How Does Steinbeck Use Power In Of Mice And Men

Power is defined as the ability to do something or act in a particular way, the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others in a course of events. Power creates the roles within society and can change the way people act or live. Within society there are different races, there are different beliefs, and there are different standings based on the amount of money one has. The higher the social standing the more power one gets. This power can be used in all different ways. The author, John Steinbeck grew up caring a lot about social problems that were going on within society and wants to be there to tell the world how cruel it really was. He wants to share how he perceived the world and he wants to make a difference in the

Steinbeck uses tone to show how the character George talks to Lennie and other workers on the ranch. Steinbeck shows how the use of his voice and the tone of his voice affects the actions of others around him and gives him a power over men that he normally wouldn't have due to the society’s social standings. George is a friend to Lennie and helps to guide Lennie on their journey to the ranch. Sometimes George gets mad because Lennie makes things so difficult to continue along with the job. George uses his tone to make this point very clear to Lennie that, “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my trail”(4). Steinbeck shows that George has to use a tense tone to show Lennie, his role in the relationship and how he is not in control. Steinbeck makes sure that he adds this tone so that the readers can understand how people in society can use their tone abusively to others to show their power. In addition, to letting Lennie know that George is the boss when it comes to actions and what they should do, George makes sure that Lennie knows what he did wrong and how dumb he really is. George uses his tone of voice to create, control over Lennie and explains his frustration near the river by saying, “So you forgot already, did you?... I gotta tell you again, do I?... you're a crazy bastard”(2). Steinbeck uses tone to express the feelings of George when things get out of his control and how he reacts to Lennie's actions. Georges uses his tone to tell Lennie to follow his rules and that he can't do anything by himself. Steinbeck thinks that it's important to write in this certain tone so that the readers can acknowledge how a little amount of power one may have in society can still have a lot of power within their voice and their tone. One can easily turn from having no power