How Does Steinbeck Use The Power Lens In Of Mice And Men

Power is more than having control of other. It’s also about respect for both oneself and for others. It must be earned and not just expected. Throughout the novella “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, the main characters face hardships and adventures that may stand in the way of their ambition to own their own ranch house. This novella shows the all ‘American Dream,’ sacrifice, loneliness, and the struggle for them to find out their way through life. Looking at three main characters from this story, Curley, his wife, and Slim, through the power lens, reveal that each character achieves power in his own way, developing conflicts between them. Looking at Curley through the power lens, we see that Curley is very insecure in his authoritative

Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as followed: “...wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up...she wore a cotton dress and red mules...She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the doorframe so that her body was thrown forward...Lennie’s eyes moved down over her body, and though she did not seem to be looking at Lennie she bridled a little” (31). Curley’s wife knows that her power, her only power, lies in her beauty and her position of actually being Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife also states, as she targets Crooks, “Well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (81). Curley's wife feel she needs to prove her own authority as Curley’s wife by picking on social outcasts, because she knows she has no power over anyone else on the entire ranch and she is tired of feel empowered all the time. She uses her beauty to give her power over the men, and her position as a white person and the boss’ son’s wife to pick on a social outcast, such as a black person like