PROMPT: Steinbeck’s novella exemplifies the ways people seek to gain power to defeat

their vulnerabilities? Discuss

Introduction
Hook: Quote ““Used to play jokes on ‘im ‘cause he was too dumb to take care of
‘imself...M ade me seem Goddamn smart alongside of him”
Context of Poem/Writer: Set in the 1930s, in the Great Depression.

Contention: Make an interesting argument about Steinbeck’s message. Remember, the idea (themes) should
relate to your chosen literary perspective. (Marxist perspective)
In Of Mice and Men, characters try to appear strong by gaining power from exploiting weaknesses from other
characters to further hide their own.

That dominant characters exploit more submissive characters weaknesses to gain control of them.

Mice and Men's central themes: the impermanence of home and the harshness of life for the most vulnerable.

Signposted arguments/Themes explored in the poem:

Argument 1/Theme 1: Dominant characters using mentally weaker characters to gain

advantage and power.

Argument 2/Theme 2: Women trying to gain agency in a male-centred time.

Argument 3/Theme 3:

Body Paragraph 1
Argument (Theme 1)/Topic sentence 1:
“Steinbeck highlights that… characters seek control and power by taking advantage over
others, to create an image that they are strong and dominant.

2-3 Literary Devices and Examples:

exploitation
“Used to play jokes on ‘im ‘cause he was too dumb to take care of ‘imself...Made me
seem Goddamn smart alongside of him” (Steinbeck 40).
Both George and Lennie have very low positions in society; they own no property, have
little money, and are migrants/ drifters looking for work. Lennie is George’s only outlet
for control. In a society that reveres masculinity and strength, this is of the utmost
importance: having authority over Lennie gives George the illusion of control, which
makes his pauperization more bearable.
The only power Lennie possesses is physical. Because of his mental handicap and his
child-like way of perceiving the world, he is powerless against his urges and the forces
that assail him.
However, Lennie has some power over George in terms of company because when
George complains about him and says “When I think of the swell time I could have
without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace.”, he says “If you don’t want me I can go off
in the hills and find a cave. I can go away any time.”, George almost begs him to stay
because he knows he can’t live without him because he’s been with him for so long that
he needs him. The power of this friendship is extremely significant because a normal
migrant worker has no friends or family so is extremely lonely and earns some money
then spends it in a bar but with George and Lennie, they have each other so don’t just
spend their money in a bar and they don’t get lonely.
When Lennie crushes Curley’s hand, he symbolically loses his power in his fists. Until at
the end of the book he goes to pick a fight with Lennie again because he has a gun.
Curley is a very aggressive and violent character. He is the Boss's son and takes
advantage of the power that he has over the other men on the ranch to treat them
cruelly and pick fights. He is physically small and so is resentful of bigger men and picks
a fight with Lennie because of this. Violent because he is constantly insecure of himself
so he fights the bigger guys as a way of literally bringing them lower than him, and to
maintain dominance.
“He glanced at George then at Lennie” (25) Curley is intentionally harsh to newcomers,
to establish to them that he has more power. Always trying to prove himself superior.
“He got married a couple of weeks ago. Wife lives over in the boss’s house. Seems like
Curley is cockier’n ever since he got married.” (27) Uses his status (bosses son, wealth)
and belongings (his wife) as a way to gain authority.
Curley hides his insecurities and weakness inside since he is always comparing himself,
Line 62 where he tries to scare slim.
“His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or
love.” Slim is highly respected due to his character actions he is sympathetic, intelligent,
calm and controlled.
“…Like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots.” Curley wore those boots to mark his
status even though he wasn’t respected and those boots also gave him a little height
which adds to his insecurities about himself. Meanwhile slim doesn’t need to because
of his character.
Curley's fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curley was
flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie's big hand. Repitition
and foreshadowing
He stood crying, his fist lost in Lennie's paw. Metaphor comparing Lennie to a bear and
Curley to a fish, predator and prey.
George’s weakness is Lennie.
What does Candy's dog symbolize?
In the world Of Mice and Men describes, Candy's dog represents the fate awaiting
anyone who has outlived his or her purpose. Once a fine sheepdog, useful on the ranch,
Candy's mutt is now debilitated by age.

Social-historical Context- What was happening at the time of publishing? (1920s) How
have Steinbeck’s experiences shaped his writing?

Steinbeck sets Of Mice and Men against the backdrop of Depression-era America. The
economic conditions of the time victimized workers like George and Lennie, whose
quest for land was thwarted by cruel and powerful forces beyond their control, but
whose tragedy was marked, ultimately, by steadfast compassion and love.

Writer’s intention: What is the message the writer is trying to convey about this theme?
That every character had weaknesses but decided to cover that up by attacking others
to gain a sense of control.
 Body Paragraph 2
Argument (Theme 2)/Topic sentence 1:
“Additionally, Steinbeck highlights that… How she, as a woman tries to establish power
in a misogynistic world.

2-3 Literary Devices and Examples:

She is also symbolic of women everywhere who are repressed by male-centred
societies.
Her weakness is her sexuality.
When Curley’s wife is first introduced into the novella it isn’t in person, it is through
rumours and gossip. Evidence of this is when George is talking to Candy and Candy
describes Curley’s wife as a “tart” who has “the eye”. This provides the reader with
only a description of a married woman only causes trouble for the men on the ranch.
Specifically, the word “tart” dehumanizes and rids the reader of any thoughts about her
having feelings.
Curley's Wife's biggest strength was her beauty. She knew how to use it to her
advantage and how it would affect others. She was able to attract Lennie with her looks
and could've made him do what she wanted. (manipulation)
Curley's wife is talking to Crooks, Lennie and Candy. She is angry because none of the
men will answer her question about who broke Curley's hand. She is frustrated by her
lonely existence on the ranch and she insults the men to make herself feel better about
her situation. “…since his han’ got bust. Who bust him?” (Curleys wife asking) after
getting the same repeated response from Candy, “got it caught in a machine” Curleys
wife gets upset about her not knowing anything and starts insulting each of them by
their biggest weakness, “Whatta I care? You bindle of bums think you’re so damn
good…” “-Sat’iday night. Ever’body our doin’ some’pin’…an’ what am I doin’? Standin’
here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs. She insults Crooks by his race, Candy by his age
and how no one would listen to him and how Lennie was a “dum-dum” She knows she
had power over these three, especially over Crooks since she was a white woman.

Example of her death being foreshadowed is when Lennie will kill Curley's wife is when
Lennie is in the barn by himself and just killed his puppy by smacking it too hard. Lennie
said to the dog, “ Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't
bounce you hard” (85). The dog represents Curley’s Wife and how she wasn’t so little,
yet still inferior to men in a misogynistic world, and how women are easily dominated
by their husbands back in the 1920s
Analysis of Poetic Device: (What does it tell us about the theme? How does it relate to
the literary perspective?)
“Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego—nothing to
arouse either like or dislike. He said, “Yes, ma’am,” and his voice was toneless.”

In this metaphor—which immediately follows Curley’s wife’s threat to have Crooks

lynched because he told her to leave his room—the narrator observes as Crooks erases
himself, comparing him to “nothing” that would elicit any kind of response. This
description deftly demonstrates how precarious his place as the lone Black man on the
ranch is.

Social-historical Context- What was happening at the time of publishing? (1920s) How
have Steinbeck’s experiences shaped his writing?

Women were mistreated. In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the victim of sexism is Curley's
wife who is so insignificant that even a name was not provided for her. Women were
treated with competent in of Mice and Men throughout the whole book.

Writer’s intention: What is the message the writer is trying to convey about this theme?

How Curley’s wife has to use her sexuality to gain agency which conveys the sexist,
male-centred time that the novel was set it.
 Conclusion
Restate Contention:
In Of Mice and Men, characters try to appear strong by gaining power from exploiting
weaknesses from other characters to further hide their own.

Summarise arguments made:

1: Dominant characters using mentally weaker characters to gain advantage and power.
2: Women trying to gain agency in a male-centred time.

Ultimate purpose/message being made in the poem.

All characters in the novel have experienced some kind of loneliness and or weakness
that they try to conceal by controlling others.