Theme Of Prejudice In John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

Mia Schlidt

Ms. Gommermann

English 11

22, February 2017

Power or Powerless

Maya Angelou wrote, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible”. The idea of prejudice is a constant conflict in American history, and is still present today. Many individuals use discrimination to justify their actions, and in most cases this leads to verbal or physical conflict. In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck reveals how discrimination can significantly alter one’s self-esteem. Additionally, through character development, the use of diction and symbolism, a predominant theme of the book is centered around the various forms of power.

Claim: Steinbeck emphasizes the description of his characters to highlight a central theme of the novella, which is power. Establish Evidence: Each character possesses a limitation they try to conceal, in order to gain or maintain authority. One example would be, Curley, also known as the boss’s son, who is small in stature, but tries to convey a large presence. Evidence: Referencing Curley’s

character, Candy utters, “Well . . . tell you what. Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy. You seen little guys like that, ain't you? Always scrappy,”(26). Analysis: Curley’s limitation is that he is small in size for a typical man. Therefore, he acts as a stubborn “know it all” and takes advantage of his aggressiveness in order to discriminate against the workers on the farm. Link: The result of this behavior, is that he is regarded as the most powerful on the farm. This escalates his authority and social importance. Establish Evidence: A very different example is that of Crooks. He is a black man who is “crippled”. His skin color and physical state leave him powerless when surrounded by white landowners. Evidence: He expresses his feelings, “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me,”(68). Analysis: Crooks states his feelings about the regulations he has to live by, forced separation from the white workers. Therefore, this little cabin of his, is a place where he has full rights and full authority to restrict who may or may not enter. This level of control provides him with a sense of power. Link: However, he is segregated from other men on the farm, which makes him feel lonely due to the societal limitations that came with birth. These feelings ultimately erode any power that he may possess.
Another literary device Steinbeck utilizes is diction in order to illustrate how character limitations impact their power.

The character of Lennie reveals this concept more than any of the others. Steinbeck conveys, “Oh! I ain’t saying he’s bright. He ain't. But I say he's a goddamn good worker,”(22). The author wants to address that Lennie will always have shortcomings due to his setbacks, no matter how well he does. It isn’t that Lennie cannot succeed in life, but that society will always perceive him as a man with limitations who will not live up to the potential of the ordinary man. He will never be powerful due to his impediments. Thus, he will always be weak and easily manipulated by others. This is proven at the end of the book when his simple nature ultimately leads him to murder a pup, Curley’s wife, and eventually ends in his best friend being forced to take his

life.
Lastly, Steinbeck uses symbolism to illustrate Lennie’s shortcomings and how they consume him to the point where death is the answer. These symbols include a giant rabbit and Aunt Clara. In the text, Aunt Clara alluded, “I tol’ you, ‘Min’ George because he’s such a nice fella an’ good to you.’ But you don’t never take no care. You do bad things,”(101). The author’s purpose of incorporating Aunt Clara into the novella was to demonstrate the better life George would have had if he didn’t have to deal with Lennie. Immediately after she retreats from Lennie’s imagination, a giant rabbit emerges in front of him. The rabbit discloses, “You crazy bastard. You ain’t fit to lick the boots of no rabbit. You’d forget ‘em and let ‘em go hungry. That’s what you’d do. An’ then what would George think,”(102). Steinbeck established these illusions to emphasize how powerless and defeated Lennie is. Through the symbolism of the rabbit in Lennie’s dream, he demonstrates to him that he will never successfully accomplish a farm of his own, due to the incapacities that dominate his life. Aunt Clara and the giant rabbit diminished all hope that Lennie once possessed, dwindling his self esteem, and leaving him powerless. Therefore, these symbols represent an unattainable life and his failure.
Throughout the book, Lennie and Crooks are portrayed as the victims of intolerance by others in society, specifically Curley. Both of the victims were born with limitations that they could not overcome. Lennie was born with memory loss, and Crooks was an African American. In the novela’s era, racial discrimination was a significant social problem. Therefore, Crooks was predisposed to experience an unjust society. Lennie’s case of memory loss influenced his actions, and eventually led to his best friend killing him. Both of them had little power and low self-esteem as a result of injustice in this particular community.
A primary theme of this novella is how each of the characters is affected by changes in power. To achieve this, Steinbeck relies heavily on the use of character development, diction and symbolism to bring to life how these traits play out in social interactions, even in the present day. Another effective tool that he relies heavily upon is that of discrimination. An extremely potent instrument that remains central in the struggle for power today.