In the novella 'Of Mice and Men,' Steinbeck presents George and Lennie as the two protagonists of the story, showing the strong bonds of friendship they have between them. At the end of the novella, however, George is given the ultimatum; kill Lennie, or have Curley, the boss's son, do it himself. Few critics have come to the conclusion that George has betrayed Lennie in killing him. The question to be asked here is is this really betrayal, or is George just taking on a painful task so that Lennie doesn't have to suffer? Although George and Lennie were friends, and took care of each other, George's actions gave Lennie a more compassionate ending than the one Curley had intended for him. This position is supported through several reasons.
Right from the moment Curley notices his wife's lifeless body, he is quick, and right, to assume it was Lennie, who had committed the crime. He immediately reveals Lennie's fate should he be found. This fate would allow Curley to "shoot the big bastard's gut right out," (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 93) giving him the slowest and most excruciating death. If George were to permit this to take place, it would have been a betrayal of his friendship to Lennie. This is because George had promised to "take care of him [Lennie]." (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 21) Consequently, George's actions are interpreted as honoring a promise and upholding one's words rather than an act of betrayal.
As soon as Curley states his plan, however, George is adamant that Curley does not find Lennie and suggests to Slim that they should "lock him up an' strap him down." Nevertheless, Slim dismisses this idea, as it "ain't no good" (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 92). When examined through a contextual lens, this statement refers stereotypes of the 1930's when the book was written, as the mentally disabled, when locked up, would be tested on using inhumane methods, causing them even more mental and physical damage along with a lot of pain (Sieker, 2013).
With the option of locking Lennie up being eliminated, it would seem wrong for Lennie to die at the hands of a stranger, like someone as mean as Curley. If George were to stand by and let such an action occur, he would soon regret it and find himself repeating Candy's words, "I ought to of shot that dog myself," (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 58). By not intervening and allowing Lennie to be tortured and killed would cause both Lennie and George great suffering; to the former, it would not be a quick death; to the latter, he would live with the guilt of not killing Lennie quickly himself.
Another reason, which supports George's actions as not being ones of betrayal is that even though George chose to kill Lennie, he gave Lennie the most peaceful and quickest death possible. His compassion for Lennie is clearly shown each time his "hand shook," (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 100) and through his internal struggle to kill his friend. It is the sense of compassion for a friend, which compels George to conceal his intentions from Lennie. He endeavors to distract Lennie by telling him to "look down there across the river," repeating the fact that he "aint mad," so as to put Lennie's mind at peace (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 101). If George's true intentions were to betray Lennie, then he wouldn't have considered Lennie's feelings when killing him. George wanted to ensure Lennie would die dreaming of their unreachable dream while thinking only happy, peaceful thoughts to the point where he stole Carlson's gun after overhearing him saying he "got a Luger. It won't hurt him none at all" (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 45) in reference to killing Candy's dog. As a result Lennie's death was quick and peaceful as "he lay without quivering" (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 102) the moment the shot was fired.
Opponents of this argument would present the question of why George didn't simply run away with Lennie to protect him from being killed by Curley? Although this question does come to mind instantly as an initial reaction, and it could have been a feasible temporary solution to George and Lennie's predicament, it is clearly not a permanent option, as George clearly states there "aint no way out" (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 90). Furthermore, throughout the plot line, it is implied that George and Lennie have ran away so many times they cannot possibly continue with this vicious cycle. Nonetheless, even if they were to escape, it would just be a matter of time before Lennie had another "accident" and killed someone else, which is a main character trait of Lennie's nature. This repetition of events is shown by the constant cycle of the seasons in the first chapter, where the cycle of the seasons represent George and Lennie's situation; they get a new job, Lennie causes trouble, they run. This cycle will repeat itself over and over with more creatures and people being harmed until Lennie is caught and brought to justice.
Moreover, if George were to be considered as a disloyal friend who truly betrayed Lennie, then why didn't he disclose where Lennie would be hiding? On the contrary, he told the men Lennie "would of went south," (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 92) and sent them in the opposite direction to which Lennie had actually taken. George did this to give himself some time to find Lennie first and help give his friend the quick death, which Lennie deserves as he "never done it in meanness" (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 90). Even Slim, who is one of the only characters who seems to be a fair judge of things solemnly approves of George's actions saying "you hadda, George. I swear you hadda" (Stienbeck, 2002, p. 102).
In Conclusion, George loved Lennie and cherished his friendship dearly. It was with this love in mind, as well as his promise to protect Lennie, that caused him to spare his friend from a long and painful death. Therefore, it was George's compassion for Lennie, which resulted in Lennie's death by George's hand and consequently should not be classed as betrayal.
Bibliography
N/A. (2008, March 17). In Of Mice and Men, was George shooting Lennie justified? Retrieved February 11, 2015, from eNotes: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/was-george-shooting-lennie-justified-386386
Mitchell, E. (2013, September 30). In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, how does George show compassion when he shoots Lennie? Retrieved February 11, 2015, from eNotes: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-george-show-compassion-when-he-shots-456781
Sieker, J. (2013, October 23). Treatment of Mental Disabilities in the 1930s. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from Prezi: https://prezi.com/0i_1bveq6dxi/treatment-of-mental-disabilities-in-the-1930s/
ShelBell. (2012, July 29). Of Mice and Men, Was Killing Lennie the Right Thing to Do? Read more at http://www.booksie.com/other/essay/shelbell/of-mice-and-men-was-killing-lennie-the-right-thing-to-do#5LO8PoCldxjwGgcG.99. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from Booksie: http://www.booksie.com/other/essay/shelbell/of-mice-and-men-was-killing-lennie-the-right-thing-to-do
Stienbeck, J. (2002). Of Mice and Men. New York, New York, U.S.A: Penguin.
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Contradiction A Million & One
RandomEach chapter in this book is an essay that I wrote for English. I just wanted a place to compile them... If you want to read them go ahead, just be careful not to copy them for your own essays. They've been put into turn it in so you'll get caught f...
