Of Mice and Men: Cruel and Merciful.

The end of the novel Of Mice and Men may have come on as a surprise to all of us, that is that George had to make a bold decision, ending Lennie's life. Whether or not this proved to be the right move to make it has two different aspects. . . being viewed as both cruel and merciful. I am quite 99.9% sure that most of us in our lifetime have had a friend that has been by our side through most of the good and the bad. You grow to know that person better than they may know themselves. As George surrounded and based his everyday lifestyle around Lennie and his needs both grew in their relationship and had gotten to know each other well. In the end, I mostly believe that this is why George's decision was cruel. Harming anyone is cruel but being someone that was close to George makes it even crueler. Then again, why would I think his decision was merciful? Whether or not George did kill Lennie, Lennie had his destiny set for him. The men were out to get Lennie no matter what. George wasn't choosing to shoot Lennie because he wanted to, but he felt that he had to. He couldn't stand there and watch Lennie, scared and in danger, by men who hardly knew him. George didn't want to see Lennie in that position. George's decision altogether can be carried out as being merciful or cruel to anyone, but each person's natural opinion is different with different points of view.