Mercy killing can be shown very much in this novel. It plays an important role throughout the novel that affects the main characters as well as the supporting ones. It is the object of much of the story and is full of meaning. The theme of mercy killing in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is demonstrated through the killing of Candy's dog and of Lennie.
The killing of Candy's dog is a really good example of mercy killing in the aforementioned novel. Candy's dog was in horrible condition. It smelled, it had trouble seeing, it had trouble hearing and nobody thought that it was able to get a valuable quality out of life. This type of mercy killing, however, was a dark and greedy version. The men on the farm felt that the dog reeked and they could not stand it. They also didn't seem to care much about Candy. They decided too put the dog out of his misery by shooting him but not for the sake of the dog or for Candy but for themselves. "Look, Candy. This ol' dog jus' suffers......
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Approximate Word Count: 562
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |