Does power affect your relationships? If so, is it healthy? In the realistic fiction novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck writes about about itinerant workers in the Great Depression in the Salinas Valley in California. There are relationships in the novella that reflect the theme power, and he writes how power plays a role in these relationships. The theme power, shown in competence, gender, and race, affects relationships.
To better understand the novella Of Mice and Men, the background of the story must be elaborated. The setting of the story takes place in the Salinas Valley, California during the The Great Depression in the 1930s. John Steinbeck, the author, tells about the protagonist, George, and the antagonist, Lennie, and their journey of constantly finding new work to pursue George’s dream to own his farm and “live off the fatta the
…show more content…
Crooks is an African American farm worker that works with horses on the land. Being a colored person in this era was harsh, and the color of your skin automatically determined the amount of power you would have, so African Americans did not have power compared to everyone else in society. “Lennie watched her, his mouth half open. Crooks had retired into the terrible protective dignity of the negro.” (79;ch.4). Crooks was required to be reclusive because he was not wanted around. Racism was an extreme issue in the world in the 1930s and in America alone.
All in all, power has important roles in the relationships in Of Mice and Men. Power is shown through the relationships of Lennie and George, Curley and his wife, and crooks and society. This bias power is determined by competence, gender and race. Power affects relationships immensely, and it creates an unhealthy relationship lifestyle. It is important to take this into consideration, so that you do not position yourself into an unhealthy power-biased