The Role Of Power In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The definition of power is the ability to influence the behaviors of others or to change the course of events. Power can be gained through hard work or power can be given to you In a book published in 1937, this problem couldn’t be more prevalent. This book is Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. The story tells of two migrant workers, who are incredibly close friends. They goes place to place looking for a job during The Great Depression era. They eventually find a ranch in Soledad, California. Where they will face characters and incidents that will decide the fate of their dream. Powerful people are not as powerful as they seem, but is given power due to societal hierarchy or physical traits. Lennie is big man with incredible strength but isn’t bright minded. He would listen to anyone who tells him to do something. This is why he follows a small man named George to stay out of trouble. The friendship between George and Lennie shows how Lennie may be physically strong, but can easily be

Characters like Lennie, Curley, and Curley’s wife. Are all portrayed as very powerful people; however, the incidents told has showed how much power they really hold. Characters like Curley and Curley’s wife were given power just for being white. People like Crooks were easily put down for being black. Power is often told to be something you have to gain; however, power is often given to people everyday just for their gender, race, and many other traits a human being can have. This is how social hierarchy works and it often creates unfair equality between people. In the 1960s, a social movement for African Americans to get a say in society, to stop being segregated and to stop being pushed from opportunities. Equality is still an issue that many people still face today. A Social Hierarchy of races and gender hinders us from important progress as Human