Of Mice and Men: part 3

What stuck out most to me in this story was the ending, it was most definitely not what I was expecting. I was actually in shock when I read the ending because George killed Lennie so that none of the others would be able to, but he still killed Lennie. Lennie didn't know what he was doing, he had no control over himself, he was an innocent guy with no control or awareness of his own strength, but at the same time he was guilty of killing Curley's wife. The ending was very thought provoking, because I liked Lennie and we readers are shown his innocence, but he killed a woman. Then George Kills Lennie and I momentarily hated George, but then I felt sorry for him, he really had no choice, it was either kill Lennie or watch others kill him. Either way was a hopeless situation, and I cannot even begin to imagine how George will feel, having to live with the fact that he killed his one and only companion, the one that he was supposed to look after and protect. I do admire Steinbeck for showing that the world can be a cruel place and that the outcome is not always what we want it to be, he showed the reality of life and it's not always rainbows and sunshine.