Of Mice And Men Justified Analysis

In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, George is completely justified in killing Lennie, and he is a man for others due to the choices he makes. For example, Curley instigates a fight between himself and Lennie, demanding respect, and power when he says, “Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I’ll show ya who’s yella” (62). This quotation helps shed some light onto the extent of punishment and violence that Curley has, the same violence he ensures onto Lennie, by forming a lynch mob and hunting him like a dear. We can further derive that George knows what violent and heinous acts that the mob is willing to partake, meaning that George’s actions can be said to be for Lennie’s own good. Moreover, George discovers Lennie alone by the river bank and is left with
‘Him and me was both born in Auburn. I knowed his Aunt Clara. She took him when he was a baby and raised him up. When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin'. Got kinda used to each other after a little while’" (39). This quotation how long the two men have known each other, and how George had taken care of Lennie since they were young, meaning he had acted as a true guardian of Lennie. Because George has truly develops a relationship with Lennie through the years, he knows Lennie’s hopes and dreams; This means that when put into an existential situation like the one in the book, he knows that shooting Lennie is the best option he has, making him a true man for others, and a true friend to Lennie. While it may have seemed like an expression of anger, George truly had understanding and kinship towards Lennie, choosing to swiftly end Lennie’s life with a shot to the back of his head, rather than leaving Lennie to suffer the lynch mob’s uninformed violence to the man with a