Powerful and the Powerless

Though many characters in Of Mice and Men long for friendship and compassion, they live in fear of each other. As Carlson's unsentimental shooting of Candy's dog early on in the novella makes clear, during the Great Depression the useless, old, or weak were inevitably destroyed as the strong and useful fought for survival. This constant struggle between the weak and the strong is one of the novella’s defining conflicts, and Steinbeck seeks to subvert traditional notions of strength and weakness as he argues that a society which values only strength, as American society did during the Depression, is doomed to fail.

Everyone on the ranch in Soledad where George and Lennie go to find work is trying to look strong—even (and especially when) they feel weak. Showing even a shred of physical, intellectual, or emotional weakness is a liability that many can’t afford even in a normally-function society. In the midst of the Great Depression, when work and resources are scarce, this desire to afford looking or acting weak intensifies even more. People like Candy and Crooks—physically-disabled individuals who survive only at the mercy of others—have developed cynical worldviews, social anxieties, and an “aloof” detachment in cultivated attempts to cling to a different kind of strength. Crooks, for example, puts down George and Lennie’s dream of buying their own farm to cover up his own disappointments, while Candy allows Carlson to shoot his dog in order to appear detached and emotionally “strong” in the face of death. Steinbeck thus demonstrates how the desire to crush any form of weakness warps people’s very souls, causing them to act cruelly toward others and even devalue life itself. Individuals like Carlson and Curley, who detest weakness and seem to have a pathological desire to prey upon it, attempt to puff themselves up often by inciting physical violence. Even those lowest on the totem pole of power on the ranch, like Curley’s wife, attempt to resist looking weak or vulnerable—Curley’s wife threatens to have Crooks lynched because he is the one person on the ranch over whom she has power, and she has been conditioned to learn that power over another person, even in the depths of one’s own subjugation,  is the only way to survive. The cruel, almost inhuman ways in which the characters on the ranch speak to one another and constantly attempt to intimidate each other in a struggle to assert their own dominance shows Steinbeck’s contempt for social systems which value strength—and which force people to prey upon one another in order to scrape by.

Lennie, as a character, encapsulates through his own inner struggle the constant battle between strength and weakness. Lennie is physically imposing—a huge, hulking man whose frame is compared in size to that of a bear. George is constantly boasting about his companion’s strength, resilience, and ability to undertake any physical task required of him. At the same time, however, Lennie is weak on the inside. Mentally-disabled with a poor memory and an intensely naïve, childlike disposition, Lennie needs a companion to help him navigate the rough, unforgiving world around him. Lennie’s strength is a gift in George’s eyes, but a curse when seen through Lennie’s own. Lennie loves soft, small things like puppies, mice, and rabbits, and is driven by a compulsion to stroke any soft texture he comes across. His strength, though, means that he kills the small animals he tries to love—and gets himself to trouble in other ways, such as when his solid grip on the soft hem of a young woman’s beautiful dress leads her to report Lennie for attempted rape. Lennie’s strength and weakness are constantly at war with one another—and thus Lennie, in many ways, comes to represent the struggle within all human souls. Vulnerability was particularly dangerous to admit to during the Great Depression, when weakness meant ostracization and even danger.

The characters in Of Mice and Men—even, to some extent, George and Lennie—feel they are constantly in a fight for survival with one another. Suspicion, mistrust, and chronic one-upmanship are so commonplace in broader society that these dynamics trickle down and impact people on an individual level. Though George and Lennie, for a time, seem to prove that such distinctions and struggles for power are not only unnecessary but cruel, even their relationship dynamic falls prey to the battle between the weak and the strong. George begins to realize that Lennie is a burden which weakens his chances of survival. When push comes to shove, he knows he must kill Lennie if he himself is to continue eking out an existence, however miserable, in the unforgiving landscape of the Depression-gripped American West.

• Crooks is the stable buck. His main appearance in the novel is when Lennie and Candy talk to him in his room. He has a crooked back - hence his name - and suffers prejudice because of his colour. Because he is black, he is unable to share the bunk house with the other men, or socialise with them, so the reader sympathises with his crushing loneliness  Crooks is responsible for looking after the mules and horses on the ranch. Candy points him out to George and Lennie on their arrival, noting that he is regularly the focus of the boss’s anger. He is referred to as ‘nigger’ by the men, showing that racism is taken for granted – the men are not intentionally insulting him but they do not consider calling him anything else, reflecting the social situation at the time Steinbeck was writing  

• Crooks is extremely lonely, as can be seen when Lennie enters his room. He initially tries to turn Lennie away but when Lennie persists, he seems happy to have a visitor to his room. He voices his frustrating loneliness: ‘S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go in the bunk house and play rummy ’cause you were black…I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick’. He is an intelligent man; amongst his possessions is a copy of the California Civil Code which suggests he does care about his rights  

• Curley’s wife’s threat that she could easily have him lynched draws sympathy from the reader. In the ranch hierarchy, Crooks is the only character whom she can intimidate and who is lower than she is. He has to back down in the face of her cruelty. His physical problems with his back also incite sympathy – he has a bottle of liniment that he uses to try to alleviate the pain  

• Crooks is interested in Lennie and George’s plan to get their own place and holds out a slight hope that he could also be part of it. He is shocked by the force of Lennie’s reaction when he suggests that George might not return from town and backs down immediately. His taunting of Lennie may reflect the bitterness of a life of loneliness. He has seen many men arrive and leave at the ranch and is understandably cynical about the dream as many have talked about such a plan but no one has ever achieved it. Towards the end of the novel he can be seen successfully playing horseshoes with the other men, the only social situation he is allowed to participate in  candidates may choose a number of characters to write about alongside 

• Crooks who invite sympathy from the reader: Curley’s wife, Lennie, George and Candy are likely choices for consideration. 

What the examiner says about authority:

• authority is presented in a number of ways. Lennie largely does as George says as he exerts a fatherly authority over Lennie. For example he chastises Lennie for keeping a dead mouse in his pocket to pet: 'that mouse ain't fresh.' He keeps Lennie out of trouble by carrying his work slip from Murray and Ready's and trying to ensure that Lennie keeps quiet when they meet the boss of the ranch for the first time 

• authority can be seen in the hierarchy of the ranch. The boss is very much in control of the men's future as there is a surplus in the workforce and he can afford to get rid of anyone he does not like. When George and Lennie arrive and meet him before starting work, the boss is abrupt with them and admonishes them for being late. His whole demeanour is authoritative and he interrogates them about where they have been and what their relationship is  

• as the boss's son, Curley is a figure of authority who throws his weight around at the ranch. He is short in stature which makes him more aggressive and punchy when he is exerting his authority. He wears heels to add to his height and is a boxer. Candy describes him as 'handy' but his authority is not accompanied by respect as the other men mock him for not being able to keep track of the whereabouts of his wife  

• Slim is the 'prince of the ranch', enjoying an easy authority over the men who work for him. As the jerkline skinner, a very skilled job on the ranch, Slim's authority has deep and firm roots. He is respected by everyone and even Curley will not mess with him. Slim's authority extends beyond the working life of the ranch: he is called upon to adjudicate in the bunkhouse over the fate of Candy's old dog, which Carlson wants to shoot. His tacit agreement that it should be put down is accepted by everyone, including Candy 

• the theme of disability is largely shown through the characters of Lennie, Candy and Crooks in the novel. Lennie is a gentle giant of a man who has learning difficulties; Candy is the old swamper on the ranch who has lost the use of his hand in a machine and Crooks is so-called because of his crooked back, caused by being kicked by a mule 

•  Lennie’s learning difficulties are shown in the opening of the novel when George has to prevent him from gulping down stagnant water at the pond and from petting dead mice: it ain’t fresh’. George clearly has to look out for Lennie and Steinbeck shows the effect of disability on their relationship. Lennie was brought up by his Aunt Clara and, after her death, George takes on the job of looking after him. This is particularly difficult during the Great Depression when many men struggled to survive. It is Lennie and George’s partnership that gives them strength  

• George is compelled by the opinions of others to hide the true nature of Lennie’s disability. He ensures that Lennie will not speak during the meeting with the boss at the ranch and looks after his work slips, along with his own. During this meeting, George lies by saying that he is Lennie’s cousin and that Lennie was injured by being kicked by a horse when he was a child. This explanation is considered more acceptable than a problem from birth and George tells this lie to protect them both 

• Lennie may be ‘slow’ but he is, as George maintains, ‘a hell of a good worker’. Lennie can be seen to compensate for his learning difficulties by being extremely good at bucking barley. Steinbeck does not portray Lennie as a weak character, rather, that he is different and vulnerable 

•  at the end of the novel, there is nothing for George to do but to shoot Lennie to save him from a life of misery in a ‘cage’ or a painful death at the hands of Curley. Steinbeck shows in his novel that there was no provision for the disabled in American society in the 1930s 

• respect for the ranch boss arises from necessity rather than any natural deference or admiration. With jobs in short supply during the Great Depression, Lennie and George must respect the ranch owner as must all the itinerant workers who depend on casual labour for their livelihoods. George is very polite in his initial meeting with the ranch boss, defending himself and Lennie for their lateness  

• Slim attracts the most respect with Steinbeck describing him as ‘Prince of the ranch’. He is a skilled worker, the ‘jerkline skinner’ and all the men look up to him and accept his word. George respects him enough to confide in him about what happened when he and Lennie left Weed and it is he who ultimately seals the fate of Candy’s dog. He is described as follows: ‘There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke’ 

• Curley is the son of the ranch boss and should therefore attract respect from the men. This does not happen as Curley rather attracts gossip and fear in the rest of the men. He is short and pugnacious, earning the comment from Candy that he is ‘handy’ as a boxer. Curley’s power lies in his ability to get the other men ‘cann’d’ should they cross him rather than any real respect. When Curley starts on Lennie, he initially hurts him, but when George gives Lennie permission to fight back, he becomes a ‘flopping fish’ in the face of Lennie’s brute strength  the ranch workers respect Lennie for his strength and skill at ‘bucking barley’. George also tells the boss of Lennie’s ability to drive a cultivator. He points out that Lennie ‘ain’t bright’ but is ‘as strong as a bull’ and a good worker 

• the ranch workers respect Lennie for his strength and skill at ‘bucking barley’. George also tells the boss of Lennie’s ability to drive a cultivator. He points out that Lennie ‘ain’t bright’ but is ‘as strong as a bull’ and a good worker  

• Lennie respects George and follows his direction with only a little resistance. It is vital that Lennie respects George for his own safety. George repeatedly saves Lennie from himself, for example when he warns him not to drink the stagnant water at the pool and tells him to stay away from Curley. It is when Lennie fails to follow George’s advice that he gets into real trouble. George warns him that Curley’s wife is trouble and that Lennie must stay away from her. He initially obeys this advice, but, in the barn while the men are playing horseshoes, forgets George’s words and engages in the ultimately fatal exchange with the lonely woman  

• Crooks is not respected by the men on the ranch because he is black. Nevertheless, respect is very important to him. He is defensive and protective of his room and belongings. He has a battered copy of the ‘California civil code for 1905’ on his shelf, which suggests that he knows his rights  

• Curley’s wife is not even respected enough for her name to be used; she exists only as the possession of her husband. Curley shows no respect for her, visiting the brothel in town with the other men and making no attempt to conceal it from her. 

Steinbeck's characters are often the underdogs, and he shows compassion toward them throughout the body of his writings. Powerlessness takes many forms — intellectual, financial, societal — and Steinbeck touches on them all.

Although Lennie is physically strong and would therefore seem to represent someone of power, 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. For example, he knows what it is to be good, and he doesn't want to be bad, but he lacks the mental acuity that would help him understand and, therefore, avoid the dangers that unfold before him. Hence, he must rely on George to protect him. George, in this regard, is also powerless. Although he can instruct Lennie on what to do and not do, and although he perceives the danger posed by Curley's wife, he cannot be with Lennie every hour of every day and, therefore, cannot truly protect Lennie from himself. In the end, the only thing that George can do is protect Lennie from the others.

Another type of powerlessness is economic. Because the ranch hands are victims of a society where they cannot get ahead economically, they must struggle again and again. George and Lennie face overwhelming odds in trying to get together a mere $600 to buy their own land. But they are not the only ones who have shared the dream of owning land, nor the only ones who have difficulty securing the mean by which to do it. As Crooks explains, "I seen guys nearly crazy with loneliness for land, but ever' time a whorehouse or a blackjack game took what it takes." In other words, it is part of the human condition to always want instant gratification rather than save for tomorrow. As long as the men spend their money on the weekends, they will continue to be powerless. On the other hand, living lives of unremitting loneliness and harshness makes companionship — even for a weekend — alluring enough to overshadow a dream. Furthermore, the men are paid so little that it is difficult to save enough to make a dream come true.

Crooks represents another type of powerlessness. As the sole black man on the ranch, he is isolated from the others, and, in ways that the others are not, subject to their whim. This is never more apparent than when Curley's wife threatens to have him lynched. Despite his inherent dignity, Crooks shrinks into himself, essentially becoming invisible under her assault. The fact that she, another powerless person, wields such power over him demonstrates how defenseless he is in this society.