John Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men - 1312 Words

Death is inevitable to every person. However, death arrives to people at different stages of their lives. People may bring death upon themselves because of their actions, or an animal may be killed of its uselessness. In S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, there are three major deaths occurring in the novel: Bob, Johnny, and Dally. Similarly, in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, there are also three major deaths of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife, and Lennie. The Outsiders is a story depicting the life of Ponyboy Curtis, who is struggling to find his place in the world while battling the rival gang, the Socs. Of Mice and Men is a story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who are bound together and share the dream of one day owning their own†¦show more content†¦11 Outsiders) As Ponyboy is being drowned by a group of Socs, Johnny takes immediate action and proceeds to stabbing and killing the leader. â€Å"I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you. And they had a blade...they were gonna beat me up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 57 Outsiders) Johnny and Ponyboy flee from town after Johnny commits murder, and Johnny eventually dies because of events happening after the incident. Similarly, Lennie, a mentally disabled character from Of Mice and Men, holds onto his dream of owning and being able to tend his rabbits. When Curley’s wife begins to scream after Lennie pulls on her hair too tightly, Lennie begins to shake her, ultimately breaking her neck. Lennie didn’t mean any harm, he was paranoid that Curley’s wife was trying to get him in trouble, causing him to never be able to tend his rabbits. Consequently, Lennie gets killed by his best friend George while imagining his future farm happily, so he wouldn’t die cruelly at the hands of Curley. Johnny’s reason for murder was more justifiable than Lennie’s; Ponyboy was in eminent danger whereas Lennie wasn’t. However, they both killed someone who they thought would try to make their lives worse. Bob was the leader of the Socs and was thought to spend all his free time beating up Greasers. George had warned Lennie about Curley’s wife, saying that all she does is cause trouble. Both of their deaths represent innocence, even though they both committed murder. Johnny is the