ipl-logo

Lennie Should Be Treated In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

513 Words3 Pages

Are people with mental disabilities, who have killed people, actually innocent? People, including those with mental disabilities, are still human beings. They should be treated as such. Yes, the court should be aware of that fact and consider if the fact may alter their decision. On the other hand, that person needs to earn a punishment. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Lennie is the one portrayed as a man with a mental disability. George, by the end of the book, made a final decision. He decided that he was impelled to kill Lennie. Although it may be reasonable not to kill Lennie, it can be argued that he should be killed. Lennie should not be killed, he has not done anything wrong. He has a mental disorder and has a tough time understanding certain situations. However, the men would not have taken that into consideration in the heat of that moment. They just wanted to get it over with so that Lennie would not have been in any sort of pain anymore. He is innocent and often has trouble understanding what he is doing. Though, he should have been monitored more …show more content…

This is an important topic considering how relatable this book truly is today. There is a great deal of people in this world who do actually suffer from mental disabilities. If an individual were to kill a person and that individual had a mental disability, would that fact be taken into consideration? Or would it just be ignored and have that individual just obtain a sentencing to the death penalty? Some may argue that it is not fair to ignore that fact. Others argue that it would be fair. Why would it not be fair? People who suffer from mental disabilities truly have a difficult time thinking about if this task is wrong or if this task is right. That does not imply if they happen to kill someone, they should just get away with it. There are always consequences after something unacceptable has been

Show More
Related

Summary Of Harriet Mcbryde Johnson's Unspeakable Conversations

718 Words | 3 Pages

A life of severe disability, is not a life worth living. Therefore, an infant born with a severe physical or cognitive impairment should not be allowed to live. Or any person for that matter, regardless of age who suffers from a severe cognitive disability should be lawfully killed. At least that is a belief held by a certain professor at Princeton University. Harriet McBryde Johnson, a disability advocate and lawyer had the opportunity to debate these beliefs with Professor Peter Singer.

Read More

Do You Think It Was Alright When George Shot Lennie

493 Words | 2 Pages

It sounds weird, but if he was put in a mental institution Lennie would probably wish he was dead. At the time of this book mental institutes were horrible places where people would be abused and treated like animals. Also if George didn’t get there before Curley would have shot Lennie in the stomach. If Lennie got shot in the stomach that would cause a lot of pain and Lennie getting shot in the back of the head he didn’t feel anything. It was for the best when George shot Lennie.

Read More

How Does George Kill Lennie's Suicide

998 Words | 4 Pages

In the book “Of Mice and Men” there are two main characters, Lennie and George. Lennie is dumb while George is average intelligence and likes to think ahead. Lennie is so dumb that he gets in these stupid situations, whether it be killing someone by shaking his hand too hard, or touching a dress and the girl calls it rape. Lennie can not live a normal life, he would be unhappy to never get his dream or what he wants. George killing Lennie seemed like the right thing to do.

Read More

Roper V. Simmons Essay

872 Words | 4 Pages

In Roper v. Simmons there are two issues that must be addressed, the first being the issue of moral maturity and culpability. The defense in the trial phase of this case argued that Mr. Simmons was an at an age where he was not responsible enough to fully understand the effects and consequences of his actions. The majority draws on Atkins v. Virginia to argue that this specific precedent supports their case that the death penalty should not be imposed on the mentally immature or impaired. However, an important point to be made is that the Atkins v. Virginia decision is geared towards the clinical definition of mental retardation: significant limitations that limit adaptive skills. Also, another important question to consider is the competency and premeditation of Mr. Simmons’ crime in this case.

Read More

George Should Not Have Killed Lennie's Death

424 Words | 2 Pages

However, George could have stood up for Lennie instead of killing him. There is other options other than immediately killing. Lennie was not very smart and George knew that, George was not thinking of Lennie he was thinking of himself. In the passage, Of Mice and Men, George says “He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy.” This shows that George knows that he is not stupid.

Read More

Of Mice And Men Lennie To Blame Analysis

731 Words | 3 Pages

People today with mental disabilities are often criticized for not being “up to par” with everyone else in the world. This is true especially in the 1920’s, in which the novel Of Mice and Men takes place. Take Lennie Small for example, a large and hefty man, who has a mental disability. He, as a character, is blamed for the heinous act of murdering the antagonist’s wife, whose name is never revealed. It is true that Lennie does fracture her neck, but he does so without knowing.

Read More

Interprettive Essay: The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

728 Words | 3 Pages

This is because the 8th amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Giving someone who has mental disease the death penalty would be seen as a cruel and unusual punishment. Some may argue that even though the killer did murder the man, he did not show any empathy for what he did. This can be proven otherwise because of the fact that someone under the influence of mental disease may not always be able to control their actions. In similar cases such as the Walton vs. Virginia, and Eley vs. Ohio, the same practice was used.

Read More

The Juvenile Justice System In Just Mercy By Stevenson

1657 Words | 7 Pages

If juveniles have a mental disability they should not be sentenced to life in prison without parole, especially when it is a non homicidal crime. When children experience neglect and abuse it can take them down a dark path, which often leads to jail. Joe Sullivan's case is an example of this. As a child, Joe suffered from childhood abuse, which included both physical and sexual assault. This abuse took a toll on his mental state and led him to be easily manipulated by older kids.

Read More

Intellectual Disability In The Novel 'Of Mice And Men'

1355 Words | 6 Pages

“Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community” (Nelson Mandela). Prior to the later part of the 20th century people with intellectual disabilities were often ridiculed, treated unfairly, feared, and locked away in institutions. According to Rhonda Nauhaus and Cindy Smith in their article Disability Rights through the Mid-20th Century, The laws of any nation reflect its societal values. The real life issue of discrimination towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States and Australia is demonstrated in the novel, Of Mice and Men by showing how this issue affects one of the main characters, Lennie Smalls.

Read More

Does The Death Penalty Violate The 8th Amendment

405 Words | 2 Pages

The University of Texas-Pan American Essay #2 Anna Salkinder LSPI July 27, 2015 The death penalty has been a major topic of debate in the United States as well as various parts of the world for numerous years. At this time, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal. Nineteen states have completely abolished it (“States with and without The Death Penalty”). Since its initial development back in the 1600’s, the death penalty has taken a different course in the way it is utilized. In its early days, the death penalty was greatly used and implemented for several offenses.

Read More

8th Amendment Capital Punishment

1708 Words | 7 Pages

Yet, there is a significant proportion of death row inmates are mentally ill and the research evidence found suggests that mental illness is often, in fact, an aggravating factor as far as capital sentencing bodies are concerned. The Supreme Court eventually came to the conclusion of this: “If it is cruel and unusual punishment to hold convicted criminals in unsafe conditions, it must be unconstitutional to confine the involuntarily committed - who may not be punished at all - in unsafe conditions” (French, 2005) There are rights that each individual has, and there needs to be guidelines to make sure each person is treated fairly, even if they do not deserve such

Read More

Abolish The Death Penalty In Texas

760 Words | 4 Pages

Although the death penalty in Texas costs about three times more than life in prison without parole, it is reserved as the punishment of robbing another of their rights to life, freedom, and safety (Deathpenaltyinfo). It is a valid question to wonder why we should spare the life of one, opting to provide for all of their basics needs when they without question robbed another of their rights to life, freedom, and safety through murder or another cruel action. The case of Andre Thomas raised questions of whether or not the mentally incompetent should be eligible for the death penalty. Thomas murdered two children and the wife he was separated from, maintaining that the act was dictated by God. Statements by Thomas conveyed that he knew that what he had done was wrong after he had after committing the crime.

Read More

Argumentative Essay Of Mice And Men

507 Words | 3 Pages

Some people might think in the opposite side that George should not killed Lennie because Lennie did not mean to anything. He has done it without knowing how strong of himself. Lennie made many troubles this might be because of his disability, but this is the reason that he deserves to live. He has done many thing that make George get into trouble and It is better if Lennie has to die because of George shoot him not the other. "All the time he coulda had such a good time if it was not for you” (Steinbeck).

Read More

Reasons For George Killing Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

443 Words | 2 Pages

George killing Lennie is justified. Lennie was either gonna get killed by the other men or George. The other men were only doing it because they hated Lennie, George would have done it for the sake of Lennie’s safety and mental state. George would have felt guilty if he did not handle it himself. One reason George was justified in killing Lennie was that George had realized Lennie would never get better and their dream would never come true.

Read More

George's Decision To Kill Lennie In Of Mice And Men Analysis

839 Words | 4 Pages

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George’s decision to kill Lennie at the end of the novel was justified. George and Lennie were best friends, and have been since they were little. They got ran out of Weed(the old farm they used to work at) for harassing a girl and not letting her go. He was just scared from her screaming and kicking. He didn’t mean to harm, or scare her.

Read More

More about Lennie Should Be Treated In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Related Topics

Open Document