Commitment In Of Mice And Men

Improved Essays
During the 1930’s, there many men that were classified as ‘migrant workers’. These men, moved from ranch to ranch, looking for jobs. Almost all of these ranch hands were travelling alone, for many months, or even years. They did not have families or friends because they did not stay in one spot for too long. There were few men that travelled in pairs, and those friendships were usually the strongest there was. This kind of friendship is shown throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This type of commitment often requires difficult decisions to be made. Steinbeck uses conflicts between Lennie and other characters to convey that commitment and loyalty can lead to hard decisions, like risking one’s own life to save another, telling your friend …show more content…
The second George saw Curley's Wife, he suspected she was trouble. His suspicions were proved correct, when she came into the barn and got herself killed by flirting with Lennie. When the body was found, George knew who did it, even though Lennie was not there. After this, Curley decided that he is, “going for [his] shotgun” and that he will, “kill the big son-of-a-bitch [him]self”(84). When George heard this, he realized that if Curley finds Lennie, Lennie will die in pain and confusion. He had to make one last decision because of the conflict Lennie had caused. This was the hardest decision because Lennie was George's closest and only friend, and he did not want to kill him, but George knew that if he did not kill Lennie, Curley would, and Lennie would die sad and abandoned, like Candy’s dog. So George’s commitment to Lennie resulted in him killing Lennie to protect him from a being shot by Curley. Commitment and loyalty result in hard decisions like risking one’s own life to save another, telling your friend to seriously injure someone, and killing your best friend to save them. This is shown by John Steinbeck in Of Mice and Men through conflict between Lennie and other characters. The relationship between Lennie and George is nowhere near perfect. But the fact that George cares deeply enough about Lennie to risk everything

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    George was obligated to pull the trigger. There is no doubt that George had done the right thing by killing Lennie. His decision reflects how an Individual is obligated to others by describing how as humans we are obligated to not allow the people close to us to suffer tremendously, and if one…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Of Mice and Men “You’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love”-unknown. Sometimes making a hard choice can be harsh but, if it means the person you love will be safe at the end it’s worth it. John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ is about two men,George and lennie,traveling together trying to fulfill their dream of owning their own ranch someday but they come upon one of them committing a murder. George kills Lennie and I firmly believe that it was the right thing to do because he was protecting others, keeping him from suffering and, he was protecting Lennie from himself.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Knowing that Lennie never meant to hurt anyone, George could’ve thought of a way to protect his friend. Although George abruptly ended Lennie’s life in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” so that he wouldn’t have to pass cruelly or painfully from somebody else, there still could’ve been some sort of way for the story to have not resulted in such a tragic death. These men were still incredibly protective of one another and they gave each other their trust until the end of the story when George had made the decision to let all of that go…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Best Friends Until the End Imagine having to kill your best friend. In Of Mice and Men, George made a hard decision which was if he should kill his best friend, Lennie. George killing Lennie was justified because had to think about Lennie’s life ahead if he didn 't make this choice. George making this choice was right because Lennie had unknowingly brought a threat among people, Lennie had died much quicker and painless, and Lennie was basically George’s responsibility.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Painful Sacrifices Sacrifice is the hardest thing to do, selfishness, thoughtlessness, and many flaws in our life keep us from doing the best thing. In Of Mice of Men, by John Steinbeck the two main characters George and Lennie have a deep, perplexing, and loving relationship. With George’s love and care for Lennie he sacrificed so much towards him even when it’s most painful but the most beneficial. We should make sacrifice for genuine friendships despite pain since it leads to the best overall outcome.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bas**** like he is, he wants to touch everything he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress and the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on’ cause that’s the only thing he can think to do” (Steinbeck 41). So in conclusion George was scared that Lennie would keep screwing up, so he had to shoot him.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sometimes Lennie may get on his nerves but George has always been there for Lennie and Lennie knows that. Lennie looks to George, to his permission, to his actions because he can trust…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    George the Culprit In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a scene occurs where Lennie, unintentionally, kills Curley’s wife. George is the most responsible for the death of Curley’s Wife because he is Lennie’s caretaker and has conditioned Lennie to hide his actions. As Lennie’s caretaker, George should be watching him vigilantly and stop him from doing anything harmful to anything or anyone. George is responsible for Lennie’s actions because, by leaving Lennie, he allowed for a series of events to occur that led to Curley’s Wife’s death.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From the story “Of mice and men” by John Steinbeck. Lennie should be killed because he hurts a lot of people and he also has some problems with his mind, physical problems and some people thought that George should not have killed Lennie because they were friends but Lennie would have killed by someone else anyway. George should have killed Lennie because he cannot hurt anyone anymore because if he is still alive he could hurt someone else without knowing that he is hurting them, when he was alive, he kills a lot of things like Curley’s wife, mice, etc. and he also knows what he has done but he will still do it anyway, it might be without purpose but he is still hurt people.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Among the principal aspects of human nature is that to seek companionship; it’s what sets us apart from the beasts of the world, acting for the best of others even when personal gain may be notably absent. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, depicts the plight of two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, as they struggle through the 1930’s Great Depression working on a ranch. Throughout the novel, George and Lennie encounter challenges that test their friendship, and the goals they set for themselves. Among analyses of the novel, a common discussion is if George finishes the novel as a hero, or a simple commoner, another victim of the Great Depression. Despite criticism of George for his manipulation of Lennie and his eventual murder of his friend, George is a hero because of the companionship he provides and creates at…

    • 1432 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    George was not only killing him for the problems at hand, he was also killing him for the problems that would arise in the future. Some people may say that his decision was unjustified because there could have been another way to prevent Lennie’s death. They believe that Lennie could have just run away, or start a life on a new farm, but every idea that was presented was canceled out by something else. If George had let Lennie go, Lennie would have starved. If they ran off together, they were sure to get in trouble again.…

    • 2147 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    George and Lennie display true friendship of loyalty to each other like family. According to Aristotle “Complete sort of friendship between people who are good and alike in virtue”. Easily dissolve”. “ its is clear that only the good can be friends for themselves, since the bad do not enjoy their own kind unless some benefit comes from them”.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “ Course he ain’t mean. But he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so Goddamn dumb.” (pg. 41). Lennie Smalls, in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is the pathos of this story.…

    • 1386 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even though George has big dreams for him and Lennie, Lennie ruins them for the most part so…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays