Of Mice And Men Euthanasia Essay

Often referred to as euthanasia, mercy killing is the practice of taking one's life out of misery. This method is usually used for patients who have incurable diseases and would rather have a painless death than, over a long period of time, suffer. Euthanasia even traces back to as far as the ancient Greeks and Romans in 5th Century B.C. Although prohibited, many physicians gave poisons to their patients anyways. Drawing back to present time, only a handful of countries and U.S. states allow the act . Euthanasia is a practice that should be legal anywhere, because it ends unnecessary suffering. Of course, mercy killing is a heavy decision, one that should be carefully and well thought out. In Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", Candy is left to a serious choice: have his old dog shot out of mercy, or keep his companion until he dies of natural causes. He mentions multiple times that he had him for, "...so long. Had him since he was a pup." However, his coworkers only see the dog in frequent pain, and do not see the dog as a companion, but rather a useless old dog, which Candy himself is afraid, that, once he is too old to work, he'll end up in the same situation, as an old and useless cripple. Knowing that if he were in the same situation, he would want to be out of his misery, Candy eventually allows one …show more content…
Most everyone wants a peaceful passing. Referring back to the book, Lennie was another subject to mercy kill. His death was even foreshadowed by the dog. The two were both shot out of mercy, and both were shot right above the neck, at the back of their heads. George, his best friend, wanted Lennie to have a painless death, and he made sure of it by shooting him himself. Since Curley wanted Lennie to suffer for killing his wife, George knew he made the right decision. Just like this situation, euthanasia should be an option for everyone suffering, as it as a peaceful and silent