Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers

OF MICE AND MEN Should George have shot his friend Lennie? George probably did the right thing by shooting Lennie. How can we condemn George for sparing his friend Lennie the pain and fear of being killed by someone else? He did something society sees as wrong, but he did it for a good reason. Lennie didn’t deserve to die, but there was no other alternative. Curley wanted to kill Lennie, and since George cared for Lennie, he figured the best thing would be for him to put Lennie out of his misery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lennie deserved to be punished for what he did, but not to be killed. Lennie was a handicapped person with below average intelligence. He didn’t really understand what he had done, but he didn’t really fit into society either.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Curley and the others were looking for Lennie and wanted to exterminate him; they were angry and hated Lennie. If Curley would have found Lennie, he would have shot him. But that way, Lennie would have died afraid and sad. His death would have been very violent. George knew this and that’s why he did what he did. George also knew that Lennie had dug a hole for himself and could never get out. He knew they were looking for Lennie and wouldn’t stop until they killed him. He decided to do it himself in the kindest way he could. It’s like when Candy said about his dog, “I should of shot that dog myself.'; meaning it would have been kinder to the dog. Lennie was lying down, facing away from George and didn’t know he was going to be shot. He didn’t know what was going to happen, just like Candy’s dog.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Murder is never the right answer, but George didn’t really commit murder.