Be sure to introduce and blend your quote evidence so that your readers understand the context of each quote.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Of Mice and Men
At the end of the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George makes the painful choice to kill his best friend Lennie. From what you know about Lennie and George, their dreams for the future, and the tragedy resulting from Lennie's inability to control his own strength; is George justified in killing Lennie? Write a paragraph explaining your opinion complete with evidence from the text to support your claim and deep commentary or analysis of your evidence and opinions.
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George, short and strong, is justified in killing Lennie because if not, Lennie is going to suffer. For example, after Lennie, a tall hulking man with an IQ of a 3rd grader, kills Curly’s wife, Curly walks in the barn and says,” I know who done it.” “That big-son-of-a-bitch done it. I know he done it. Why everybody else was outside out there playin’ horseshoes.” “ I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts. Come on guys,” (96). This quote shows that he wants to kill Lennie right that instant. George did’nt make a mistake in killing Lennnie because Lennie will suffer more if Curly shoots him. Another example, is when Lennie anxiously reveals to George in the bunk house that,” I’d done another thing wrong,”(103). This quote shows that if George does’nt kill Lennie then he will keep making mistakes to were others will wan’t to kill him. The examples described above shoe that if George does’nt kill Lennie then he will make more mistakes and suffer in various ways.
In Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck the protagonist, George, is faced with a challenge in which he ends up killing his best friend Lennie. George of course did not kill his friend out of hate but out of love in fact a justifiably killing. Lennie, strong yet unintelligent, kills Curley’s, the antagonist, wife because he accidently strangled, Lennie doesn’t know his own strength. Laying dead with her body spread out like a blanket, George and Candy find Curley’s wife and to explain to George Curley’s ruthlessness Candy says, “You don’t know that Curley. Curley gon’ta wanta get ‘im lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed.” (p.94) This shows how Candy and the rest of the men who work at the ranch see Curley. It explains what will happen to Lennie if Curley gets a hold of him. If George cares about Lennie he will not let this happen and that is why he kills Lennie himself. In the beginning of the story George and Lennie seem as close as brothers when George says with us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.” (p.14) This demonstrates Georges love for Lennie and it makes it clear that when he kills Lennie it is only done out of love and that if he knew there could be another way he would do it. George knows that Lennie is not smart and he knows that Lennie has to be shot like Curley’s dog because it is not possible for George to go on pretending that he can change and eventually Lennie will get worse. That is why George is justified in killing Lennie, not because Lennie is mentally disabled but because he loves Lennie and for Lennie's sake it should be George who does it. A foreshadowing of the need for Lennie to be killed by George is when Cady says to George, “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” (p.61)
In the novel, Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck, a character named George is justified in killing his best friend Lennie because he loves him and is protecting him from Curly, the antagonist in the story. An example from the text that proves that Lennie needs protection from the violent character named Curly, occurs in the barn, after his wife is killed, and Curly screams, “I’m gonna get ‘im. I’m gonna go for my shot gun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a –bitch myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts,” (96). This shows that Curly wants to kill Lennie. He will do anything to get his hands on him, and George doesn’t want Curly to kill Lennie, so he does it himself. Another example from the story that also proves that Lennie needs George’s protection also happens in the barn. Curly states, “I’m gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im,” (98). This proves that Curly, a small and violent man, is gonna do whatever he can to try to kill Lennie. Curly would kill other men to get to Lennie, so George doesn’t want Lennie to be near Curly. George loves Lennie so he is pretecting Lennie. In conclusion, George is justified in killing Lennie because his death will be pain free, unless it is Curly killing Lennie.
Of Mice And Men
George is Justifiable in Killing Lennie
I believe that George is justifiable in killing Lennie at the end of the novel “Of Mice and Men” by Jon Steinbeck. I believe this because George loves Lennie and did not want to see him get shot in the gut by Curley, or see him be locked up in a cage, both ways, he would suffer. An example of this is when after, Lennie breaks Curley’s wife’s neck, Slim, scared and frantic, says to George, “We might, if we could keep Curley in, we might. But Curley’s gonna want to shoot ‘im. Curley’s still mad about his hand. An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good George.” And to this, George replies “I know”.(97) This shows that Lennie will suffer if Curley gets his hands on him. And George knows and realizes how bad the situation is, and knows he must do something. Another example of this, is located on page 98, when Curley, the boss’s son, is talking to Slim, and Slim says to him, “Curley—maybe you better stay here wit your wife.” Curley then replies, with hate in his words, “I’m goin’, I’m gonna shoot the guts outs that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im.” This demonstrates that Curley is seething with hate towards Lennie for killing his wife. And also that he will get his revenge on Lennie, no matter the costs.
Another reason George is justifiable in killing Lennie is because George doesn’t know his own strength. An example of this is when George catchs Lennie with a dead mouse and scolds him for it, but after they talk about their aunt and Lennie says she would give him mice and says, “I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little”(10). This sows that Lennie doe’s not know his own strength. This also shows that Lennie is not so right and doesn’t mean it. Another example of this is found in the main conflict of the novel, it is when Lennie, Stroking her hair, accidently breaks Curley’s wife’s neck and ends up killing her. A quote on this is, “Don’t you go yellin’, he said, and shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”(91) This shows that Lennie is a brute and cannot control himself, especially when it comes to soft things. This is an example that he doesn’t know his strength and that it may happen again. In conclusion, I feel that George kills Lennie for several different reasons and that it is justifiable.
George’s Justification
In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George is justified in killing Lennie because he doesn’t want Lennie to suffer. Yes, it is true that he is Lennie’s best friend and that’s why he kills him. He knows how much pain Lennie will have to undergo if he is to fall into the hands of Curly. But, sad and thoughtful, he wants Lennie to die happy. He makes Lennie feel good and know that it isn’t his fault. Lennie is mentally handicapped, so he really doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong. With him having the mind of a four-year-old, he really doesn’t know what he has done wrong. In the book Lennie says to himself, “I done another bad thing” ( 91), so in his mind, he thinks its just a bad thing in killing Curly’s wife. I think that George killing Lennie is the best way out because Lennie is mentally disabled and won’t be able to contain himself later. They would just be running again. Plus, Curly will eventually find him and Lennie will be treated as nothing more than a prisoner of war.
When George, one protagonist of the story, kills Lennie at the end of the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he seems justified but yet is unjustified. George wants to keep Lennie safe because he loves him. An example of George being justified with killing Lennie is when he hears Curley saying, “I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts.” (96). George kills his best friend because he doesn’t want Lennie to suffer by dying slowly and being tortured by Curley. He also does it because he would have felt bad if he hadn’t done it because then he would feel guilty for it and he would have known how badly Lennie would have died and George doesn’t want him to die painfully. An example of George not being justified is when George tells Lennie, “Ya know Lennie, I’m scared I’m gonna tangle with that bastard myself” (37). George is trying to make sure that Lennie doesn’t mess with Curley because George knows that if Lennie does, then they will get fired. This quote is foreshadowing that Lennie is going to crush Curley’s hand. In conclusion, this is why George kills Lennie but feels bad for doing it.
What if somebody that you were close to or friends with is murdered? You would want to give the killer what he deserves no matter who it is. In this case, Lennie, from the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, kills Curley’s wife. So Curley should be justified in killing Lennie and therefore, George isn’t justified in killing Lennie and taking awy Curley’s revenge from him. In a Quote even Lennie says if he dies there will be no more trouble, which foreshadows if he is alive there will be more trouble. In my opinion it is because he wants to not kill him an feel bad for him That he wouldn’t die, momentarily, in the open but for sure Curley would have no problem killing him. [ 106 ]. Lennie even asks George if he is mad, George says, “ no “ but as you read the middle chapters George acts like he could care less about the wife. George hates Curley too so of course he will kill Lennie so Curley wouldn’t get his revenge which I think it’s really sad. In another Quote Lenny says he’s done another bad thing. [ 91 ]. He really thought it was something little but the other thing he did was probably huge. It seems Lennie takes his carelessness from George and should just get away with it again. If Lennie dies by another careless person like Curley, it then teaches him something of what being killed is.
In the novel Of mice and Men by John Steinback, I believe George killing his only friend ,Lennie, is unjustified. I believe this because there are important quotes that prove that Lennie doesn’t always know what he is doing. For example, Lennie says, “ I done a bad thing, I done another bad thing”(91). This is after he just murders a woman; that is not just a bad thing; that is one of the worst things that could have possibly happened to Lennie. This shows that Lennie doesn’t understand everything the normal person does. Another example is when Lennie says, “Sometimes I even pet mice.” This demonstrates that Lennie acts like a child and he doesn’t know any better than a child does, so I believe that they could have considered another option.
George is Justified
By: Katherine
In the book Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, I believe that George, a small yet intelligent man, is justified in killing Lennie, the protagonist, here are some examples why. The first example that George is justified is that if he didn’t kill him Curly, the antagonist, was going to make Lennie suffer. I found is quote when they were in the barn after they found Curly’s wife, a beautiful and flirtatious women, died. Curly said, “I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts” (96). I believe this quote shows that George is justified because if he didn’t kill Lennie he would have suffered. George loved him and didn’t want him to suffer so he, quickly yet cunning, killed him. Another example of why George is justified is that he made Lennie’s last few minutes happy this quote is stated between George and Lennie by the pond,” An’ you get to tend to the rabbits” Lennie giggled with happiness (105). To me this quote shows that George is justified because he is telling Lennie all these thing about them getting a little place in the mountains and getting rabbits, a cow, a chicken, a pig, alfalfa, etc. George told Lennie that he could tend to the rabbits, which made Lennie happy, then after George knew Lennie was happy and thinking about their dream he shot him in the back of the head. I believe that George was justified in killing Lennie because he did it out of love, he did if because he didn’t want him to suffer, he did it so Lennie could die happy, there are many more reasons why he is justified and also why he is unjustified but to me he was very justified.
George is Justified
By. Madison S.
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, two best friends, Lennie and George, have grown up together since they were children. They're traveling ranch hands who travel all around California. Lennie, is a tall, strong man who likes to pet soft things, and has the mentality of a 5 year old. George on the other hand, is short, not as strong as Lennie, can be pretty harsh at times, and loves Lennie like a brother. A lot of things change in their lives when they start working on a ranch in Soledad, California. By the end of the story George tragically kills Lennie. I believe that George is justified in killing Lennie because George kills him out of love. George kills Lennie because he is going to be killed anyways, George makes Lennie happy by talking to him about their dream of having their own ranch and raising rabbits on it before he shoots him. A quote that I found to back this up is by George when he's upset at Curly, George said to Lennie,"It ain't your fault, you don't need to be scairt no more. You done jus' what I tol' you to. Maybe you better go in the wash room an' clean up your face. You look like hell.",(65). This proves that George really does love Lennie, even if Lennie isn't normal and does stupid things. Another quote that I found that's said by Lennie to George after Lennie kills Curly's wife,"I'd done another bad thing"(103). This shows that George can't control Lennie enough to stop him from doing bad things so George would have to kill Lennie so he could die quick and painless instead of Curly, slowly and painfully killing Lennie.
Is George Justified?
Colton Bertagnolli
I think that George, one of the protagonists in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is justified in killing Lennie, the other protagonist. George, depressed but willing, knows that he has to kill Lennie if he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of Lennie’s lack of self-control. “Ill shoot him in the guts,” Curly, the antagonist, says after Lennie breaks his wife’s neck. George knows that if he does not kill Lennie, then he will suffer in the hands of Curly. He knows that he will go and get in trouble like he did with the lady in the red dress or even kill someone like he did to Curly’s wife. George talks to Lennie before killing him to comfort him and not make him feel shame for what he did. “I done another bad thing,” Lennie says to George. George tells him that he isn’t mad and assures the gigantic man that they will have a farm and that he will tend to the rabbits. George takes the gun from Lennie, and still assuring him it will be alright, gives him a clean shot to the head and kills him without Lennie suffering or experiencing pain. George is justified because he kills Lennie without letting him suffer by Curly.
recourt
English 9
12-20-11
At the end of the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George has to make the difficult decision to kill his best friend Lennie. Although this was a terrible act I do believe George was justified in his decision to kill Lennie. I believe that George saved Lennie from terrible pain and suffering at the hands of Curley. After Curley discovers the body of his dead wife in the barn, he becomes very furious and says, “I’m gonna get him, I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself.”(PG-96) This quote foreshadows a brutal murder at the hands of Curley. This also shows that if George does not kill Lennie, Curley will and in a brutal fashion. Another quote that would prove this was said in the barn after Curley finds the body of his dead wife. Curley says, “I’ll shoot him in the guts.”(PG-96) This proves that George was justified in killing Lennie, because if it weren’t for George Lennie would have suffered a terrible, painful death at the hands of Curley. Although Lennie died, he died in a quick and painless fashion. I believe that George was doing his dear friend a service, and I believe that if Curley would have killed Lennie, George would have never forgiven himself.
BY: Lauren W
What is justified? How can you consider a murder unjustified or justified? You can only decide based on given facts and circumstances. Lennie is dangerous and it is escalating. Here in the text "Of Mice and Men" it shows that Lennie had extreme anger even over the smallest of things. “Lennie breathed hard. You just let 'em try to get the rabbits. I'll break their god damn necks. I’ll smash 'em with a stick. He subsided; grumbling to himself, threatening the future cats which might dare to disturb the future rabbits” (58). This proves that killing Lennie is an only option for George because George had known him for many years and known that he had killed in the Past and has aggressive issues that after killing Curley's Wife he realized it was time for Lennie to go. He didn’t want Curley to kill him cruelly, he knew Curley would beat him and make his death painful and scary. Curley said "I'm gonna get him. I'm going for my shotgun. I'll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I'll shoot 'im in the guts. Come on you guys” (106). Curley, angry and aggressive, was still mad about his hand. He would stop at nothing to get his hands on him. Curley was mad at Lennie he felt that he was an uncontrollable animal and was going to see to it that he died. This proves that if George didn't kill Lennie he would have been killed in a sad scary way, tortured and beaten to his death. George loved Lennie and knew that giving him a nice peaceful death was the best he could do for him. This concludes that George was indeed justified in the killing of Lennie.
Jonathan Cabrera
12\20\12
English 9
Have you ever watched or read something where they did something bad like taking someone’s life and there were other paths to choose and it had you questioning yourself weather it was justified or unjustified? At the end of the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, when George makes a painful decision to end Lennie’s life. Although it may seem unjustified that George took Lennie’s life, it was justified because Lennie would have suffered and it was by someone who loved him very much.
George is justified in killing Lennie otherwise Lennie would have suffered in Curley’s hand. On page 62 when Curley comes in the bonk house looking for his wife when he yells out with rage “Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I’ll show ya who’s yella.” Curley, the bosses son and angry, is trying to fight with Lennie to teach him a lesson. This is a foreshadow that Curley will do anything to Lennie to show to the other guys that he is the boss. This shows that Curley is dangerous and gets easily angry. This demonstrates that Curley doesn’t think about things too much, he lets his anger take the best of him. Another quote that proves that George is justified in killing Lennie, is when Curley finds his wife died. On page 98 and Curley says outraged, “ I’m goin’, I’m gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand, I’m gonna get ‘im.” This demonstrates that Curley will make Lennie suffer. Curley, motivated and angry, will do anything to get his hands on Lennie. This shows that if George didn’t kill Lennie, he would have been tortured and then killed painfully.
George was justified in taking Lennie’s life because he loved him a lot and lived for him. A quote that proves that George loved him is on page 37 when they first meet Curley. George says to Lennie, “ Ya know, Lennie, I’m scared I’m gonna tangle with that bastard myself. I hate his guts. Jesus Christ. Come on.” George, brave and small, is trying to keep Lennie away from Curly. This demonstrates that George cares about Lennie and wants him to be safe. This shows that Curley is obviously so angry of a person that even George is afraid of him. Another quote that shows that George loves Lennie is on page 106 before George kills him. Lennie said, “ I thought you was mad at me, George.” Then George says, “ No, Lennie I anint mad, I never been mad, an’ I anit now, That’s a thing I want ya to know.” This shows that before dieing, George made Lennie very happy. George also kills Lennie very quickly so Lennie doesn’t feel a thing.
I personally think that George is justified in killing Lennie because it was a quick death and it was one of the only choices they had. The time the story takes place is what was commune to do rather than turn your self in. It was only fair too because he did kill Curley’s wife and it would have properly happen again. Even though it isn’t justified taking someone’s life, it properly was the best outcome.
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lenny are "buddies." Lenny has a mind of a four year old, which always gets him into trouble! Approaching the end of the story, Lenny kills Curley's wife. Curly is the boss's son so he thinks he is cool. After Lenny killed Curley's wife, Curley said, "I’m gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im." This quote shows that Curley will kill him of a painful death if he finds Lenny. George met Lenny down at a place that he told him to run away to if he ever gets into trouble. George was talking to him about the farm they want and how Lenny wants Rabbits as George was raising the gun to Lenny's head, hand shaking and frightened. After George killed Lenny Slim shouted, "George where are you?" Slim ran right to George and sat by him on the bank of the river and Slim said, "You hadda George. I swear you hadda."
I think George is satisfied in killing Lenny because Lenny would have been tortured to death if he didn't. As hard as it was for George to kill him, he knows it was the right thing to do.
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