Friday, November 9, 2007
Ch.3-6 Of Mice and Men: What would you have done?
So as not to give anything away, I'll be as vague as possible. I really hope that no one told you how it ends...After you finish the novel, respond to the ending. Was it the right thing to do? What would you have done? Were there other alternatives? Why do you think it happens this way? What is Steinbeck's message? Hmmm. I know that we'll have lots to talk about on Monday. A fulmination may erupt in response to the controversial conclusion. Complete a log/blog for Monday's discussion, then we'll take the test on Tuesday. There's a trial sort of thing that we'll start on Monday. I'd tell you more, but it will ruin the ending if you're not there yet.
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I think George's shooting of Lennie was ruthless and unacceptable. George inspired Lennie so much, as Lennie always imitated him. Lennie was extremely hopeful that no matter what, George would support and guide him. In his conversation with Crooks, Lennie constantly reiterates that George would never leave him. When Lennie envisions his Aunt Clara, he mourns with grief when she tells him he has greatly burdened George. Lennie says he will escape to the hills and persist on his own so as to relieve George. Despite his mental drawbacks, Lennie is a dedicated friend to George. George takes advantage of Lennie when Lennie abides faithfully by his command to escape to the brush. Lennie is virtually helpless; I view his death as an act of betrayal.
Excellent points, Michelle! Looks like we have one for the prosecution...Yep, you guessed it- Geoge Milton is on trial for the first degree murder of one Lennie Small. Everyone must choose a side- are you going to be the prosecuting attorney or George's defense lawyer? Is it freedom for George or the big house (not U of M stadium)? You decide! (I too am guilty as charged of overuse of the exclamation mark!!!)
My opinion may change by the time 5th hour comes around, but I think that George did the right thing. He knew either way Lennie would be killed and he wanted it to be peaceful, where as Curly would have slaughtered Lennie. This situation is like the shooting of Candy's dog; Candy said he should have shot the dog himself and not let a stranger do it. I think George wanted to kill Lennie himself so the men wouldn't do it. George was a good friend to Lennie, he always took care of him. He also was proud of him, Goerge consistently throughtout the novel bragged about how good of a worker Lennie was. And yes there were times that George was mean to Lennie, but he needed George there for leadership and protection.
I could see why George would shoot Lennie. Lennie had nothing to live for but to move to the ranch with George. He had his mental disability that was always getting him into trouble, and George was left to explain Lennie's mishaps. George perhaps saved himself from being lynched along with Lennie by taking him out. If George was left to explain Lennie's side of the story he would have probably been thought to have been included in the plotting of the murder. I feel that this ending also gives some closure to the novel. Instead of telling how the protagonist (Lennie) lived "happily ever after" it gives a definite future for the man (none). The men could have probably escaped somehow, but it would lead to a lengthy explanation of how they escaped and would leave the reader with a cliche ending where the protagonist wins. This killing of Lennie is also very characteristic of the realism used in Romantic writing in that what would have happened in real life, happened. I feel that the killing was an act of mercy as well as a way for George to free himself of any guilt.
I really believe George did the right thing. Lennie was going to die no matter what, and George could have let him die a painful death from Curley and the other others, or kill Lennie himself with as much ease as possible. George may also have been saving himself because if he would have defended Lennie, not only would Lennie have been killed, George would have too. Some might view that as selfish act, but I truly believe this decision was made in Lennie's best interest because he was going to continue to get himself into trouble wherever they worked. The way George did it was smart because Lennie had no idea what was really going on; he just thought George was telling him to imagine himself on the land that they were soon going to have. (I find this interesting that Steinbeck has George be the one to kill Lennie because earlier in the novel, Candy said he should have shot his own dog instead of Carlson.) George was just looking out for Lennie once again and figured if anyone is going to kill Lennie, it might as well have been himself.
I really do belive that the ending of this book was amazing. we all knew from the foreshadowing that lennie was going to get into trouble. steinebeck needed a dramatic ending to fully bring out the message created in his book. i think that what george did was very very noble and couragous. earlier in the novel, candy was apprehensive to kill his own dog but he later regretted it. it took deep thought and bravery for a man to kill his best friend, knowing that it would be what was best for him. back in those days, i could understand what happened becuase of the inacessibilites of asylums. lennie without a doubt was dangerous and proved to be deadly. it is sad but still, but never the less, it had to be done.
I really enjoy this book. I must say that is one of my most favorite books of all time. It does, however, have a very sad ending. I have to disagree with Michelle. I believe that George, out of love, killed Lennie. I believe that he had no choice and that he didn't want Lennie to cause any more harm and possibly be in further risk of more danger. I believe that when he left the barn to go hunt for Lennie, he knew he was going to kill him. I believe one instance that made him choose this iption was that he referred back to when Candy told George that he should have shot his own dog. I believe that George feels responisible for Lennie and that they are best friends. George thought that they could have just a few more good moments together before the end. I think George would have felt more guilty if he wouldn't have shot him or come talk to him before he died. Although Lennie is helpless and doesn't mean to committ these violent acts, he is still a dangerous person and I believe George did the right thing.
I agree with both sides if George should have or shouldn't have shot Lennie. Michelle makes a good point that Lennie is a dedicated friend to George and that George is Lennie's inspiration to life. On the opposing viewpoint, George helped Lennie live for much longer than he would have on his own. In the end, I think it was overall good decision to shoot Lennie because no matter what, he is going to be killed. After all, isn't it better only Lennie dead, rather than both of them. This was a Great book and I really enjoyed the ending.
It was very unexpected and sad when George shot Lennie. I Knew Lennie was going to get in some kind of trouble but I didn't think he would end up dead, and shot by his best friend. I think there might have been some other way to get out of the situation but then there would have been no closure (Like Josh said). The ending of the book would have been just like the beginning, Lennie and George would be running away from the farm because of something Lennie did. I think that George killed Lennie out of love and he knew that Lennie was going to be killed in a more painful way if he didn't do something. George did not want to see his friend suffer so he shot Lennie himself.
I think that George killed Lennie in the heat of the moment, and never intended to harm Lennie. It seems like George took the gun to protect Lennie from Curley and the other men, but once George hears their voices approaching Lennie he decides that it would be better if he were to kill Lennie himself. Because Lennie looked up to George as a father-figure and admired George I think he was able to die peacefully knowing that George would never harm him unless it was his way of protecting him. I am also glad that before George shot Lennie he told Lennie that he was never mad at him and finally showed Lennie that he loved him despite all of the trouble Lennie had caused him. By killing Lennie, George is finally able to live his own life freely and Lennie can be at peace in a world where he can do no harm to others.
I don't think what he did was quite legal but I believe what he did was right. Lennie was going ot die either way. This way he got to die happy and painlessly
Although there is strong reasons supporting each side of the situation, I do support George in his shooting of Lennie. Although I was both shocked and saddened by what happened, I believe it was for the best of both George and Lennie. As Lennie was already in trouble for what had happened in the previous trial, he would not do very well in court. It is very likely that he would either spend the rest of his life in prison where a mentally disabled man would not fare well, or be executed, and that is if Curley did not get to him beforehand. Also, I think that George knew that the other men were planning on killing Lennie and like Candy with his dog, he knew that it would be better if Lennie was killed by someone who cared for him as opposed to strangers. The fact that George comforted Lennie and told him that he was not angry at him before he killed him shows that George's act was one of mercy, not of cruelty.
I was surprised that Lennie actually killed Curley's wife. I couldn't believe it that George was the one who killed Lennie. I thought that the mob of people would have killed him, not George. This was probably the better way for Lennie to die because if the mob would have gotten to him first they would have killed him in a more unpleasant way. I don't think George killed Lennie in a cruel way because he wasn't mad at Lennie when he found him. He didn't yell at Lennie or anything he just calmy spoke to him. I know George cared about Lennie a lot and that it hurt him to have to kill Lennie. Overall, I thought this was a really good book.
I dont have an opinion of Lennie's murder. Though, Lennie is mentally challenged and doesn't understand the consequences of his actions, from the mice, and pups to people. George was his protector, and though he always complained about how Lennie gave him such grief, he always got Lennie out of trouble, and sacrificed a lot in his life for Lennie. I think Steinbeck was posing the question of should someone be killed just because they are of no good to themselves anymore? or should people just be "canned" as Candy would say, or put away in jail or a home? He shows this question when they discuss killing Candy's dog, Slim and Carlson say he's no good to anyone, not even himself, all he does is suffer and smell bad to people (a grievance to others) should he should die to stop the sadness. This is the same for Lennie who is constantly a grievance to people by killing small animals, and by the end, killing Curley's wife. When George is talking to Slim after Lennie has ran away from the murder scene, George says he hopes they dont kill him but put him away in jail so that he is saved. Slim replies that being in jail would be suffering for Lennie and no good to anyone. Either way you look at it, Putting Lennie out from his misery and annoyance to others, or putting him away and making him suffer, they are both wrong.
And I don't think it's right that someone, because they are mentally disabled, should have to die because it makes things harder on others - think about their life!
Carlson shooting Candy's dog foreshadowed the event of George shooting Lennie. Carlson was getting rid of the weak and useless dog and George was getting rid of a troublesome man, Lennie. Both were shot at the back of the head and was quick and painless. I about teared up when I read the ending. George should have never have shot Lennie. Lennie looked up to George and they depended on each other. They were going to have a "fat outta land" together. I don't think George should have shot Lennie. George should have made Lennie hide and then come for him later alone, when everyone else gave up in finding him. Then they would leave together. But as George said he always wished Lennie wasn't with him; life would be so much better for him. Well I wonder if it's better now.
At first, I was extremely angry at George for killing Lennie. I couldn't understand why George would betray Lennie after spending so much time with him, building such a strong bond. However, after I actually thought about it, I realized that George only had a brief time to make a decision over what to do. He didn't have time to think about any consequeces, he had to do what came to him first, and that was to try and give Lennie a peaceful death and not cause him any more pain or stress.
He knew that Curley would have beat Lennie senseless, no matter what he tried to say or do to defend or protect Lennie. George also knew that it would be impossible to try and run away like they did before, because the guys were too close by. George made sure that Lennie knew he was not angry, but proud of him, and tried to give Lennie a sense of calmness by telling him his favorite story about the rabbits and thier own land.
i was shocked that George shot Lennie. I did fell sad that George had to shoot his good friend, but i thought that it was nice George did it instead of a sstranger. I think that eventhough lennie was mentally challenged, he didn't deserve to be shot. George always got Lennie out of trouble, and i guess this was a way to protect Lennie from everyone else, and also helped him too. He knew thatt Curley was going tp beat Lennie and maybe kill him, so bby killing Lennie himself, he some whow saved Lennie again.I think that Steinbeck makes a point in showing Lennies progression of him killing. He first kills a samll mouse, but then leads to kill a larger puppy and then a women. All increasing is size and importance. In the end i don't see it right to kill an mentaly disbaled person, ar any person at all.
I had mixed feelings about the ending to the novel. I felt really bad for Lennie when he killed Curley's wife. He didn't mean to do it, he was just scared. It was like back in Weed, he was just scared, and didn't mean to hurt anybody. I just knew something bad was going to happen to Lennie. In a way, I was angry at the end because George killed Lennie. I thought they could've just met up like planned, and then they could've run off together like they did before. I liked Lennie, so I didn't want to see him die. On the other hand, George did Lennie a favor. If the other men would've gotten to him, they would've either shot Lennie in the guts, where he would've died a slow, painful death, or they would've captured him and locked him up or lynched him, which either would've been horrible. George kind of helped Lennie out by killing him quickly, so Lennie died quickly, without pain, and happy because he was thinking about the rabbits. I can't decide which side to take for the trial, but I'm leaning towards that George did the right thing because he helped Lennie instead of letting him suffer.
I dont think shooting Lennie was the right thing for him to do. They made it out of similar situations together before and they could have made it out of that one too. Lennie was extremely faithful to George and listened to everything he said. He looked up to him and thought that they were great friends but George shooting him shows that he did not feel the same way. I can see how Lennie would get annoying and would be hard to live with but shooting and killing him was a bit extreme.
Good book but not the best when my dog Tucker just died a few weeks ago! I think George was right in killing Lennie in a way but he should have stood up for Lennie after he shot him instead of lying to the other ranchers about how he killed him. I think that in order to save Lennie from being tortured he had to kill him to save him. In George and Slim's mind it was the right thing to do to put Lennie out of hisfuture misery it would have brought upon him. Just like Candy shoot his dog and best friend to put him out of his misery.
When i read the ending, I almost cried. I couldnt believe that George shot Lennie!!!! Even though i felt horrible, i understand why George did it and i probably would have done the same thing. He was saving Lennie from being painfully killed by Curley. George wanted him to die thinking happy thoughts, not being scared. I think that George killing Lennie was the best alternative for Lennie. If George hadn't shot him, Curley would have.
I think that George should get in trouble for killing Lennie. It was premeditated, and in cold blood. Lennie trusted George and George took advantage of this trust. If anything, George should have defended Lennie. He and Slim both knew it was an accident. Lennie should have been in the "boobie hatch" instead of in public. It is totally unacceptable to have shot Lennie. "But it was actually helping him......" you say? Wrong, Lennie should have had a trial, he would have gotten the death penalty and then justice would be served.
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