To begin, George shot Lennie to avoid suffering a much more painful death than he did. In chapter six, after everyone finds out that Curely's wife is dead, Curley states that he wants Lennie dead as well. Curley exclaims furiously, "' 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'" (Steinbeck 96). In the quote, Curley shows how much he wants to kill Lennie, and that he has no mercy for him because of what he had done to his wife. Throughout the book there was foreshadowing of the trouble between Lennie and Curley. By shooting Lennie, George is putting Lennie's safety first so that he wouldn't even know what was happening. If George would have let Curley kill Lennie it would have been a much more painful death that he …show more content…
After all the men go into town and leave Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife, Crooks tells Lennie that without George he will be put into a mental hospital because he will be unable to live alone. Crooks warned Lennie, “‘ Want me ta tell ya what’ll happen? They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog‘“(Steinbeck 72). In the quote, Crooks tells Lennie that he will have to go to the booby hatch or mental hospital if he no longer has George. Crooks also tells Lennie that they will tie him up like a dog. Later in the book slim mentions that being killed is better than living your life in a mental hospital. George is putting Lennie’s safety first by protecting him from being put into the mental