Some people believe this is murder while others believe it is justifiable under certain circumstances. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, George demonstrates euthanasia when he kills Lennie. George’s decision to kill Lennie was justified because he was protecting Lennie as well as people around him. Given that a victim’s situation
And were they justifiable at all? In my opinion George’s actions at the end of the novel of killing Lennie were justifiable because even though it was a hard decision between the three choices he could have made, he weighted all his options and did what he thought was the best option for him and the most humane for Lennie. So the main question we ask is why did he kill Lennie and was it justifiable? The thing is George would not have been able to live with himself if he didn’t kill Lennie himself. George also did everything he could to kill Lennie in the most humane way possible.
He spared Lennie from dying scared and tortured. George loved Lennie and killing him was one of the most selfless things he would ever do. In the end, George comforted Lennie by telling him their story again so the last thoughts Lennie had were happy ones. If George had not killed Lennie, he would have regretted it the rest of his life. He would have betrayed not only himself, but Lennie as well.
When faced with a hard decision with no time to think, we often make irrational decisions based on certain circumstances. To take the law upon oneself is not an option available to those who have no authority. John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ readers are confronted with a situation of similarity as George’s malignant action of shooting Lennie at the end of the novel was pressured by the threat of Curley and an apparent weakness for other’s suffering. George’s actions raised debate on how his response can be justified, however, also condemned. In support of George, he saved Lennie from a potential death at the hands of Curley, however in rejecting George’s actions, it was not definite that Curley was going to kill Lennie, but by shotting him,
Now it’s ironic how they were great friends and companions towards each other, however Macbeth is the one who ultimately kills Banquo without even laying a finger on him. Macbeth’s guilt from Duncan’s murder carried on in Macbeth’s life, as he was too scared to fight off this darkness. Now Macbeth was faced with a decision whether or not to murder Banquo to keep his royal prophecies true. With the help of his gang, the decision was clear enough for him not to pass. Instead of Macbeth directly killing Banquo, Macbeth hired his gang members to act out this murder.
Curley wanted to kill Lennie because he disgrace Curley and killed Curley’s wife and that is an act of capital punishment, which is wrong because Lennie didn’t mean to kill her. In conclusion, George was right to kill Lennie because he care a lot for him and capital punishment is wrong because some people who are sentence to death might actually be innocent. Overall, George murder Lennie because Lennie murder Curley’s
Which is very true people are going to try to do whatever they want without getting caught. So by them making their bad choices by giving a person death for a consequence solves nothing. What also said was ‘because homicidal maniacs kill people by mistake, then it’s supposed to be okay for the state to emulate them” (Smith). In my next article, Capital Punishment Should Be Abolished, facts were pointed out strongly why it should not be approved. Three factors pointed out were “unrelated to the crime itself, greatly influence who gets executed and who does not: poverty, race and geography” (Roleff).
The hermit hut sub plot is a great way to define good and evil. The hermit was said to have killed his wife and son, many people read what he did and said he was a murderer. When Ellie, Fi etc. found the notes in the hermits hut they realised that the hermit was not actually a murderer but he was a hero. He killed his wife and son to save them from having a horrible death from beings severely burnt.
In modern society the concept of guilt is commonly misinterpreted for fear. For example in today's society people of conscience may fear that a poor person might die on the streets. However fear is present but their is more guilt towards the homeless person. In Macbeth the same events happen, from Macbeth thinking Banquos ghost is just a fear of his, and it was made by the witches, he chooses to ignore it however Macbeth makes the crucial mistake of the misjudgement of fear and guilt. Macbeth seeing Banquos ghost is not his fear but his guilt over killing his best friend.
If the other ranchers had arrived, they would have tormented Lennie before killing him, causing Lennie to die terrified and confused. Even If George had managed to get Lennie away, he would have had to place Lennie either in jail or in a hospital for the criminally insane. Lennie would have been mistreated at either place, and worse, he would have been alone and afraid. Being separated from George was what Lennie feared most. And so, when George killed Lennie, he did it painlessly and with love.