Why do Characters in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Have Power and How do They Use it?
Many characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men are similar to modern superheroes, in terms of how they use their power to influence others: George like Loki, Slim like Ironman and Lennie like The Incredible Hulk. In Of Mice and Men, George is passionate about his goals and companion (Lennie) and is someone who likes to manipulate situations to work in his favour. Many workers on the ranch respect Slim because of his craftsmanship and advice-giving, and the workers take his word as if it were law. However, Lennie is dependent on George and brings hope to workers as easily as he destroys it. In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men George, Slim and Lennie have relationships that provide them power which they use to influence others and the course of events.
Lennie’s dependence on George forces George to develop intellectual power which he uses to protect Lennie. To begin, George and Lennie’s relationship is one-sided. Lennie causes “‘trouble[,] [and] mess[,]’” he “‘can’t keep a job [and] [...] do[es] bad things” and George “[has] to get [Lennie] out[,] [...] shovin[g] all over the country’” (Steinbeck, 11). Lennie is unable to make sensible decisions for himself and has no one other than George to help him survive without being institutionalized. Lennie is dependent on George for survival, direction, decisions and income where George can only be dependent on Lennie for protection; therefore, their relationship is one-sided since most effort comes from George. George gains intellectual power from this one-sided relationship. One example of this is when the Boss wants to “‘know what [George’s] interest [in] [Lennie] is,’” George lies saying “‘[Lennie’s] [his] cousin [...] [and] got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid’” (22). George lies and manipulates other workers to protect Lennie. His ability to adapt and overcome various situations is intellectual power. George uses his power to protect Lennie. For example, George lies to his coworkers about Lennie’s location after Lennie killed Curley’s wife; in fact, when Slim asked him “‘Where you think [Lennie] might of went[,]’” George’s response is “‘We (George and Lennie) come from [the] north so he would of went south’” (97). George uses his adaptability to lead his coworkers away from Lennie to save him from a painful death as Curley was going to “‘shoot for [Lennie’s] guts’” (97). George uses his intellectual power to influence the other workers’ hunt, changing the course of Lennie's last minutes alive. In essence, George and Lennie’s one-sided relationship encourages George to gain intellectual power, which he uses to spare Lennie from a painful death.
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Lennie puts trust in George and gives him intellectual power in the same way that the workers on the ranch put trust in Slim and provide him with social power, that he uses to influence the others and the course of events. The other workers put their trust in Slim. The other workers consider “[Slim’s] authority [to] [be] so great that his word [is] taken on any subject, be it politics or love” (33). The other workers ask him for reassurance, turn to him for help and decision making itself. The other workers give Slim the ability to change their emotions, beliefs, behaviour, actions, and attitude‒which are examples of Slim’s social power. Candy’s beliefs were changed by Slim, at first Candy tried to deter Carlson from shooting his dog saying “‘Maybe tomorra’” and “‘[Carslson] ain’t got no gun[,]’” but Carlson stood his ground, not changing his mind so Candy turns to Slim for help, reassurance and to appeal the final decision. And Slim “[gives] him (Candy) [no] [reversal]” and allows the execution of Candy’s dog (47). Another display of Slim's power is how Curley and the Boss “w[ear] high-hee[l] boots and spurs” to “to prove [they] [are] not [labouring] m[e]n[,]” but Candy says that Slim “don’t need to wear no high-heeled boots” comparing Slim’s social power to the Boss’ or Curley’s (20, 28). Slim uses his social power to manipulate situations. Slim “smiled [and] [...] knelt down beside Curley” and told Curley “‘I think you got your han[d] caught in a machine[,] [i]f you don't tell nobody what happened, we ain't going to’” (64). Slim makes sure that “‘[Curley] won’t tell’” the truth about how he hurt his hand, which influences the course of events (65). Because if Slim did not convince Curley, Curley would tell his father, the Boss, about the incident and get Lennie and George fired. In summary, the workers take Slims word as law, giving him social power, which he uses to keep men from being fired, give advice and appeal as the final authority in decision making on the ranch.
Where Slim uses social power to manipulate events, Lennie uses intellectual and physical power. Lennie’s relationship with George gives him intellectual power, which he uses to break social norms. Lennie also has physical power that he uses to influence others. George has a parent-like influence on Lennie. George’s opinion, demands, and actions mould Lennie’s opinions and actions. For example, George forces his opinion of Curley’s wife onto Lennie, saying “‘she’s a rattrap[,]’” and telling Lennie “‘to keep away from her[,]’” forcing Lennie to think she is a bad person (32). Or how when George demands Lennie to “‘keep away from Curley,’” but “‘if the son-of-a-bitch socks [him]‒let [Curley] have it[,]’” and Lennie’s actions later in the book mimic Georges instructions (30). George’s parent like influence gives Lennie intellectual power. Throughout the book, George raises Lennie with hope and the ability to chase his dreams of “‘liv[ing] off the fat [of] the lan[d]’” and “‘have[ing] rabbits’” to tend (14). Lennie’s hope gives him the power–intellectual power–to rise above mundane ways of thinking: originally, with hope, a dream and unbias views. Lennie also has physical power. Lennie “‘[busts] ever[y] bone in [Curleys] han[d]’” just by grabbing it, and “‘smack[s] [his] [puppy]’” lightly but his “‘[puppy] [still] [died]’” (64, 87). Lennie's strength is an example of his physical power. Lennie uses both his intellectual and physical power to break social norms. Lennie uses his intellectual power to be unbias to race while talking to Crooks and briefly give him hope. Crooks finds “it [difficult] [to] conceal his pleasure with anger” while in the company Lennie makes and Crooks even offers “‘[his] hand to work for nothing’” on the ranch George, Lennie and Candy plan to buy (75, 76). Lennie raises Crook’s spirits and gives hope to him in a time when it seems impossible. Lennie uses his physical power to “br[eak] [Curley’s] [wife’s] neck[,]” which is not socially acceptable by the particular group on the ranch (91). In conclusion, George raises in an environment that helps Lennie rise to think above the mundane ways of thinking, which gives him intellectual power; as a result, Lennie breaks social norms by talking to Crooks and giving him hope. Lennie also has physical power, which he uses to inflict pain upon Curley and death upon Curley’s wife.
Others and the course of events are under the manipulation of George, Slim and Lennie’s power(s), which is a direct result of their relationships. George uses intellectual power, which he builds through years of protecting Lennie to save Lennie from a painful death by other workers on the ranch. Slim influences significant decisions made on the ranch‒like allowing the death of Candy’s dog‒using his social power which the other workers on the ranch give him. And Lennie gives hope to Crooks, breaks Curley’s wife’s neck and destroys Curley’s American dream (of being a boxer) using his physical power and/or intellectual power–which his companionship with George gives him. These characters can be compared to superheroes because of the way they use their powers. George uses his intellectual power, manipulation, in the same way Loki does, to make the current situation more in their favour. Where Slim uses his social power in the same way Iron man does, to call shots for their teams. And Lennie and The Incredible Hulk also use their power similarly, both use intellectual and physical power, intellectual when they are calm but seem to resort back to physical power when feeling threatened. Previous analogies to superheroes give insight into how George, Slim and Lennie use their power(s). Whereas superheroes use their power to help others, the characters in Of Mice and Men use their power to protect those they care about.
Work Cited
- Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Penguin Books’. New York, 1993.
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