FREE ESSAY ON OF MICE AND MEN

OF MICE AND MEN

George
In the end of Of Mice and Men there are three choices the protaganist, George, must
decide on. He either must run away with Lennie, not do anything and let the others kill
Lennie, or kill Lennie himself. His final decision reflects his personality and his
respect for his friends. As George's character develops throughout the story he realizes
the outcome before it even happens. George's solution to Lennie's mistake becomes his
only reasonable choice. George realizes the solution after predicting consequences of
each potential option. 
George's first option was to tell Lennie to run away after meeting in the brush. If
George was to choose this option, both Lennie and George would have gotten shot. It would
have looked like they planned the killing of Curley's wife together. There were no ties
between Curley or anyone on the ranch, so nothing would have stopped Curley from putting
a bullet in both of their heads. George obviously didn't want to die, so running away
would be a bad choice. 
Secondly, George could have stayed at the ranch with Candy and done nothing for Lennie.
He knew Lennie was going to be hunted and killed. He knew it from the moment he saw
Curley's wife lying dead in the barn. It was clear to George that there was no way out
for Lennie. Also, George knew that he could not live with himself if he let the man he
was responsible for be killed by Curley. So, opting to do nothing for Lennie would have
been a regrettable choice for George. 
Lennie didn't know what he was doing and it was not fair that he should be killed out of
hatred. George had learned a lot from Candy when he said, I ought to of shot that dog
myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.(Chapter 3, 61).
Candy had taught him that if Lennie's death was inevitable, it might as well be done by
someone who knows him and cares about him. Lennie had to be killed out of love. 
The third only possible choice was for George to be forced to kill his best friend. This
was a hard decision for George to make, and after he made it, he had even a harder time
carrying it out. And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of
it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his
hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.......George shivered and looked at the gun, and
then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes.(Chapter
6,106). Even though shooting his best friend was a difficult, heart-wrenching occurrence,
he knew he had done nothing wrong. It was the only way the 'problem' that Lennie had with
hurting people could be resolved with no loose ends and no guilty consciences. George may
have been harsh in solving the 'problem', but he did the right thing.
Bibliography
Of Mice and Men. Dir. Gary Sinise. MGM/UA, 1992.
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1965.