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Of Mice and Men, a la Shmoop:

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With friends like George, who needs enemies? We've all seen things that look like they

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don't belong together . . . . . . or couples that seem more than a little

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odd . We may even look at our own parents . . .

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. . . and wonder what the heck they ever saw in one another.

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Same goes for friendships. George and Lennie, the two main characters

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of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, are about as different as two friends could possibly

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be . . . . . . but they've got each other's' backs.

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They've travelled the country together . . . . . . worked together . . .

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. . . and endured the hardships of the Great Depression together.

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So, if they're such BFFs . . . . . . and George loves Lennie so much . . .

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. . . how could he possibly bring himself to take his friend's life?

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Well, he must have been furious when he heard about what Lennie had done to Curley's wife.

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Maybe he reacted out of anger, seeing as how his own job and dreams of owning a farm were

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circling the drain. Haven't we all had moments where our rage

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gets the best of us? Maybe George just snapped.

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It could easily be a simple case of temporary insanity.

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Then again, maybe George thought Curley and his gang might be coming after him too . . .

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. . . and killed his friend to make sure he couldn't make any more trouble for him.

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We all know what it's like being friends with someone who gets us in trouble.

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Maybe George just simply had enough. But here's another thought.

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What if he took his friend's life because he did love him so much?

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Lennie, who is mentally challenged, couldn't have understood the consequences of his actions.

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George knew Curley's lynch mob was coming . . .

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. . . and knew what they would do to his friend. Maybe he was trying to protect him the only

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way he knew how. Telling Lennie of better times. Filling his

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mind with happy thoughts, so when George pulls the trigger, his friend would leave the world

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on his own terms. Doesn't that prove he cared about his friend?

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Or was he only trying to make it easier on himself?

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What's your verdict? Did George do the unthinkable to punish his

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friend for ruining his life . . . . . . could it be that he really went off

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the deep end. . . . . . or did he commit the ultimate act of

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love by saving his friend from an angry lynch mob?

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Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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