How Steinbeck Uses Two of His Characters to Explore the Role of Power in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

How Steinbeck Uses Two of His Characters to Explore the Role of Power in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The two characters that I have chosen to examine for exploring the

role of power in the novel are Slim and Curley.

Slim is a highly skilled mule driver and the acknowledged “prince” of

the ranch. Slim is both respected and admired by all of the men he

works with. In the book it says that “Slim’s opinion in law” and that

“Slim don’t need to wear no high-heeled boots” to say that he is

superior over the others because that’s how the men see him anyway. He

is seen as the leader in the bunkhouse because his word is final, for

example, Slim has the last word in the situation of whether to shoot

Candy's dog or not. Unlike Curley, Slim is also kind and

compassionate. He explains to Candy that it was cruel to keep his dog

alive, suffering, and tries to console him by offering him a newborn

puppy.

Being the son of the owner of the ranch, Curley has considerable power

over the men. Curley chooses to abuse the power he has rather than try

to befriend those beneath him. The men know this and dislike him for

it. Curley knows this and desperately wants more authority on the

ranch.

Curley wears high-heeled boots to show that he isn’t a working man.

Curley also married an attractive woman and as none of the other men

are married this makes him feel that he is better than the rest. The

men see him as the Boss’s son and apart from having that name there is

nothing at all that sets him above the others. Curley uses blackmail

though and the others know that if they do anything to him then they

will be punished seeing as his father is the B...

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...y can easily trust him. Slims trustworthiness in the

eyes of the men can be seen in this quote:“You wouldn’ tell? – no,

course you wouldn’.”

In the novel I see Curley as a dictator figure because he is a bully

who abuses the power that he is given. I think that Steinbeck is

trying to say that if you abuse the power that you have, you will not

be able to maintain it but you will end up loosing it all. This can be

seen throughout the novel when Slim gives the men as much respect as

they give him and therefore he is rewarded for the way he uses his

power by maintaining his position of authority. However, Curley abuses

his power and therefore he undermines the position he holds on the

ranch. The novel hence presents itself as a moral tale that explores

the uses and abuses of power and the effect that this has in society.