was there no way for george to save lennie? - Of Mice and Men (1940) Discussion

[–] tara_12_heck 18 years ago

Well, George did a pretty decent thing, really. I mean, if I was travelling with Lennie, I wouldn't want to lock him up in some institution or leave him there for Curley. I think George did good.

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[–] douglas2g 18 years ago

The tragedy of this great saga is: there is no escape. It must run its course.
Yes, I want Lennie to live. . . Yes, I want them to get the little ranch. . .
Then we have no great impact, no real need to know about them in the first place. When I was younger, I played George in 3 productions (in Los Angeles).
Now, I've played Candy. I think my greatest compliment as an actor came from my final production as George. After the run, I sat relaxing with the actor playing Lennie, and this guy came up to us and said, "You made me cry." I shall never forget the feeling it gave me. In this production I tried something different. Lennie (finally) sees the gun. He knows. he turns back.
I shoot. He falls. I point the gun to my temple. Curtain.

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[–] ericisako 18 years ago

I believe this, somehow, relates to Carlson killing Candy's dog, and Candy having remorse about not killing it himself.
George wanted to kill Lennie himself, so he wouldn't feel the remorse.

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[–] sammyusa123 18 years ago

why couldnt he hide Lenny somewhere?

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Culburn 17 years ago

The same reason "Chief" couldn't leave Nicholson for "Nurse Ratchet" in "Nest". She'd win.

If George hides Lennie and Lennie is discovered (as he would be eventually) it is total loss.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] harlemsushi 14 years ago

I don't know because the only evidence that they had to go on at the crime scene was the dead puppy, Lenny's hat, and the body. If he would've taken the hat away and gotten rid of the puppy then the only thing left to do would have been to dispose of Mae's body. She was leaving anyhow and no one would've thought anything if they never saw her again. Personally I think he could've saved Lenny if he would've disposed of Mae's body and cleaned up the crime scene.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Ironman54 13 years ago

You are kidding right ????

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[–] harlemsushi 13 years ago

I'm sorry what did you disagree with? If George cleaned up the crime scene and disposed of Mae's body (or hid it till he could dispose of it) before anyone discovered it; it would have been the perfect crime. If you think otherwise please explain.

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[–] idcook 13 years ago

The odds were against them.

It wouldn’t be long before the jealous insecure Curley would ask after his unhappy flirtatious wife. They’re all basically confined to a very small area where everyone knows pretty much every inch of the place. Her body would’ve been found, maybe the puppy too. They’d see it was murder. Especially if her body was hidden. They would all be able to account for themselves, including George. They were all outside playing horseshoes or whatever while Mae and Lennie were not. They would easily figure out that Lennie did it.

They could only stand or run; but wouldn’t be able to run far enough fast enough.

What’s more, as excited as they all were, George would wind up being held responsible as the man who bought Lennie there as well as aiding in his escape. They might’ve hanged them both.

George didn’t want to spend his life running, knowing that they’d be caught someday, and he didn’t want to allow George’s lack of self-control continuously place them both in such extreme difficulties or go on posing danger to others.

Their only hope was to get Lennie in a setting where they’d be self-sustaining and away from others, but this made that impossible.

“Your thinking is untidy, like most so-called thinking today.” (Murder, My Sweet)

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[–] harlemsushi 13 years ago

I don't know if the odds were against them that much (although I will agree that the deck was stacked against them.) Mae left Curly and was walking away and Curly just accepted that the night before after their fight. In theory all he had to do was hide the body until nightfall and then dispose of it. Mae wouldn't have been missed and if anyone asked any questions all George would have to say is that he saw her with her suitcase leaving.

While it would have been a risky plan, it could have been pulled off.

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[–] deadpan_diva 16 years ago

In the book Curly was going to shoot Lennie in the stomach. He planed to torture him and he would have died scared and in pain. George was trying to be humane.

Dearie Dot Dot Dotdo Dearie Dot, Dearie Dot Dot Dotdo Dearie dot Doo!

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[–] LittleMickey88 16 years ago

No there was no escape. Lennie was going to get totured and eventually killed by Curly and the others. George didn't want to see Lennie being totured so he decided to shoot him himself. He shot him in the head so he didn't have to feel any pain at all. Even if they ran away together, they will eventually get caught so whats the use. George did the right thing even though its gonna be hard for him to deal with.

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[–] Promontorium 15 years ago

I'm surprised not of you seem to realize what George concluded. Lenny would do it again in a heartbeat. He doesn't remember. He doesn't learn. He's dangerous. Earlier George could justify it as only a mouse, or any other little animal, or justify that Lenny didn't hurt a person before, but if Lenny is so easily capable of killing another human and could just as easily do it again, Lenny was too dangerous to be free, it was either death or life imprisonment.

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[–] techniscope 15 years ago

that's what i asked myself when i read the book and watched this film, but it had to be done.

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[–] ConDeuce 13 years ago

I just finished the book. I'm a big fan of Steinbeck and for some reason, I never got around to reading "Of Mice and Men". It's typical Steinbeck: his resourceful use of words evoke all the emotions needed for the reading to understand his point. It was inevitable that George would have to kill Lennie. There was no other choice for him. Even if Lennie had been saved and just locked up, he would have been miserable and George could not have allowed that. It's as simple as that. The killing of the dog earlier in the book is just plain old foreshadowing.

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[–] harlemsushi 13 years ago

As a fan of the book, I always felt that Steinbeck made it so George felt he only had two choices which were putting Lennie out of his misery like what was done with the dog, or allowing him to get caught and then either being locked up, or tortured by Curly & then locked up. George himself never considered the possibility of hiding/disposing of the body or tampering with the crime scene. No one is debating what the book said or the foreshadowing, we're just playing a what if game and wondering if there was any way for him to have saved Lennie. I haven't read the book in years but as someone that just recently read it, play devil's advocate for a moment and see if you think that htere is any way that George could have saved him.

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[–] Doctor_Mabuse1 10 years ago

There are no crimes or murders in the story (except for the ones George prevents from his act of mercy). OF MICE AND MEN is not a melodrama but a humane tragedy.

Doctor Mabuse, Evil Genius, King of Crime

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[–] PenTheater 9 years ago

and don't you love how people debate the storyline of a movie on how it should have been written?, If the author was still around would they be texting him, and saying, John! what's up? what r u goin on about? Why'd u have him kill the guy?....

Ephemeron.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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