Was It Morally Correct For George To Kill Lennie

Of Morals and Intentions The ending of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck has debatably one of the greatest plot twists ever written, but it also poses a very controversial question; Was it morally correct for George to kill Lennie? George’s justification for killing Lennie was based upon Lennie’s previous actions, and the outcomes of future actions that could occur. It’s difficult for readers in this modern day and age to understand why George would’ve chosen to kill Lennie among other options, but after researching these options, they seem just as morbid as the latter. Lennie could be defined as mentally retarded, or even diagnosed with a mental illness today. Along with his psychological issues came making very bad choices, without truly

George was a man of great morals and intentions, and his choice to kill Lennie was made to protect him from the harsh realities of his other options.
Living in an age where mental illness is still widely treated with a stigma and new modern medical treatments exist, it’s hard to pull ourselves out of our own reality and walk in either of the main character’s shoes to try to make a conclusion upon if George made the best choice regarding Lennie’s death. Mental illness is defined today as “a mental or bodily condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions to seriously impair the normal psychological functioning of the individual” (“Mental Illness”) but also had a totally

Many of the “patients” were sent to the institutions for varying reasons that did not require medical attention. This increased the patient to doctor ratio, and slowed other patient’s chances of getting the medical attention they needed, even if it was not truly helping their illness. The term mentally ill is defined as “continued display of unsound judgements and actions that do not fit into society’s values” (Swart) and “according the the Weschler Adult Scale III, mental retardation is at an IQ of 70” (“A Step”). “The Institutions were overcrowded with people who couldn’t really get better” (Payne). “Many of the patients got in because they weren’t wanted, they had phobias or panic attacks, or they were looking for a home” (Mental). “Being senile, elderly, deaf, blind, and depressed were all mental illnesses and reasons to be sent into the institutions” (Payne). If all these reasons were defined as mentally ill, then Lennie would have been sent into an institution, without a