Responsibility In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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A few years ago, my brother and I fought over unnecessary things. One of our bickerings blew up into an argument so big, my parents had to get involved. Being the oldest child, it was expected I would apologize and take responsibility. There was my problem. Do I be the perfect child and apologize -but I couldn’t bare to lose to my brother- or do I tell my parents it wasn’t me and make the situation worse altogether. Although this incident was over a spot on the couch, there are times where there are no right solution, even if the right thing to do is obvious, because there is always a sacrifice to be made. In the novella, Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, many characters are faced with problems they cannot escape from, and to find a resolution, …show more content…
Innocent Lennie was thinking about the farm and the rabbits, while Curley was ‘screaming’ at Slim, followed by Slim getting mad at Curley, for always assuming that Slim is with his wife. They walk in, arguing like normal, when suddenly, everyone becomes quiet, as the two argue inside the bunkhouse. Unaware of what's going on, Lennie continues to laugh at the thought of the farm. Curley takes this as Lennie laughing at him and his behavior, and attempts to grab him and beat him. Blood running down his face, Lennie cries and whimpers, for he wouldn’t do anything unless he has George’s permission. After George repeatedly said to fight back, Lennie almost breaks his hand with little effort. In pain and shock, Curley doesn’t know what to do. If word got around that world class fighter Curley was beat up by innocent Lennie, his reputation would be ruined. The other men see this and wonder what he will do. There is no right solution, and the other men are just fine with that. “Slim went on. ‘I think you got your hand caught in the machine. If you don’t tell nobody what happened, we ain’t going to.’” (64). Slim tells Curley his hand is caught in the machine or he has no way out. Curley has the others vow to tell nobody and lie about it all. They agree, but Curley must sacrifice his macho reputation for solving …show more content…
George thought he had no choice but to kill Lennie. He sparred him of a lot of pain that he would get from the other men. Lennie died happy, thinking about his favorite thing; tending the rabbits. But, George could have let Lennie survive, and just run away to another ranch. However, George feared the cycle would continue, getting worse and worse. This time, there was no right solution. Slim especially, along with the other men, comforted George and reassured him it was the right choice. “Slim said. ‘You hadda George. I swear, you hadda…’”(107). George was faced with a problem, that had no right solution. Lennie would have been hung and died a painful death. By shooting Lennie, George spared him from the pain and violence. However, George’s life revolved around Lennie. Even if he didn’t realize it at the time, he needed Lennie just as much as Lennie needed him. This choice shows how this theme is threaded through the novel, how sometimes there are no right solutions to a problem. The only way to fix things is by sacrificing what you value less. By going with your gut, the right decision will be true to yourself, just like George’s decision to spare Lennie from pain and torture. George valued Lennie’s well-being more than his life, so he sacrificed his life to ensure he had a peaceful
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