If you think about mercy killing, also known as compassionate homicide, you think about the act of painlessly allowing to die, to avoid extreme measures of pain and suffering. Mercy killing is demonstrated thoroughly throughout John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice And Men. Mercy killing can be argued whether or not it is right or wrong, and/or justifiable, as demonstrated throughout the novel Of Mice And Men. In current society Mercy Killing is considered politically incorrect, although many people agree it is a necassary step to save one from extreme pain and suffering.…
George had made the right decicion to shoot Lennie as he would have faced worse consequences. If you were in a similar situation, would you want to be the one to kill your best friend, or have a stranger do it?In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck tells the story of two best friends living life on the run, struggling to keep a steady job working as ranch hands. George and Lennie are faced with many obstacles throughout the course of this book, beginning with Lennie and his slow mindedness, George is always side by side with Lennie, practically holding his hand to coach him through life. The story begins with the two men running away from Weed, the ranch they were previously employed at; we later find that George and Lennie had to flee after Lennie had touched a ladies dress and made her feel uncomfortable. Upon arrival at the new ranch, George had told Lennie to stay away from Curley’s wife, Lennie disobeyed George and similar trouble has followed…
‘Of Mice and Men’ is a story based around the hardships of migrant workers in the Great Depression of 1920’s and 30’s America. The story follows the central protagonists, George and Lennie as they settle into life at a new ranch. However through the climax of the story Lennie ends up in a tough situation, leaving George to kill his only friend. The question is was George right to shoot Lennie in their situation? Or did he betray his friend in the worst way possible? This essay will explore the predicament of George and whether the actions he took were indeed the right actions.…
“‘I can still tend the rabbits, George?’ ‘Sure. You ain't done nothing wrong.’ ‘I di'n't mean no harm, George.’” (Steinbeck) Throughout John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lennie childishly obsesses over his and George’s plan to have their own piece of land, on which he could tend the rabbits. However, this never came to pass as Lennie was put down like an animal, by George. By writing about the lives of this unfortunate pair, Steinbeck addresses many thematic ideas such as having power and being powerless, the difference between right and wrong, and dreams and reality that help the reader better understand the human condition.…
His clear dream of tending the rabbits on a farm is the strongest element he relishes. “Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We donna get a little place. Live off the fatta’ the land” Without this dream, his life would be compromised from the inevitable hostility waiting to take its turn. And without George along his side, restricting his strength both physically and mentally, his hope of tending the rabbits on their imaginary farm would never seem possible. His daydreams teach him a discrete difference between what is right and wrong. Lennie’s assertion of a much relished dream constructs an uplift life of fantasies, rather than the ominous reality of…
In our society there is a lot of tension revolving around concepts of morality. Constantly people are debating all over the world whether or not concepts like abortion, homosexuality, gambling, affairs, divorce, contraception, and premarital sex are morally acceptable or morally unacceptable. Right now there are even entire societies that believe the American way of life is morally unacceptable. In Moral Disagreement by Kwame Anthony Appiah, Appiah writes about differing values and morals around the world and within our society. He points out, “we aren’t the only people who have the concepts of right and wrong, good and bad; every society, it seems, has terms that correspond to these thin concepts” (658). However, these concepts…
Waller, B. (2008). Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues. New York: Pearson Education, Inc.…
As a child, my favorite book was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss. At about 4 years old, I can’t imagine I saw anymore into that book besides the many different kinds of fish described. However, as a more mature adult, I can now see what Dr. Seuss was trying to impress upon children, the acceptance of diversity. Principles of ethics are shown to us frequently in picture books such as those by Dr. Seuss. However, as we get older, these medias we read constantly as children tend to dissipate. Comic strips, like “Calvin and Hobbes” can take their place in adulthood by showing morals and critiquing society’s values in a more mature setting, such as a newspaper, while still remaining reminiscent of our childhood books. Let’s face it; you would look a little silly analyzing a Dr. Seuss book on the train ride home from work.…
Hunt, L. H. (2011). Ethics. Web: World Book. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from World Book…
“There is a significant disparity of treatment in the way the criminal justice system handles things. Unfortunately, there's a double standard because there is a double standard in society.” David Raybin. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck; Steinbeck introduces two men, George and Lennie, who live in Salinas, California. The novel occurs in the 1930s, during the great depression; in the novel, both men go from one job to another as they try to purchase their own ‘American Dream’. The dream to build a shack with an acre of land, but as they struggle with life, their shot at achieving their dream disappears. Towards the end, George murders Lennie in order to solve problems that Lennie caused throughout the plot. Lennie’s murder is categorized as mercy killing; mercy killing is known as killing a person for the benefit of their own good. This novel makes it clear that mercy is the best way to kill people with disabilities, it takes the cruelty out of killing by making it more kind.…
The conflict in “The Inheritor” reiterates the theme that the choice a person makes based on moral obligation may seem unreasonable. The man could have been killed but he felt he had to try to rescue the ewe from the dingo. Because he was true to his conscience he felt satisfied with his choice.…
In the book The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton shows the struggles of a man to choose between the safety that following social rules provides, and the adventurous dangers of choosing what is regarded as "morally incorrect."…
Although Steinbeck’s insistent repetition of these characteristics makes Lennie a rather flat character, Lennie’s simplicity is central to Steinbeck’s conception of the novel. Of Mice and Men is a very short work that manages to build up an extremely powerful impact. Since the tragedy depends upon the outcome seeming to be inevitable, the reader must know from the start that Lennie is doomed, and must be sympathetic to him. Steinbeck achieves these two feats by creating a protagonist who earns the reader’s sympathy because of his utter helplessness in the face of the events that unfold. Lennie is totally defenseless. He cannot avoid the dangers presented by Curley, Curley’s wife, or the world at large. His innocence raises him to a standard of pure goodness that is more poetic and literary than realistic. His enthusiasm for the vision of their future farm proves contagious as he convinces George, Candy, Crooks, and the reader that such a paradise might be possible. But he is a character whom Steinbeck sets up for disaster, a character whose innocence only seems to ensure his inevitable destruction.…
Making choices is fundamental to our lives. When we are making decisions, the biggest paradox may be the conflict between the sense and the sensibility. It has been over two hundred years since Jane Austen wrote the novel Sense and Sensibility, yet to our surprise nothing has really changed. We still struggle to make the moral and ethical choices that people have struggled with over the years. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. broke unjust laws and engaged in nonviolence direct action in order to gain equality and freedom. In “Dog Lab”, Claire McCarthy wanted to take advantage of the dog lab for further learning, but she was reluctant to attend the lab because killing a dog was inhumane and against…
The Declaration of Independence states, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” But, what does equal mean in the eyes of morality? Going back to Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham, the study of moral theory is an attempt to provide systematic answers to questions about what to do and how to be (Foundations I notes). However, in order to answer the question of what to do, one must first answer the question of whose morality matters. In this essay, I explore theories of moral status in order to understand and describe what factors influence the lower-moral status of Drake, a character within the television show Downton Abbey. In doing so, I will identify enduing themes between the show and a JAMA article, “The association…