The opportunity of having a friend in such hard times is a privilege and something to be valued. In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, George, a migrant worker, and Lennie, a migrant worker, have been given the privilege of traveling around together and having somebody to talk to. Based on the 1930s during the Great Depression migrant workers were caught in an era of extreme loneliness, but George and Lennie were not. They were friends with dreams of becoming partners in owning a farm together during a time that the world around them was in chaos. During their journey, Lennie has caused some trouble and it was George’s responsibility to look out for him. The reason for this is that George is basically Lennie’s caretaker as Lennie is mentally
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Candy got mad that he let Carlson shoot his dog and said, “I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog”(Steinback 61). This statement that Candy made shows how he was conflicted when deciding what to do with his poor old dog. He wanted to do the right thing and take responsibility of shooting his own dog and not having it done any other way. However, Candy did not accomplish this goal as he let a stranger do it. Near the end of the book, everyone on the ranch wants to kill Lennie due to his unfortunate mishaps, but George remembers what Candy said. Instead of letting someone else kill Lennie, George decides to take it on himself and take responsibility in doing the right thing no matter how wrong it seemed. Arguably, taking care of this problem this way shows that George for sure had the authority to take Lennie’s life. In comparison, another reason George should have taken Lennie’s life is that it was an act of ‘mercy’. At the trial of a millionaire who had killed her own son, this was what had been described and said: “The weepy mother confessed to taking her son Jude’s life in February of 2010 at Swank Peninsula Hotel, but insists it was a ‘mercy killing’ to spare him from abuse at the hands of half a dozen people”(Rosenberg). In the book, George decides he should find Lennie and kill him first because he does not want to imagine what would happen to him in the hands of the other guys. Just like in the article of the millionaire, George wants to find a way to give Lennie the most peaceful death possible. He accomplishes this by making Lennie happy just before his time of death. He approached Lennie and had him think about their dream of owning their own farm and what life would be like on that farm so when Lennie died, he died happily thinking about the one
Candy got mad that he let Carlson shoot his dog and said, “I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog”(Steinback 61). This statement that Candy made shows how he was conflicted when deciding what to do with his poor old dog. He wanted to do the right thing and take responsibility of shooting his own dog and not having it done any other way. However, Candy did not accomplish this goal as he let a stranger do it. Near the end of the book, everyone on the ranch wants to kill Lennie due to his unfortunate mishaps, but George remembers what Candy said. Instead of letting someone else kill Lennie, George decides to take it on himself and take responsibility in doing the right thing no matter how wrong it seemed. Arguably, taking care of this problem this way shows that George for sure had the authority to take Lennie’s life. In comparison, another reason George should have taken Lennie’s life is that it was an act of ‘mercy’. At the trial of a millionaire who had killed her own son, this was what had been described and said: “The weepy mother confessed to taking her son Jude’s life in February of 2010 at Swank Peninsula Hotel, but insists it was a ‘mercy killing’ to spare him from abuse at the hands of half a dozen people”(Rosenberg). In the book, George decides he should find Lennie and kill him first because he does not want to imagine what would happen to him in the hands of the other guys. Just like in the article of the millionaire, George wants to find a way to give Lennie the most peaceful death possible. He accomplishes this by making Lennie happy just before his time of death. He approached Lennie and had him think about their dream of owning their own farm and what life would be like on that farm so when Lennie died, he died happily thinking about the one