I think that George had to kill Lennie

I think that George had to kill Lennie. I think this because Lennie depends upon George and would not be able to fend for himself. Over the duration of the book, George is seen in quite an apparent way as Lennie’s guardian. He often tells Lennie what to do in tough situations so that Lennie won’t mess things up. ‘You gonna give me that mouse or do I have to sock you?’ On this occasion
George even threatens Lennie violently. George and Lennie have a remarkable relationship because they are the only two people, apart from Curley and his wife, who have a companion in ‘Of Mice and Men’.
Curley and his wife do not really count because they are not happy together and
Steinbeck never shows them in the same scene. I think this is to amplify Lennie and
George’s relationship. Another important factor is that Lennie’s aunt Clara asked George to take care of
Lennie. I think this helps George to make the decision to shoot Lennie because in
George’s opinion letting Lennie get locked up in a ‘nut house’ is not looking after him. I do not think George is in an impossible position because he could have let Curley shoot Lennie but I don’t think it would have been the right decision. Steinbeck did a clever thing by having Candy’s dog shot by Carlson. Afterwards Candy says to George that it wasn’t fair to let a stranger shoot his dog, ‘I should ’a’ shot that dog’. It may seem harsh to compare Lennie to a dog but in many ways that’s what he was to
George. Reminded by Candy’s experience, George chooses to shoot Lennie himself. I think the events leading to Lennie’s death, for example Curley’s hate for Lennie, encourage George to feel he had to kill Lennie. George knew that Curley would kill
Lennie if he found him. ‘I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself’. At this point in the story I think that George had already decided to kill Lennie. If George had not killed Lennie, then one of two situations would have arisen.