George Milton And Lennie Small: Character Analysis

“‘Guys like us got no family. ...They ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about ‘em -’ ‘but not us!’...‘Because I got you an’ you got [me]’” George tells Lennie on the riverbank while looking at the gun in his hand (Steinbeck 104). In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George Milton and Lennie Small are two migrant workers that travel together in the 1930s. George is little, tan, and quick, while Lennie, contrary to his name, is big and strong, but also mentally disabled. George looks out for him, but he consistently gets into trouble. They are making their way to a new ranch after one such calamity that caused them to be run out of their old town. When they arrive everything is looking up. Everything falls apart when Lennie makes a huge mistake,
In 2010, a mother killed her autistic son, and when taken to trial testified that “it was a ‘mercy killing’ to spare him from abuse at the hands of almost half a dozen people” (Rosenberg). The mother, Gigi, killed her son because she would rather have him die than to watch him endure so much pain. Similarly, George kills Lennie upon realizing that nearly a half a dozen people would abuse him, including Curley and his cronies. George is Lennie’s best friend, and he accepts that there is no way for Lennie to get out of this dilemma alive. It is impossible for George to imagine witnessing that. This disbelief and dread are magnified by the fact that Lennie possesses the mind of a small child. Not only would he not be able to process what was happening to him, but he would take it nearly without question. A gentle giant, he would not fight back, fearing that he will anger George by doing something else bad. Due to the intentions underlying the death of Lennie, it is clear that it is a mercy killing. These intentions include the desire to not have him endure the abuse that is destined to be inflicted upon