Did George Do the Right Thing?

            The ending of John Steinbeck’s novella titled Of Mice and Men is a very controversial topic. To sum it up, George ends up shooting Lennie, his best friend, in the back of the head. His motive was kind; he did not want Lennie to suffer. If George did not shoot Lennie, other men would have killed him for a crime that Lennie committed. This crime was killing Curley’s wife. If the other men did not kill Lennie for the crime he committed, then he could have been experimented on due to the fact that he was impaired mentally. Scientists at the time were trying to figure out what made some people impaired like Lennie, so he was in constant danger. Personally, I do think that George killed Lennie out of kindness. If George wasn’t the one to do it, then Lennie would have suffered immense pain. Also, it’s not like George wanted to kill him. They were best friends, and George was sacrificing his own guilt and loneliness to save Lennie from suffering. In addition, George made sure that Lennie was in his happiest state of mind right before he died. George was telling Lennie about the rabbits and the farm they could own, which made Lennie happy. Earlier in the book, the readers got a sneak peek into Lennie’s mind and saw how he thought. It was filled with hallucinations, which was a part of his mental illness. He would see and hear things that were not really there, like his dead Aunt Clara and a talking rabbit. This is an important detail because in chapter six, right before he was shot, George told him something about their farm. George said “Look down there acrost the river, like you can almost see the place.” This makes me wonder. Because Lennie actually has hallucinations, did he see the farm? Did George tell him to look for the farm because he knew Lennie would imagine it, and that he would finally get to see their farm before he died? I may never know the answers to any of these questions, but I do know for sure that George killed Lennie out of the kindness of his heart.