Of Mice And Men Justified Analysis Essay

Of Mice and Men’ is a story based around the hardships of migrant workers during the Great Depression of the1930’s in America. The story follows two main protagonists, George and Lennie as they settle into life at a new ranch. However, the story reaches its climax when George ends up in a tough situation, leaving him to kill his only friend. The question is, was George right to shoot Lennie in that situation? Or should he have let them take him to a mental asylum? Finally, this essay will be discussing whether taking a life can ever be justified. 

The first reason for believing that George did the right thing, is to theorize on what may have happened if he had not killed Lennie. From the moment Curly is introduced in the book, its clear he is against Lennie. The first interaction between Lennie and Curley occurs at around chapter 2 in the novel, when Lennie and George have just arrived at the farm. After briefly being introduced to their new home by Candy, Lennie and George meet Curley. Not liking the concept of seeing a bigger and stronger man than him working on his father’s farm, Curley starts provoking Lennie, not getting any reaction in response. This first small interaction already gives us an idea of how the Lennie and Curlys relationship is going to be in the rest of the novel. The second interaction and the first conflict occurs in the bunkhouse and is quite a bit tougher than the first one. Amused by the thought of having a little farm for him and his friend George, Lennie starts laughing while George tells him how he will tend the rabbits and take care of the farm. At this moment, Curley comes in the bunkhouse, looking for his wife. Very nervous and tense, Curley starts insulting Lennie, thinking he is making fun of him. Curley starts getting out of control and starts punching Lennie. this scene ends with Lennie breaking Curlys arm. Curly has always been bitter about Lennies size and strength and ever since Lennie crushed his hand he has been waiting for some excuse to get him back. ‘I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts.’ If George had not mercifully killed Lennie in the most painless way possible, he would have been brutally killed by Curley in revenge for his wife’s murder. 

The second reason as to why george did the right thing is that Lennie could have been sent away and locked up if Curley hadn’t killed him first. Just like Slim said “spose they lock him up and strap him down and put him in a cage, that aint no good George.” taking in mind his mental situation Lennie would never have coped in a mental institute alone, and it was common at the time for the mentally challenged to be placed in an asylum where they would be mistreated. It was typical for patients to be tied to bed for days at a time, confined to cells, much like a prison, and left neglected or ignored, because the whole purpose of a mental asylum was, at that time to get the mentally challenged as far away as the world as possible. Just like Crooks said, “a guy goes nuts if he doesn’t have anyone”. This is especially relevant when it comes to Lennie because Throughout the story, we see the development of the characters friendship and it is quite clear that George takes the role of a guardian. Lennie is portrayed to be dependent on George for even the simplest of things, like for example carrying his own work card. George who protects Lennie all through the novel with fights, bullying and general needs could be seen to be protecting Lennie in the only way possible from the harsh world. Lennie was loved and cared for. He led an almost normal life at a time when that was rare or non-existent for people with his kind of disability. He received care when others like him were being punished for doing nothing wrong, for just being born different. Lennie got the closest any of them ever could to the dream of having their own place. ‘Look across the river, Lennie, an’ I’ll tell you so you can almost see it’. His dream was all he lived for, and George made sure that he died happy by telling it to him in his final moments.