Could you kill your best friend? Today, I am defending George Milton for the charge of first-degree murder. George was been accused of the death of Lennie Small, his persistent responsibility. George shoots Lennie, saving him from the bloodthirsty ranch workers. George does not deserve to be charged with first-degree murder because he was forced to make an impossible decision, prevented more atrocious events from occurring, and he did it out of compassion.
First, let’s start out with the fact that Lennie and George were like family and George knew what was best for Lennie. They did everything together and George has always been there for him. Lennie said, “An’ I got you. We got each other, that’s what, that gives a hoot in hell about us” (Steinbeck 104). This response illustrates that Lennie relied on George, who took on the tremendous responsibility of caring for Lennie after his Aunt Clara died. George made all of the decisions for Lennie and if it wasn’t for George, Lennie would have never survived on his own. Lennie trusted George and would have certainly been okay with him making the appropriate decision for him.
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This drastic decision was an immense burden on George and complicated his actions. George couldn’t bring himself to shoot Lennie; it was like he was fighting an internal battle: “George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again” (Steinbeck 106). This demonstrates that George didn’t shoot Lennie in a brutal or spiteful way. George purposely had Lennie think of peaceful thoughts to put Lennie at ease. He also shoots Lennie in the head instead of somewhere more painful, like his stomach. He wanted the process to be brief and painless for Lennie. Only a real friend would be that considerate toward