Of Mice and Men Essay Examples

The definition of a good person is someone who is good to other people. Slim would be considered a good person as he treats everyone on the ranch the same. Slim is a character in the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. He gains the respect of the other men on the ranch through his professional skills and his strong character. George trusts Slim with his secrets. At the end of the novel, when Lennie is killed, Slim is the one to comfort George. He is admired by the other men on the ranch, they all come to him for advice on their problems. Slim is understanding of the problems going on in the ranch. He can identify someone’s problem and always knows just what to say to comfort, someone. The other men on the ranch all trust Slim, even George who hadn’t known Slim for very long. Slim is admirable, considerate, and trustworthy. These reasons make Slim one of the most interesting characters in the novel, as none of his negative traits are portrayed.

Slim can be considered admirable. “His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject” (page 33) This quote was from the introduction of Slim. John Steinbeck introduced Slim as a great man who anyone can get advice from. This shows that Slim being admirable is a large part of his character. The men on the ranch can trust Slim, and look up to him. When there is an argument on the ranch, the men often go to Slim for his opinion, because they admire him. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, there is a debate on whether or not to shoot Candy’s dog. “Carl’s right, Candy. That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wish somebody’d shoot me if I got old an’ a cripple” (page 45) Slim puts his word in and said that the dog should be shot. Later in the novel, Candy does end up having his dog shot, partly because of Slim says he should. This quote also supports the idea that the men on the ranch listen to Slim and take his advice.

Slim is understanding of the other men on the ranch and their problems. At the end of the novel, Of Mice and Men, George is obligated to shoot his friend, Lennie. Slim is the one to comfort George when this happens. When Slim finds George he says, “Come on, George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink.”(page 104) Slim also says to George, “You hadda, George. I swear you hadda” (page 104) Slim understands that George has made a hard decision. He is considerate of George’s feelings and knows exactly what to say to comfort him. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, George is explaining what Lennie did back in Weed to Slim, and Slim says to him, “He ain’t mean, I can tell a mean guy a mile off.”(page 42) Slim has just been told something horrible that Lennie has done. Slim’s opinion of Lennie has not changed. He understands that Lennie is developmentally challenged and the actions he takes because of that do not define who he is as a person. Slim still thinks that Lennie is a good person, showing that he is understands of the challenges someone faces and that the poor choices made by someone do not make them a bad person.

Slim is trustworthy and the other men on the ranch trust Slim by telling him their personal secrets. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, George is thinking about telling Slim what happened with Lennie back in Weed. When George is considering this he says to Slim, “ You wouldn’ tell. . . No, ‘course you wouldn’.”(page 41) This quote represents the opinion of the other men on the ranch. George feels that Slim can be trusted to tell his secret. George hasn’t known Slim for very long and trusting him to tell a secret that he hasn’t told anyone else shows that Slim is a trustworthy person. If someone who has just met Slim trusts him this much, the other men on the ranch must trust Slim as well. The idea of hierarchy is important in this novel. Slim is trusted by the whole ranch, as he is the one at the top of the social structure. John Steinbeck chose to include an explanation of how much everyone on the ranch trusts Slim. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, ¨His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, whether it be on politics or love.¨ (page 33) This quote shows that the men on the ranch

Slim is one of the most accountable men on the ranch as he is admirable, understanding, and trustworthy. Slim is admired by all the other men on the ranch. Everyone wishes they were like Slim. He understands the problems and concerns of the other men on the ranch. Slim is trusted by most of the men on the ranch. No one will hide something from Slim as they know they can trust him.