How Does Steinbeck Present The Powerlessness In Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck writes the novella, “Of Mice and Men”, to portray a realist story that conveys the idea that there is and should always be a sociological battle between the rich and the poor, the working class and the money-makers, the powerful and the powerless. This belief was formed from Charles Darwin's survival theories and translated into Social Darwinism, the belief in the “fittest” being successful rather than more able to survive. Darwin wrote, “With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated…We civilised men, on the other hand…build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws;” and “do our utmost to check the process of elimination” (“The Descent”). Although Steinbeck writes a story that portrays

Steinbeck purposely chooses to present Candy’s powerlessness by describing him in a way that incites sympathy from the reader. The author depicts Candy in this particular chapter as “looking for help from face to face”, and repeats the desperation to the reader again with “Candy looked helplessly at him, for Slim’s opinions were law” (“Of Mice and Men” 45) which further depicts the relationship between the powerful and powerless, with him being the powerless. Steinbeck depicts Candy through a lens of hopelessness to help show the reader the struggle he is facing in everyday life, even within their group of migrant workers. The description of the character’s struggle is significant in helping the reader fully understand the conflict he faces in having no one to be a voice for him. By having no one that can stand up for him and being surrounded by people who believe in the social hierarchy of the workplace, he is completely defenseless against the things that happen to him, and this in turn continues Steinbeck’s desire to encourage people to be a voice for the voiceless in their times of

He includes in his article that “They are resourceful and intelligent people'' and are “gypsies by force of circumstances” who are “never allowed to feel at home in the communities that demand their services” (“Harvest Gypsies”). Although this article is about migrant workers in California, it can be argued that by using the term “gypsies,” Steinbeck is fighting for all the powerless in the world. He refers to them as resourceful and intelligent to urge the reader to see humanity in the situation they are in and the treatment they are receiving. Through this article, he is acting as a voice for the voiceless helping to end the cycle of powerful vs. powerless. It is vital to the growth of our society that we start to see the humanity in all people and look past circumstances they are in, as Steinbeck is urging us to