Of Mice and Men Essay
‘Of Mice and Men’ is the fictional short novel written by John Steinbeck in 1937. Steinbeck’s perspective when writing the novel could be based on the fact that he had once worked on a ranch and had a certain fascination about it. The novel is set in 1930s America and this can be seen as the cause of the very enduring culmination that takes place in the novel due to the many problems that would be evident at the time such as the Great Depression.
In this essay I will be exploring how Steinbeck present power in Chapter Four and how it relates to the rest of ‘Of Mice and Men’. Power can be seen as the catalyst that the novel revolves around but also the root from where all problems arise, in the novel. The pursuit of power and the disempowerment of characters in the novel are all brought upon by the many themes that were evident in the novel due to its context. Power becomes very significant in Chapter Four as power is given to characters in this chapter as well as taken away very swiftly. Many forms of power are evident in Chapter Four and are sometimes brought upon by events which are stated earlier on in the novel.
Power is first evident in Chapter Four when Crooks the black stable buck on the ranch is sitting in his room after most of the ranch hands have gone to spend their weeks pay at a whore house. Crooks was left behind and not included in the congregation due the fact that he is black. Crooks exerts his proprietary power over Lennie at first in Chapter Four. He does this when he says to Lennie ‘You got no right to come in my room’. He says so due the fact that the room is his and it is his right, this can be affiliated with the Jim Crow laws that were around at the time the novel was written. This law stated that things were ‘separate but equal’ between blacks and whites, this law was made with good intention but often led to the blacks ending up with something inferior to what the whites had. Blacks were not allowed much power during the time in which the novel was set as racial segregation was in full swing at the time. This occurrence could give the reader the idea that Crooks is a rude and moody person but he had the right to be. One reason for him being so negative is the fact he is trying to preserve the few rights he has even if they are not very effective.
