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

In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, power struggles are an evident topic in social groups, racial groups and between individuals. Lennie struggles against his ill-equipped mind’s way of viewing the world, Crooks faces discrimination because of the colour of his skin, and three separate people all experience feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Power is a word that has many meanings, and many uses. However, in the novella, “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck shows many instances where characters use different types of power over each other. Whether it be intellectual, physical, or a more complex type such as social-economic power, it is still shown. Many characters do in fact show power over one another within the novella, but the main ones that do show power are as follows: Slim, Curley’s Wife, and George.

The theme of power is prevalent throughout the novel Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck uses various methods and techniques to establish the dynamics of power on the ranch. In the first extract, George and Lennie are in the brush and we get a strong sense of George’s parental control over Lennie, but it also shows how Lennie’s physical stature gives him a degree of power over George. In extract two we meet Curley for the first time, and his authority over the ranch workers is clearly asserted through the various ways in which Steinbeck describes him. And finally, in extract three, we see the first fight of the novel. The fight is very diverse in how it portrays power. At different stages in the fight some people have more

History is full of examples of how power affects people's behaviors towards others. Well known examples in history include Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Kim Jong-Il, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein are more recent examples of the negative abuse of power. In the novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, a common theme throughout the story is the misuse of power. Steinbeck uses the characters Curley’s wife and Crooks to teach the reader that people who possess less power are treated in a more demeaning fashion, but also treat others the same way in search of gaining power.

In the novella Of Mice and Men, the author Steinbeck expresses how power tangles around main characters. Both power and powerless are able to create positive and negative outcomes. There are Lennie Small and George Milton who show no restraint when it comes to power, Curley who suffers because of his greediness, and Slim who is in much better circumstance than all others due to his wisdom to withstand himself. Steinbeck demonstrates how those who do not realize they have to restrain themselves towards power above their ability will be more destructive than those who do.

Power is presented through characters by using a long description of what the character is like, describing their appearance, positive points and negative points. The power of the character is presented by demonstrating their dominance or submissiveness over another character through their actions, speech and the way they behave around them, and if they change their behaviour around other people, for example Curley acts as if he’s the best in the world at everything around Lennie because he tries to beat him up but he doesn’t act that way towards Slim, who is more dominant and powerful than him in terms of dominance, but not in terms of ranch hierarchy.

The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck emphasizes the division in social classes and social structure based on power. The novel and its themes are based around the characters’ interactions and decisions. Their motivations come directly from other characters, and the social construct on the ranch that controls the characters within the novel. Each character has their own journey of giving into the powers that control their society and lives which leads to each of their own inescapable demises.

Human’s desire is to control and dominate others through the use of power. However, the shifts and the notions of power can change as new people gain control. Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men illustrates the transient nature of power through the characters desire to control and dominate others.

Throughout an individual’s life, one is bound to encounter domination against others. There are different ways to show power; physically, economically, intellectually, etc. However, power can be used positively or negatively. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Lennie has the capability to use his strength to gain power. Next, Curley’s wife uses her gender to control men and takes advantage of her role as her husband’s wife to make the workers fear to lose their job. Finally, Curley has the advantage to use his father’s status on the ranch to make himself seem “untouchable”. Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Curley all have power, but when he or she gets directly or indirectly belittled, the character tends to use their own power to disempower others.

Power is defined as “the possession of control or command over others; authority...” (Dictionary.com), and all people have power, whether they notice it or not. Though some employ their power for respectable reasons, often times power is not used in honorable ways. The matter of abuse of authority is prevalent in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck illustrates that those who have power abuse it exceedingly often, as shown by Curley attacking countless others, including Lennie, a mentally disabled man, Curley’s wife mistreating the men of the ranch, and Curley’s wife making demeaning comments about Crooks, the African American stable buck.

In the novella Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck argues that earned power is more respected than inherited power. Throughout the story, a power hierarchy is established among the characters. The top of the hierarchy is mostly made up of characters with inherited power, like Curley. Curley is the boss’s son, and gets his power because his father owns the ranch: “Don’t tell Curley I said none of this. He’d slough me. He just don’t give a dam. Won’t ever get canned ‘cause his old man’s the boss” (27). Since Curley has direct power from the most important figure on the ranch, he has the ability to boss around the workers with no consequences. He takes advantage of this power, and the workers cannot retaliate otherwise, they will get

Power is usually measured through physical power and mental power. Several different kinds of power appear in the book, and Steinbeck shows clearly how each of them carries with it a heavy responsibility,Though not every character is able to measure up to this with success powers. By how the characters act and how they treat each other shows what powers they have.

People got power because they got money. People that don’t got no money have less power.in John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men we also see people with different level of power. In the novel Curley and the Boss and Lennie all have different source of power. In mice and man the the character is the boss he deals with a lot of money. The money help the boss get workers to work for him without the money the worker will leave him.

John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.

Alice Walker, an American novelist, once stated that “the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” In current society, power is everywhere, and everyone has at least has some control, no matter how ineffective they might feel. In the novella “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, the concept of power is represented on a ranch in the 1930’s. On the ranch, there is a group of outsiders- people who do not fit in- that consists of Crooks, a black stable buck, Curley’s wife, who is married to the powerful Curley, Lennie, a worker with a mental disability, and Candy, and old swamper. These outsiders are isolated and feel powerless compared to the rest of society. However, within this group of outsiders, power structures still exist and everyone has power in one way or another. Steinbeck, through the story of Crooks and Curley’s wife, teaches that no matter how powerless someone seems, they may still wield power over others.