Power And Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the novel of “Of Mice and Men” power and friendship is the very bases of the story. There are many people with power in the book but I specifically was interested in Curley’s power. Curley is the son of the Ranch’s boss and he is very spoiled. He does not listen to rules and usually gets away with any trouble he makes or gets into. Therefore, he is powerful for the very reason that he is “untouchable.” He does not use the power for kindness but uses it to show who is best and in a bullying matter.
Curley is not a kind fellow and not a lot of people are his friend in the book. He is described as a “thin young man with a brown face and a head of tightly curled hair.” Candy, in the beginning of the book, indicates that Curly is a boxer and likes to make trouble and fights especially with bigger men. He is not very nice towards his newly wedded wife either. The book does not give her a name and refers to her as “Curley’s wife”.
In the book, we notice Curley isolates her and she is not allowed to talk to anyone especially the workers. He runs around looking for her making a big show of caring about her but still goes to the local tramp house with the workers. He also fights with any worker who tries to talk to her except for Slim, because either he is scared of him or respects him. He does tries to pick a fight with Lennie and fails

For one it is because he is the one and only son of the Boss in the ranch. Already this makes him of higher power and more arrogant. Not only that, but he is a boxer and thinks very highly of his boxing skills. He is also married and in control of his wife, yet another reason he thinks he is powerful. Combining his arrogance, higher status, over self-confidence, and controlling behavior, he is not only more powerful but a bully towards others. He uses his power as an “evil” advantage to make everyone’s life harder and more horrible. He picks fights, extremely rude, and does as he