Justified Murder In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Justified Murder in Of Mice and Men George was doing the right thing by killing Lennie. Lennie was going to be punished for what he had done and George was giving him the fastest, least painful way out. What John Steinbeck was trying to prove in Of Mice and Men is that true friendship is about looking out for each other and putting each others needs before your own and doing what's best for them even if it is hard on you. Lennie’s shooting was only justified because George did it for the right reasons. Lennie keeps getting into trouble, no matter where they go, and George know’s they cannot run forever and sooner or later Lennie will be caught and have to deal with the consequences of his actions. As Slim tells George “...an’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George” (Steinbeck, 97), George realizes that when Lennie is caught, he will be locked up and put in a cell alone. They are right, this is not any way for a man to live, especially not Lennie. George killing Lennie was a mercy killing. Lennie being killed and put out of his misery is better than

Throughout this story George and Lennie have to run and find a different job and a place to live because Lennie gets into trouble all the time. In this statement “...you can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get into trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out” (Steinbeck, 11) George states exactly what this paragraph says. Lennie cannot help that he harms people, but he does because he is so strong. A change of setting does not make a person safe. If Lennie harmed someone at that ranch, then he would do it again somewhere else, even if it is accidental. After Lennie kills Curley's wife, George makes his decision to kill Lennie for his safety as well as everyone’s around