Leadership is a theme often overlooked in the novel Of Mice And Men, written by John Steinbeck. Characters Slim and Curley are introduced to us in Chapter two2, and they are both in the position of authority. They both have very sharp and strong personalities. However, Steinbeck's portrayal of these specific characters is very different. The way he depicts these two specific characters affects the overall dynamics and plot of the story. Their attributes as leaders can be heavily contrasted, which makes the reader contemplate who the better leader is. It can be debated that Slim is a much better leader than Curley because of his gentle, understanding, and compassionate nature. He is the epitome of a role model. Firstly, in comparison to Curley, …show more content…
Slim does not let Lennie's witless actions affect his perspective on him. He sees Lennie for who he truly is. Curley, however, had a negative outlook on Lennie from the beginning. He expresses that he does like guys who are bigger than him. His aggression towards Lennie is groundless and unreasonable. True leaders treat people equally and fairly. Obviously, Curley is the complete opposite of Slim. He abuses his authority and thinks that it gives him a license to do whatever he wants. He instigates fights and problems, especially with Lennie, as he sees him as an easy target. In chapter 3 of Of Mice and Men, Curley is seen continuously and deliberately instigating a fight with Lennie. “What the hell are you laughing at? Lennie looked blankly at him. Huh?” (Steinbeck 62). Curley walked into the bunk house and saw Lennie smiling. He concluded that Lennie was making fun of him regarding the incident in the barn, even though Lennie expressed that he had no idea what he was talking about. Regardless, Curley was going to beat him. Lennie was unable to retaliate until George instructed him to. Lennie breaks Curley's hand, which brings us to when Slim rushes Curly to a doctor and tells him not to fire Lennie and
and Slim In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck wrote the novel taking place in the 1930s and created the character Slim to represent the importance of personal value. Slim is treated dearly by the people of the farm for many reasons such as strength, leadership, and his hardworking mentality. Slim is treated this way because he expresses his value through leadership, skills, and strength. In times like the Great Depression, there is no better character to represent strength than Slim. The
Of mice and men English essay- Explore the ways in which John Steinbeck presents power in the fight scene. The 1930’s was hard time for most people who lost their money in the Wall Street crash. John Steinbeck tries to portray how tough life was back then in his novel mice and men. Mice and men also portray how power was abused and the way that it was used in the 1930’s. In
`Of mice and men` is written by John Steinbeck, published in 1937. The novella is a reference to the great depression in California and is set in the 1930’s and portrays the way in which despite the consequences of depressed circumstances, human spirit still survives. During the aftermath of the great depression, which was a very bad period, men hoped to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. The author, John Steinbeck, illustrates how people, with the help of friendship of dreams, can prevail
Analysis for Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men features a variety of characters who found it extremely difficult to survive during the Great Depression era. In order to make even a very basic living, workers were forced to migrate from farm to farm. Steinbeck’s two central characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, are migrant workers in search of the Great American Dream. The novel focuses on their three day journey, where they encounter other men who heavily influence
novel Of Mice and Men features a variety of characters who found it extremely difficult to survive during the Great Depression era. In order to make even a very basic living, workers were forced to migrate from farm to farm. Steinbeck’s two central characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, are migrant workers in search of the Great American Dream. The novel focuses on their three day journey, where they encounter other men who heavily influence their lives. The most influential of these men is Slim
Slim: Father Figure Archetype Slim is a character from Of Mice and Men. Slim, is a father figure archetype, a father figure archetype is someone who takes care of others and has what is in the best interest of the people he looks after. He is respected by many people and tries his hardest to help people. Slim fills this archetype because when in the bunkhouse Lennie crushes Curley’s hand, he’s so respected and so looked up to that even Curley listens to him when Slim tells Curley that he will not
“Life is a struggle with few rewards.” How far is this true for the people in Of Mice and Men In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck throughout the novel there are many characters who live on the ranch. It is very obvious to the reader that these characters all face hardship with some characters in particular who find Life a struggle with few rewards. It could be said that life is a struggle unless you are born into it, for Curley this is somewhat true but he indeed has few rewards. This statement
Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men is a captivating novel written by John Steinbeck focusing on the loneliness of the California ranch lifestyle in the early 1930’s. Nobody would have ever thought any of John Steinbeck’s books would ever be considered becoming banned. School libraries, public libraries, classrooms, and universities see attempts on banning books on a daily basis. Some reasons why teachers, parents, or other individuals rise up to ban books are because of racial themes, sexual dialog
George speaks to Slim regarding the necessity of friendship. In the novel Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck envelopes a variety of character speech, character relationships, and internal conflict to assess the need for companionship. Using character speech, Steinbeck portrays feelings of loneliness and the need for companionship. Furthermore, in the story of Mice and Men the author often utilized character speech through George. Speaking to Slim, George explains how men that travel about
Although Candy was allowed to decide the fate of his dog, the overall judgement is biased. Alternatively, beliefs of the majority are considered more valuable to Candy than his own. Furthermore, this is caused by peer pressure. In “Of Mice and Men,” Candy is portrayed as an old man whose worst fear is to not be accepted and “disposed of” like his dog. Ergo, he felt the same as his dog being they had both grown old together. He did not want to be uncared for because he is elderly and crippled like his
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men has many outsiders and outcasts, but among them, Curley's wife is prominent. She is justifiably portrayed as an outcast because of her atypical behavior and the social norms of the time. At one point, Carlson tells Curley, “Why don’t you tell her to stay inside the house where she belongs?” (109). Just one of the many references to the social expectations of the time, this also shows just how willingly Curley's wife breaks them. Of Mice and Men is set in the mid-1930’s
They Way Oppression is Portrayed in Of Mice and Men In the novella, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the diverse set of characters individually handle oppression on a daily basis. For these characters, racist, sexist and degrading remarks are normal for the time period (early 1900’s). The story is about two men, Lennie and George, trying to find work in a troubling economic time while also trying to overcome Lennie’s mental handicap. They also meet other people that have to overcome their own
Discuss the theme of the Dream in Of Mice and Men. “Everyone in the world has a dream he knows can’t Come off but he spends his life hoping it may. This is at once The sadness and greatness and the triumph of our species” John Steinbeck ============== Discuss the theme of the Dream in ‘Of Mice and Men’. Steinbeck’s quote above portrays an important aspect of ‘Of Mice and Men’. Steinbeck remarks on how people can create a dream and how they can have positive and negative effects from
‘Of Mice and Men’, the characters of Slim and Curley are created to have a strong influence on the other workers’ lives. While both the characters make an impact with the way they are presented, Steinbeck portrays them both very differently. He does this by giving the reader different impressions when each of the characters are introduced, the idiosyncrasies the author has given them, the way they treat others, how the rest of the characters react to the characteristics of Curley and Slim and why
isolation are two of the main themes in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. Throughout this story, it is clearly shown that even if someone is in a crowd, it does not mean that they feel included. In fact, it is even easier to feel excluded by the cause of discrimination, racial hate, and fear. Although countless characters in this book try to hide it, they actually secretly feel like they do not belong where they are right now. Slim, another character in the book, shows this characteristic. He