Euthanasia in John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men Literature Essay Example

What factors make euthanasia justifiable? Euthanasia is defined as "the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy" (Merriam-Webster). The debate whether mercy killing is ethical or not varies depending on the person, which leads to a dilemma for those around the suffering individual. For instance, George "pulled the trigger" (Steinbeck 106) in Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men. He decided that what would be best for his friend, Lennie, would be death. With this in mind, George shoots and kills Lennie because Lennie would otherwise have suffered from a worse demise where he would either face Curley's mob sought out to lynch him or another eventual mob caused by Lennie's impaired mental state. With that said, George's decision to mercy shoot Lennie at the end of Of Mice and Men is ethically justifiable because this is more peaceful than a mob lynching or running off to other possible dangers.

For example, Curley's mob set out to lynch Lennie would be more painful than a quick shot in the head. Curley said, "I'm gonna shoot the guts outta that big b*st*rd myself, even if I only got one hand. I'm gonna get 'im" (Steinbeck 98). Curley's belligerence towards Lennie is conspicuous, so Lennie's death seems inevitable. This rage would not only lead to death but painful torture as well. Most consider euthanasia more justifiable when the person has physical suffering (Bahník), and this is a scenario where Lennie would suffer physically. Not only did George let Lennie's death be painless, but he also let it happen happily. The last conversation between the friends ends with George saying, "Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta" (Steinbeck 106). He agrees to buy their dream farm to live peacefully, so Lennie dies in joy rather than in pain by Curley's wrath. This reason demonstrates George's ethical decision in Lennie’s life, which justifies the shot.

In addition, if the two could have escaped, Lennie would eventually stir up more trouble. George knows Lennie causes issues, saying, "If he finds out what a crazy b*st*rd you are, we won't get no job" (Steinbeck 6) to Lennie. George said this because they ran out of Weed because of Lennie. George tells Slim this story, saying, "he reaches out to feel this red dress an' the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on 'cause that's the only thing he can think to do. Well, this girl squawks and squawks" (Steinbeck 41) and "that girl rabbits in an' tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie" (Steinbeck 42). This story demonstrates one instance where Lennie caused a mob to want to lynch him. Another one of Lennie's incidents is with Curley's wife where “he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). Curley later finds out and brings others to lynch Lennie, and Slim even says “Maybe like that time in Weed you was tellin’ about” (Steinbeck 97). That's already two known instances of Lennie stirring up trouble where he ends up hunted, so it's only a matter of time before Lennie is in another situation where he's in danger. Lennie landing in an inevitable worse situation would harm him more than a brief death, which justifies George's decision more.

On the contrary, some readers may argue, "Lennie did not consent to death." Lennie said, "Le's do it now. Le's get that place now" (Steinbeck 106). These were Lennie's last words, which show his hope for the future. Therefore, Lennie's consent was not present for the decision of his death. That may be true, but Lennie's consent doesn't change Curley's decision to lynch him. No matter how Lennie feels, either Curley or some other angered man will hunt Lennie. Lennie's mental disability is inescapable, which causes suffering to others and himself, and he's in a loop of pain while being complacent. Lennie's mind is similar to one of a young human, so think about childhood. The grasp of death only develops around the age of 4 (Hughes). With how Lennie’s brain works, he may not even fully grasp the concept of death, leading to an empty consent.  Lennie's thoughts on his death aren't relevant to what the most ethical decision is, so George’s decision is ethical even if Lennie didn’t consent. 

Overall, the example of euthanasia in Of Mice of Men where George decided to shoot Lennie was an ethically justifiable action because Lennie would’ve suffered more either from Curley or another hoard of people out to lynch him. Additionally, if Lennie's life didn't end by George's hand, it could have ended in a more agonizing demise by Curley’s torture. If George and Lennie did manage to escape, then Lennie's mental state would've eventually led to another lynch for his head. Lastly, Lennie likely isn't able to even comprehend death, so the thought of consent doesn't matter. George decided to end Lennie's life, and he made an ethically justifiable choice. Sometimes, the greatest gift in life is death.

Works Cited

Bahník, Štěpán. “What Makes Euthanasia Justifiable? the Role of Symptoms' Characteristics and Interindividual Differences.” Death Studies, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 14 June 2019, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31198096/. 

“Euthanasia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euthanasia. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021.

Hughes, Virginia. “When Do Kids Understand Death?” Science, National Geographic, 3 May 2021, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/when-do-kids-understand-death#:~:text=Children%20begin%20to%20grasp%20death's,between%20age%205%20and%207.

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Penguin Books, 1993.