Did George Make the Right Decision When He Killed Lennie?
The book “of Mice and Men,” written by John Steinbeck, postulates a dilemma faced by one of the characters George. George encountered enormous internal conflict regarding whether it was the right decision to take out Lennie’s life or let him die in the hands of Curley and mob. George had to weigh both decisions before he could come into a definite conclusion. Based on George’s reasoning, it was right to save Lennie from harsh and cruel death from Curley and the mob. Hence, he sees it best to terminate Lennie’s life by shooting him to save him the anguish and brutal death that he could have faced in the hands of the mob, or Curley. However, the most intriguing question remains whether George was right to terminate Lennie’s life? The answer to this question is “yes” since his action was based on compassion, he saved Lennie from painful death that he could have faced in the hands of mob and Curley.
George showed compassion by killing Lennie; this can be seen from the conversation between Slim and George. Slim stated to George, “An s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage” (97). Locking him inside the cage could put Lennie in an uncomfortable position since he liked to enjoy nature and to view the wild creatures in the environment. It would be much painful for Lennie to be locked up inside the cage. Hence, instead, George saved him such agony and chose to terminate his life in the wild, open-air, and friends as opposed to death while locked, miserable, and lonely. Thus, George’s act of killing him was the right decision since it was a symbol of compassion.
Moreover, it was better for Lennie to die in George’s hands than suffer the cruel death from the Curley. George was right to killing Lennie since he could have anyway have been killed after he terminated Curley’s wife’s life. Curley stated, “I am gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard, even if I only got one hand….” (98). There was a clear foreshadowing of the Lennie death since there was zero probability that Curley could have pardoned him his wife’s death. Hence, George decided to terminate his life to free him from the vengeful and cruel death that he could have encountered from Curley. Moreover, Lennie’s actions symbolize a danger to the entire society; he didn’t seem to be aware of his actions. Thus, the Georges act was rightful since he freed Lennie from the harsh death and saved the rest of the group.
Concisely, George’s act of killing Lennie was founded on compassion, since he saved him from painful and cruel death he could have encountered in the hands of Curley of the mob. It was best for George to kill Lennie rather than live him alive and get killed by Curley of the crowd. This was after Curley swears to kill Lennie. Slim, on the other hand, suggested that they incarcerate Lennie, but George refuted such opinion since he never wanted Lennie to die lonely in jail. He wanted to give him the best and peaceful death rather than see him suffer for the rest of his life. Thus, George’s acts of compassion are justifiable since there was no other better choice than to kill Lennie himself.
George saved Lennie from a horrible and painful demise. He did his best to make sure he died contently. Curley’s rage would have not allowed him a tranquil death and George provided him that. He figured Lennie deserved something better than a barbaric death for he did not know his actions. George figured Lennie would end up in a reality where he would be a able to pet all the rabbits and other animals Lennie wanted. He was not only shifting the burden off his shoulders, but also off Lennie as well. He got Lennie to imagine what his haven would seem like before his death, which makes lennie think that is where he would end up someday. George provided him with a sense of hope and direction before he kills him, hoping Lennie would die in peace.
Work Cited
Steinbeck, John. “Of Mice and Men. 1937.” AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION RESEARCH JOURNAL 394 (2000): 1985.