Responsibility In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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The Case of Responsibility: An Examination of who was Responsible for the Death of Curley’s Wife in the Novella “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck Sherlock Holmes had finally solved the case of the serial suicides. A man had kidnaped the victims, and forced them to choose between two bottles. One had a good pill, and the other a bad. He had managed to kill four people before Sherlock solved it. Soon after, it was discovered that this man was working for Moriarty to get money for his children. Although this man was responsible for the deaths of four innocent people, it was not his fault. He is not to blame for the whole situation. There is a difference between fault and responsibility. It can be someone’s responsibility, but not their fault. That is why Lennie is responsible for the death of Curley’s wife in the novella “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. To begin with, people didn’t understand mental illness in the 1930s very well. Steinbeck writes, “She laughed. ‘George giving you orders about everything?’” (86). This quote shows that Curley’s wife doesn’t understand mental illness. She…show more content…
Steinbeck writes, “And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (91). This proves that Lennie is responsible for her death. He is the one who shook her and snapped her neck. They death may not be his fault, but it his responsibility. However, he did not mean to kill her, so it is not his fault. Steinbeck writes, “And then he whispered in fright, ‘I done a bad thing’” (91). This shows that he is scared that he killed her, and realizes after that it wasn’t a good thing to do. He just wanted her to be quiet, and didn’t know how to handle the situation. There is a difference between fault and responsibility. The fault could fall on many things: society, mental illness, George, Lennie, Curley, and possibly Curley’s wife. However, Lennie did the actual murdering, and is therefore responsible for this
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