Alivia Ankrum
OMAM Final Writing Of Mice and Men
In the novel
Of Mice and Men, two men, Lennie and George, venture to a ranch in
Soledad, after leaving their home of Weed. They meet new people and with some, create good relationships with, but with others, create awkward impressions. They are put to work on this new ranch, but all these two men can think about is what it would be like to own a piece of their own land, something not many seek to do. Although, in the end something unexpected happens and Lennie is killed by George, through a dramatic scene of ultimatums. In the novel,
Of Mice and Men,
Steinbeck's choice to have Lennie killed is justifiable for many reasons ultimately caused by George's loyalty to him.
One very important thing to understand is that George is always loyal to his friend,
Lennie, and that he would never do anything that isn't within his best interest. In the end, George knew that Lennie would be killed, so he wanted him to die happy, and felt it as his duty to make sure he was comfortable before he died. This is why George told him the story of their dream, to own their own land and not work for anyone else, before he shot him. George did this while
Lennie was looking down the river and away from him. Therefore, Lennie wouldn't know he was being shot and he would die in a happy mental state. After Lennie suggested that they get the land right then George responds, ¨Sure right now. I gotta. We gotta,¨(Steinbeck, 106), so George knew that he wouldn't feel stress, but happiness, assuring that he died in peace.
Throughout, the whole book readers figure out that Lennie is not at the mental standards that most of the other men are at. This issue has caused many problems not only within Lennie's world but with the people around him. The readers find that George understands this when he says, ¨'Course he ain't mean. But he gets into trouble alla time because he's so God damn dumb,"(Steinbeck, 41). Lennie doesn't fully understand the consequences of most of his actions, and this is most likely the reason that Curley's wife died. Lennie killed Curley's wife on accident by breaking her neck. She was yelling in the barn because he was pulling her hair, and this caused Lennie to be afraid that George would come in and see what was happening and tell
Lennie that he would not be able to tend the rabbits. Even though Lennie didn't know what he was doing, he was still harming another person, and in this world, that is always, completely unacceptable. Therefore George killed him to ensure that he wouldn't harm anybody else. On the contrary, George always saw the loving and caring side of Lennie, but when Lennie finally reached this tipping point, he knew it wasn't okay for Lennie to be living freely with other people. George and Lennie's dream, to own their own land and to build their own resources for them to live, was not that
