Do you think Lenny's punishment in the book Of mice and Men was to severe?

Answer 1

Just tell me bout da rabbits

Answer 2

No I think George's punishment was too severe. George had sworn to care for Lenny and knew that Lenny couldn't control the things he did. Lenny was kind and gentle but was also dangerous because of his inability to use reason or even common sense.

George finally came to realize that no matter what he was never really going to be able to protect Lenny and so he did the kindest thing in a way. As clearly shown at the end of the book, George however would carry the burden of what he was forced to do the rest of his life. George killing Lenny meant the end of any kind of normal life George may have ever hoped to have.

I think the best movie version of this book was the Gary Sinise, John Malkovich version. Sinise is an expert in the works of Steinbeck and it clearly showed in the movie.

Answer 3

Yes and no.

First of all you have to remember the time period that this book was written it. The boss's wife gets killed by one of the ranch hands? Accidental or not, the girl is dead and the man is now wihout his wife. A lynching would have happened whether it was Lenny or George or any of the other guys, so in this sense his impending punishment was not too severe. It was the natural punishment for the crime.

On the other hand, you have Lenny who really didn't know what he was doing, how dangerous it was, how strong he was, and couldn't understand the repercussions of his actions -- even if you explained it to him, he would not have been able to understood it beyond a very abstract way. So in this sense, yes, Lenny's punishment would have been too severe, because he didn't "mean it."

Then you have George who knows what's going to happen. Lenny IS going to get lynched. Lenny will NOT understand why people are being mean to him, he will not understand why people are hurting him, and he will be asking for George to make them stop, and he will not understand why George can't or won't.

Further, "Nickname" has it all wrong. George did NOT kill Lenny because Lenny would never be able to lead a normal life, because Lenny was leading a normal life, with a job and friends and a happy life that he was leading. George needed Lenny as much as Lenny needed George. George killed Lenny to spare Lenny from the mob.

What "Nickname" is actually saying is that we should take the mentally and emotionally handicapped out and kill them because they do not lead lives like we do. We assume that they are not and cannot be as happy as we are, but Lenny was happy. Lenny, in his limited emotional understanding, was happy and had a happy life with all he needed, with none of the everyday BS that every other person has to go through. It is a crime that people think that the handicapped should be put down like a dog. And when you break it down to its lowest common denominator, it isn't for the handicapped's sake to put them down, it is for ours.

This is my very favorite book. If you ever get a chance to see the original movie with Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Answer 4

You have to understand that it was a different time. People who were mentally challenged didn't have the opportunities like they do now. What would have happened to Lenny if he had been caught? Would they have lynched him on the spot? Would he have been ridiculed and perhaps abused in jail? Would he have ended his days in an insane asylum? Would he have faced the electric chair or the gas chamber? If he was freed, would his past have prevented him from ever finding work again?

Did George realize any of those things and felt it was merciful to kill Lenny cleanly rather than let him face any of those possibilities? Or did George fear that he would be seen as an accomplice and be brought to justice as well? Was George indeed just selfishly thinking that here was a justified way to rid himself of the burden of Lenny?

Sometimes things aren't as cut and dried as we would like them to be. Certainly each person's reactions to a given situation are based on their own experiences and beliefs up to that point.

So was Lenny's punishment too severe? I really can't say, but I kind of think that was the point of the book - to make you think.

Answer 5

Lenny wasn't punished! He would have been, if he had been caught by the posse, but George put him down out of love and to KEEP him from being treated badly. Lenny was incapable of understanding that he had done wrong.

Answer 6

well, considering it was george who killed him, i'd say no, but it did get pretty twisted near the end. george was only doing it for his own good, cuz lenny would never be able to lead a normal life cuz he didn't know what was right and what was wrong, so he would be dependent upon george always, and killing him might have been the best thing ever happened to lenny

Answer 7

Poor Lenny! Yeah it was too severe.

Answer 8

Yes, but George thought, uh, I mean he *figured* he was doing Lenny a favor by killing him instantly instead of letting him be tortured to death by the lynching mob.

Answer 9

Definitely.
Why shoot him? To protect him from the harm and prejudice he was gonna witness in his life. Oh, come on! (You don't just kill someone to spare him of the vices and misunderstandings of the world)
Did you see the movie version?
Pretty good. John Malcovich (sp?) as Lenny and Gary Sinise as the other one (I forgot his name)

^_^

Answer 10

Absolutely.

Answer 11

nope... he was gonna be killed by curly's crew. george had to let go of the extra weight and end it. george should be the one to kill lenny, so he is not brutally murdered.