In the novel of Mice and Men, George has to make a very hard decision. Lennie and George are very good friends, and they do everything together. When Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife, George has to make a decision for himself and for what is best for Lennie. Lennie trusts George and does whatever he asks, which made it harder for George to take Lennie’s life without Lennie understanding why.
George is very careful and always thinks about the things he does before them. In this situation George had to help his friend by killing him to prevent him from living in a jail sell or dying slowly. Curley said that if he finds Lennie, he would shoot him in the stomach, so he would die painfully and slow. When Candy’s dog was shot he told George that he regretted letting a stranger shoot his dog and that he should have done it himself. George did the right thing by shooting Lennie, and doing it with love. Doing this is keeping his promise to Aunt Clara by taking care of him and killing him so he is now free.
There really is not anything left for Lennie his dream is pretty much not going to happen so what is Lennie going to be looking forward to in this world. If George did not kill Lennie, and just let him go free and hide in the forest forever, Lennie would have died. Lennie could not take care of himself for that long and survive off making his own food and being alone. He would feel abandoned and not know what to do. If George had ran away with him, everyone would think that he was in on the murder and they would both be killed. Their dreams are ruined and Lennie would never really understand what he did. George would also be accused of something he did not do.
The Essay on George Killed Lennie for Merciful Reasons
... he reaches the conclusion that it is necessary for George, himself, to kill Lennie in a humane fashion in order to give him ... novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George killing Lennie is a merciful kill to save others from Lennie’s unintentional acts of ... the pain and anguish from the remorse Lennie feels after his aggressions. George’s decision to kill his best friend is to prevent a ...
George made the right decision because there was nothing left for Lennie. The plan on buying a property is over with and Lennie would not know what to dream about or what to look forward to in the future. Lennie died happy and George told him that he could tend the rabbits in heaven and he would be happy. The fact that George did it meant a lot, that he had to let his best friend go and his character showed when he did it himself. George knew that Lennie did not mean to do it and when he killed Lennie, he told him he was not mad.
Lennie was so large that he could kill things so easily without meaning too. It was not his fault, but it was becoming a problem. If George did not kill Lennie, he does not know who else Lennie could kill on accident. This put other peoples lives in danger and Lennie’s, so George decided to let him die in peace when he is happy, and not when things become worse.
George shot Lennie in the back of the head so Lennie would not feel anything, and would die instantly. It shows that George did not shoot Lennie for himself, because he hesitated at the trigger. In this type of situation anyone would do the same thing. George practically raised Lennie and know he has to kill him, this is probably the hardest thing he will ever do.
Therefore, George did the right thing by killing his best friend and having to do it himself. It shows that when someone loves another and they are put in a position where they have to kill their friend, and it was the only way they would be in peace, they would do whatever it took for their happiness. In the end Lennie was free and George was lonely, but he knew he did the right thing. George will never forget Lennie, but now George can settle down and start a new chapter of his life and have a family.
