The beauty and the terror in Of Mice and Men forces the reader the contemplate the actions of George, and ask the question, "What would I do?" Professor James L. Roberts, Ph. D., maintains that what George did was not only right, but merciful. When discussing the scene of Lennie waiting for George by the river, he has visions of a rabbit, and his Aunt Clara. Both tell him how mad George is going to be, but Lennie trusts George.
"Lennie has great faith in George and when the apparition of his Aunt Clara or the giant rabbit appears, he defends his friend George and asserts with authority that George 'ain't gonna be mean.' George, however, will kill his friend Lennie in a few minutes, demonstrating in an ironic way that Lennie is right because this is the kindest thing he can do for Lennie."
In a five paragraph essay discuss the choice that George made. Was it the kindest thing he could do, as Roberts believes? Or did George make the wrong choice?
Your essay is due Friday the 29th by midnight. Good luck!
6 comments:
Kevin Doody
English/Composition
Mrs. Severson
2/29/08
Unwanted Mercy
After consoling his best friend and telling him that everything was going to be all right, George pulled a luger from underneath his coat, placed it against the back of Lennie’s neck and pulled the trigger. It is an opinion of some that what George did to Lennie in Of Mice and Men was the right and just thing to do. This is a debatable subject, and through reading the book I have come to the conclusion that George should not have killed Lennie, even if it was out of mercy. We cannot assume that through death someone can be benefited. We do not have the power to decide whether or not someone should die. The Bible clearly states that do not have the authority to commit murder.
We, as human beings, have limitations. Therefore we cannot assume to know what the future will hold. George made an assumption and as a result, he killed his best friend. When George met Lennie by the pond, he had made up his mind. He was going to kill Lennie to save him from certain misery. He presumed that Lennie was going to be captured and killed or sent to jail for the rest of his life. He thought that even if Lennie escaped he would just fall into the same problems again. George did not stop to consider the possibility that Lennie might have been sent to an asylum to live comfortably. He did not consider that perhaps Lennie could live apart from civilization and out of trouble. Upon making these assumptions, he committed the unspeakable act of taking a life.
God alone holds the power to decide whether or not someone should die. It is when we take this power into our own hands that we commit terrible and unforgivable actions. Our minds just are not capable of the foresight required to make this judgment. God alone should be the One to decide. George decided whether or not Lennie lived, and he chose death. Imagine how George would feel if an opportunity for Lennie to start a new life showed itself! He would have taken a life of happiness away from Lennie. We simply do not have the authority to decide between life and death.
The Bible says in Exodus 20, “You shall not murder.” This is a very clear statement. In fact, it cannot be clearer. God did not intend for this statement to be up for interpretation. He did not mean, “Under certain circumstances, you are allowed to murder”. He meant “You SHALL NOT murder”. George obviously did not have a Christian worldview, or he would have thought twice about so blatantly ignoring one of God’s commandments.
Murder is wrong under any circumstance. We will never have the foresight, authority, or permission to do commit such an act. Sometimes when we have the upper hand in a situation, we have the tendency to only think about ourselves. I think that George experienced this. He saw the opportunity to eliminate something in his life that was an irritation to him. He didn’t stop to think about Lennie, he just took the chance and committed an act that is eternally unforgivable.
Daniel Malouf
Mrs. Severson
English
February 29, 2008
The Easiest Road
George’s killing of Lennie could be arguably right or wrong. It can be justified by saying Lennie would just be killed by Curley in a few minutes anyway so George might as well kill his friend instead of at the hands of Curley. George could not have just stood by and watched his friend mercilessly killed before his eyes. On the other hand he could have helped Lennie attempt to escape and go somewhere else. If that happened, George would most likely have been thought to be a conspirator in the death of Curly’s wife. If Lennie had been allowed to live, the situation would have become very dangerous to them both. There were cons to either side of George’s decision. His decision to end Lennie’s life was not made in hate or in a vengeful spirit, but out of his friendship for Lennie. George simply did what he felt was right. George made his decision simply out of mercy and love for his friend.
After Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife, Curley wanted to take revenge and set out immediately with the sole purpose of killing Lennie. Curley had no thoughts of simply taking Lennie alive, he wanted nothing more than to make Lennie pay for his disfigured fist and the death of his wife. Since there was no organized form of law and justice established near the ranch, the ranch hands were the law. Therefore if justice was to be enforced, the ranch workers would be the ones to put the law into action. When Lennie killed Curley’s wife, according to the laws the ranch hands adhered to, he was likely doomed to death without a fair trial. As the men prepared to kill his best friend, it became apparent to George either the lynch mob would kill Lennie, or he had to do it himself before they found him. If George had not intervened on Lennie’s behalf, Curley would have killed Lennie while enjoying the process. Even though mentally disabled, Lennie would have been held accountable as any normal man. Unfortunately, around the time the story was written, they did not have organizations with effective programs for developmentally disabled people, like they do now. Supposing Lennie had been able to escape, his chances of survival would have been slim at best. Devoid of George’s help, Lennie could not have existed himself. He might have very well just gone out and gotten in another predicament. Obviously Lennie was in no mental state to make important decisions for himself. We can then argue that by mercifully killing Lennie, George saved Lennie from a horrible death.
When dealing with the topic of one person taking the life of another, the situation is complicated. If we say that George was right in killing Lennie, does that mean Euthanasia is ok as well? Is killing someone who cannot take care of him or herself justified? What does the Bible say about taking the life of another? When we read the book, we see a few possibilities which might have worked out had George not intervened. Although unlikely, Lennie might have been able to live alone and find a job at another ranch. If Slim and George could have prevented Curley from shooting Lennie, Lennie might have been taken to a court where he stood a chance. There are several avenues that George could have taken after Curley’s wife died. They might very well have been able to escape and start all over. After exploring the options it’s difficult to discern whether George was in the right by taking Lennie’s life. The situation was all around terrible for both Lennie and George. With that shot, George spared Lennie the impending pain and death he would have experienced at the hand of Curley. By shooting Lennie, George would live the entirety of his life knowing he had shot his friend. He could also know that without his quick thinking, the situation could have become much worse.
Having taken a look at the possible options George could have decided upon, killing Lennie was the most merciful and beneficial to them both. Most of their options (had Lennie not been killed) leave open ended possibilities with open ended results. After looking at the possibilities, it appears that letting Lennie live might have been a tougher decision for George than killing him. If he had spared Lennie, they both would again have been running all over the country. George figured at some point the madness had to stop. In conclusion, by killing Lennie George was neither right nor wrong, but he definitely made a difficult decision he felt would yield the best result in the end. The respect he had for Lennie prompted George to take the most merciful action the situation presented.
Excluding the killing of Curley’s wife, a moral standpoint would tell us the killing of Lennie was murder. However by killing another person, Lennie was immediately classified as a murderer. In a way, George’s action is justified because either way Lennie had to die because he had killed another person. George knew it had to be him or Curley to do the job. George was kind to Lennie and saved him from the imminent vigilante justice. Once finishing the book the reader can make an educated decision on where they stand on the issue. I look at the situation in two differing ways. My Christian perspective says that to kill another human in cold blood is wrong. My common sense perspective says that George really had no other beneficial choices. George did not have time to calculate if his decision was right or wrong. George was a strong man who was familiar with making difficult decisions. Living on the road as a traveling ranch hand was not an easy lifestyle. As George heard the ever increasing sounds of Curley and his mob, George knew he had to do what was right for Lennie, even if it was not the easiest road to take.
Whether or not he mad the right or wrong choice depends on your point of view. From where I stand though, I think he did the right thing by killing him even though there might of been other options. Such as maybe running away, hiding, or even just turning him in and hope for the best.
But even though George looked after Lennie his entire life, it’s hard to get used to someone like that. Needing to constantly get him out of trouble, covering for him, running away from, quite frankly his stupidity. Though I’m sure George didn’t even think of doing it for his own benefit.
Now with Lennie, telling the rabbit and his Aunt Clara that George ‘ain’t gonna be mean’ both the rabbit and his Aunt respond by saying ‘he was always going out of his way and you never thanked him’ repeating an argument he had with himself, at the beginning of the book, which was ‘I could just go up to the mountains and find a cave’ which is also what his two apparitions suggested.
One of the other sad things about this story, is that just because of a child-like understanding, a little too much strength and fright, that all that George, Lennie, & Candy had been talking and fantasizing about, had come to an end.
I believe that Roberts summarized it very well that though George killed Lennie, it was the kindest possible thing to do, because 1. just like George had said, no one would be mean to him, 2. he wouldn’t get in any more trouble, and 3. he wasn’t scared when he died, and he died peacefully thinking of their farm and being able to tend the rabbits.
kevin: good job! I really like the way you brought the Bible into the question and answer. Great job.
Great work Tyler!
I like how you make the point that even though George must have tired of Lennie's stupidity, he made the decision not for his personal benefit. He felt what he did was the best thing for Lennie, not for himself.
Another aspect of your essay you did a good job on was perspective/point of view. If we asked people from different religions and cultures, we would get differing answers, with some saying George was justified, and others in complete opposition. It doesn't really matter what us as human beings think, because ultimately its Gods call on whether he was right or wrong. Still, it is interesting to speculate and ponder George's decision and how we would react in a situation such as George found himself in.
Daniel:
Nice job in this essay! i like how you investigated all the viewpoints that someone could possible have in this situation. i also liked how you left it open for interpretation.
good work!
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