Slim & Curley
Both slim and Curley have a strong influence on the lives of the other characters in “Of Mice and Men”, but in very different ways. Steinbeck juxtaposes the two characters through the course of the novel as the classic villain and hero against the backdrop of 1930’s America. He does this through description of their first impressions, the opinions of the others characters, and the way they treat others.
Slim is a skinner on the ranch, a simple man who does his job conscientiously and gains respect from his peers by giving respect in return. Everybody on ranch get the feeling that they can trust him, this is shown by the sentence “godlike eyes fastened on him” he has the features of a god: godlike eyes and an ageless face. His character is very smooth and when he speaks he has a low/deep voice very calm and reassuring. On the other hand Curley is a midget who takes advantage of his father’s position and does whatever he wants. The best thing he like to do is pick on bigger people; this is proved by “He’s insistence to pick scraps with big guys” plus he likes games of any sort especially games which take the micky “Ever’ body says what a game guy Curley is” This shows that he is frustrated because of his height and always tries to pick on people who are bigger than him and has always a recidivist attitude towards them.
