How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Violence In Of Mice And Men

During the Great Depression, a period marked by immense hardship, the exploration of themes like violence and survival emerges as a source of inspiration. John Steinbeck's famous novella, 'Of Mice and Men,' delves into the complexities of the human experience, where violence goes beyond mere confrontation and becomes intricately entwined with the instinct for survival. John Steinbeck masterfully portrays this dilemma by shedding light on characters such as Lennie, whose seemingly aggressive actions serve as a means of self-defence. However, beyond the surface, the novel uncovers more nuanced instances where violence and survival intertwine. For instance, the outbursts and attempts at validation exhibited by Curley can be viewed as desperate

All of this is an example of how Steinbeck uses imagery to create an image of Lennie for the reader as a more innocent and defenceless character besides how he is described as a “ huge man” and bear-like. In his nature, Lennie advocates for his dreams and Georges's commands and limitations of him. An example of this is Lennie's constant refusal to not talk to Purty when they met in the barn, because of Georges's order not to talk to her if he doesn't want to get in trouble. In this situation purdy doesn't attack Lennie like Curley does, which at face value would seem out of character for how Steinbeck has portrayed Lennie. But as Lennie himself said, “ I don’t want to hurt you.. But George will be mad if you tell”. Making this another example of Lennie's violent actions only being out of self-defence, the only difference this time is that instead of not attacking Curley, out of fear of hurting him and getting in trouble, Lennie decides to attack Purdy because he believes that Purdy will tell George that he kept playing with the pup and killed it, or that he talked to Purty. Both of these are something Lennie was told not to do, which would lead him to get in trouble. The portrayal of these circumstances reflects John Steinbeck's ability to use

However, it is important to note that the harsh and unforgiving environment of the ranch fosters a culture of survival, where individuals are often driven to act aggressively to protect themselves or assert dominance. Curley is known to be a small, aggressive man with a confrontational demeanour, throughout the novel Steinbeck shows the reader how Curley’s insecurities about his height have caused him to hate bigger people, such as Lennie. Swammper tells George this right after we meet Curely, saying that “ he's mad at [ Big People ] because he ain't a big guy “, while it is not stated why he hates big guys exactly, besides that he’s not a big guy, the way Steinbeck depicts Curley, a theory could be he’s intimidated by people who are stronger than him. As the son of the boss, Curley could view himself as an important person, who needs to be respected, such can be seen when he tells Lennie to “ answer when you're spoke to “ or when he starts a fight with Lennie because Lennie was laughing while he was talking. His violent actions and cocky behaviour could also be caused by his possessiveness over his wife or the fact that he can pick fights without facing consequences. Candy even goes as far as telling George that 'He's [Curley] cockier'n ever since he got married,' which not only shows the influence