Euthanasia In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The story takes place during the 1930s at a small ranch south of Soledad, California. The country was struggling through the Great Depression and focused on isolationism, preferring to settle troubles at home rather than the rising crisis in Europe. Though, the Eugenics Movement, a movement based on the idea of improving the human race through selective breeding – largely seen in Nazi Germany, was also beginning to spread in the United States. Stemming from the Eugenics Movement, public talk of euthanasia also dramatically increased. Due to the subtle ideologies of the Eugenics Movement and the ending reference of euthanasia, modern interpretations of the book will greatly differ from thoughts from the books original release. because of the
Together the men are starting work at a new ranch after Lennie’s disability and love of soft things, lead to them being chased from town. At this new farm they hope to raise enough money to accomplish their dream of obtaining their own farm. At the new farm the boss’s son, Curley a pugnacious man, takes an immediate hatred towards Lennie, while Curley’s wife enjoys his company and befriends him. A few days later Curley initiates a fight with Lennie resulting in his hand being crushed. He agrees not to say anything to get Lennie in trouble. Shortly thereafter, while in the barn with Curley’s Wife he accidentally kills her. Only slightly understanding the problem, he hides in an open field a mile or two from the barn to wait for George. After learning of Lennie’s wrongdoing and hearing Curley’s threats of killing Lennie, he takes it upon himself to grab a gun from one of the ranch hands and finds Lennie himself. George then kills Lennie as painlessly as he can before the others reach
I do think the novella supports the philosophy of the Eugenics Movement. Early in the book George lies to his new employer about the cause of Lennie’s mental limitations, claiming “He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid” (Steinbeck 22). His decision to lie indicates that the truth could possibly have negative consequences for Lennie. Later on when he does slightly reveal the truth to another ranch hand, he is adamant that “He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy” again suggesting that being mentally subpar to an average worker is dangerous (Steinbeck 39). Another example of the subtleties of the Eugenics Movement in the book is Lennie’s brief interaction with Curley’s wife. When she begins to doubt his mental state she flinches back until she is reassured. The clearest example is his interaction with Crooks, a black stable hand. He is quick to catch on to Lennie’s disability and taunts him for it. At one point he says “Want me to tell ya what’ll happen [should George not return]? They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog”. A booby hatch is shortened language for a psychiatric hospital. In addition, many psychiatric hospitals in the 1930s carried history of abuse and blatant Eugenic ideals. CLOSING SENTENCE