get ‘im lynched,” said Candy. (94). George knew what he had to do for Lennie not to suffer, he needed to kill him. If I were going to be lynched I would rather die a quick, painless death. If my friends were going to dying a painful death then I wouldn’t want them to go through that, I would want them to die peacefully. George knows Lennie has to go, but it’s hard for George to do. “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle to the back of Lennie’s head. (106) Shakily, George raises the gun and pulls the trigger that ends his best friend’s life. It is the hardest thing George will ever do, he just killed his best friend, but at the same time George saves Lennie from being tortured by Curley and the other men. He did the right thing in the end by putting him out of his