Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Many people kill every day, but should they all be held accountable for it? John Steinbeck’s novel contains many conflicts, but a main issue in Of Mice and Men, revolves around two characters, Lennie, a migrant worker with mental issues, and Curley’s wife, the wife of the bosses son. Lennie should not be accountable for killing Curley’s wife because Lennie is not all mentally there, and she provokes Lennie by demanding him to touch her hair in the first place. There are many reasons why Lennie is not to blame for his actions, one is because he appears to be slow in the head and has a very child-like mentality. In the text it states, “Lennie dabbled his paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water arose in little splashes...Lennie watched them go, ‘look, George. Look what I done” (Steinbeck 3). This shows that Lennie is exhibiting child-like behavior by yearning for acceptance from a father-like figure. The text also states, “Can I still tend the rabbits…show more content…
One would say that Lennie didn’t have to kill her, but then again, Lennie did not understand the situation or what was happening. One would also say that he did not have to take things that far but all he wanted to do was make her stop yelling at him. “Now don’t, I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble,” is what he told her because all he wanted was for her to stay quiet (Steinbeck 91). He didn’t mean to kill her, but since Lennie does not understand certain things, he also does not know his own strength. In conclusion, Lennie should not be held responsible for killing Curley’s wife. He should not be accountable because Lennie is not all there and had no idea what he was doing. Another reason Lennie should not be blamed is because Curley’s wife forced him to touch him to touch her hair, and if she did not do that and start yelling at him, none of this would have
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