This leads onto the next point which is the way violence is used to earn respect. Many characters use violence to earn respect. ‘You’re as yella as a frog belly. I don’t care if you’re the best welter in the country. You come for me and I’ll kick your god dam head off’. This speech from Carlson is used in a direct manner to earn respect from the other ranch hands. In this insult he calls Curly weak, and also threatens him. The fact that he called him weak would have lost Curly respect, as men were meant to be masculine and strong. This is also the first time where anyone stands up to Curly and uses violent language back to him.
Curly is a prime example of people using violence to earn respect. He intimidates the other ranch hands by using offensive language. When George and Lennie arrived at the ranch, Curly is quick to put them in there place by firing abuse at them. ‘We jus come in’ said Lennie softly. ‘Well, next time you answer when you spoke to’. The fact that Lennie is speaking softly shows that he is intimidated by Curly.
Leading into the middle of the novel, just before the fight scene, Curly starts to use aggressive language again. After Carlson has belittled Curly by calling him weak, Curly feels foolish. This causes him to pick on a person weaker than him, as he feels he can rebuild his respect and keep his last little bit of dignity. This person happens to be Lennie.
‘No big-son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I’ll show ya who’s yella’. This show Curly trying to show everyone that he is not weak, and that he is still in charge. He also uses the word ‘yella’ to insult Lennie with.
The fight between Lennie and Curly is a major point in the novel. This mid point to the story displays the most violence, aggression and emotive language in a single scene, and also sees the two most physical characters go head to head. On one side there is Curly - a psychotic mad man who craves violence and respect. On the other side there is Lennie - a simple, child minded man who would not whish to hurt anyone until he is forced to.
When Curly starts to attack Lennie, Lennie does not retaliate until George instructs him to. This is because Lennie’s use of violence is unintentional. He does not use violence to hurt them on purpose, but will when he is forced to. In this case Lennie grabs Curly’s hand. When this happens he panics. This causes him to hang on, and he will not let go until he calms down. This can also be seen in the incident at weed, when Lennie grabs a women’s dress. In this incident, the woman yells. This causes Lennie to panic, and therefore he grabs tighter. This also happens when Curly is attacking Lennie. Lennie grabs his hand in an act of safety, but when Curly starts to yell and wriggle about, Lennie becomes worried, and grabs tighter and tighter, until eventually he crushes Curly’s hand.
In this scene, Curly represents the deliberate aggression and brutality of violence, and embodies it to a certain degree. He provoked Lennie, this in turn provokes the violence, which also leads him to instigating it.
There are many words and phrases which signify the violence and aggression in this part of the text. Steinbeck’s use of language in this scene builds up the violence and also releases it at certain points. ‘Then Curlys rage exploded’. The word ‘rage’ emphasises Curlys anger and aggression, whilst the word ‘exploded’ suggests Curlys violence, and also signifies the suddenness and the destruction of Curlys rage. ‘Curly was balanced and poised. He slashed at Lennie with his left, and smashed down his nose with a right’. The words ‘smashed down his nose with a right’ give a really detailed description and build an image of Lennie’s nose being smashed. Not only does the quote contain this description but the words ‘smashed’ and ‘slashed’ are similar words as well alliteration. These two words build up the violence. The violence of Curly is soon stopped when Lennie grabs his hand. ‘Curly was flopping like a fish’. This shows that when Lennie grabs his hand, Curly becomes weak and defenceless. A fish flopping is normally a sign that it is out of water and dying. Curly is in the fish’s position at this time in the book, and is at the mercy of Lennie. Curly has turned into a poor defenceless animal. ‘The flopping little man’ also shows the reduction in his respect, and that his ego has been belittled by Lennies unintentional violence.
Following on with the theme of violence, the killing of Curlys wife is the next point. Curlys wife enters the novel in section two. She is a major cause of tension and violence in the story. This is because most of the workers are scared of her, as she is Curlys wife and Curly is the boss’ son. This means that if they were caught with Curlys wife, Curly could get them fired. This creates tension as she is always flirting with the workers. Curlys wife particularly bullies Crooks, because of his colour. She threatens him with death as she says she would lie and tell people that he tries to touch her, and in these days it was illegal for coloured men to touch white women. They could even face being hung at the gallows. ‘Listen Nigger’. This shows the disrespect for Crooks, shown by Curlys wife. ‘You know what I can do if you open your trap!’, this is the death threat made by Curlys wife. Crooks is treated badly by most of the ranch hands because of his colour. When playing cards he is left out by all the other ranch hands.
The ranch hands are very hostile towards to Curlys wife. This is because they are afraid of losing their jobs. This could affect their lives, as if they were to get sacked they would have no income. This would have been a major problem for the workers as the story is set in the times of the great depression. In these times jobs were hard to come by. This fear of unemployment made desires, like the American Dream, less likely. If the workers were to obtain some land of their own, they would never have to worry about their jobs again. In the novel, the chance of the American Dream seems to lessen the level of hostility. It makes George, Candy and Crooks all less cynical and aggressive when the chance of a farm becomes a reality. ‘I remember when I was a little kid on my old mans chicken ranch’. This shows Crooks becoming friendlier and even a bit excited at the possibility of a farm. Curlys wife says ‘you all scared of each other’ when talking to some of the ranch hands. This means that the ranch hands are all scared that if they talk to Curlys wife, and get spotted by another ranch hand, he could get reported and fired.
The death of Curlys wife is the first violent death of the novel. Like in Weed, the trouble is caused by the unintentional violence of Lennie. It starts off with Lennie ‘stroking her hair’, but as he begins to mess it up, Curlys wife yells. Because Lennie is very simple, he begins to panic and cling on. When she starts to scream, he covers her mouth and eventually breaks her neck.
At the start of the scene, the tempo is slow and the atmosphere is friendly. This builds up the tension which then, as Lennie panics, is released along with the unintentional violence of Lennie. After the murder scene, there is silence in the barn. This is unusual, as normally after death scenes there is panic and fear, but the silence brings a relaxed atmosphere to the barn. This suggests that the violence has done Curlys wife a favour, and that her being no longer alive, is the better way for her.
In Curlys wife struggle for survival, Steinbeck uses very emotive words and phrases to create the tension of her struggle. ‘Her eyes were wild with terror’. The word ‘wild’ signifies were in an unusual state, full of fright and terror. Steinbeck also uses the phrase ‘flopped like a fish’. This phrase shows that she was at the mercy of Lennie, and that Curlys wife is weak and defenceless. Steinbeck uses this quote again to show similarities in the two incidences of Lennies unintentional violence. The use of ‘flopping like a fish’ also links in with the word ‘wild’, as it signifies a wild fish flopping for its life.
The final point of this violence themed essay is the death of Lennie, which occurred in the last chapter. This death is different to all the others. The build up of the death is calm and tranquil, were as most of the other deaths have been up with terror and fear.
There is an element of irony to the death of Lennie, as it brings peace to his life. He usually always messes things up, and his death means he doesn’t have to worry about this any more. In the chapter before, he kills Curlys wife. This also brings peace to her life, which is also ironic, as it happens to him.
The setting of the scene returns to the Brush, the first place in the novel. This shows that the story has gone full cycle and preludes the novel. The start of the scene is very calm and relaxed. The tranquillity is suddenly broken by the death of the water snake. At the start of the novel, when George and Lennie are in the Brush, the water snake is in the pool, but the heron does not attack it. This creates a relaxed atmosphere, and shows that the Brush is a calm and friendly place. In the last section of the story, the heron attacks the little water snake. This shows that the Brush has changed, and sets a violent intense atmosphere.
The murder of Lennie is not described as a violent act. As George carries out the deed, he is very sensitive. He doesn’t want to do it, but knows he is helping Lennie by doing so, as he would only suffer if he didn’t put him out of his misery. George reassures Lennie, and lets him know that he was never mad at him. This is George’s way of saying goodbye and that he also loved him like a brother. ‘No Lennie. I aint mad, I never been mad, and I aint mad. That’s the thing I want ya to know’. This shows George hinting that he is sorry for the way he has treated Lennie.
The scene changes the tone of the novel, as after the killing of Lennie, everything is relaxed and calm. All the tension of violence is released with a single gun shot, and the novel becomes much softer and relaxed.
The conclusion to this essay is that violence is used so regularly in the novel to give the reader an idea of what life was like in the 1930s, and that life was a struggle for money, work and the American dream. Most of the aggression in the story comes from the masculine world of ranch life. Steinbeck is trying to put the point that American society in the 1930s was a vicious place to live in, and that the people were looking out for them selves and no one else. They were not afraid to stab someone in the back to improve there life. He is also saying the ranches were a main source of the violence, but also a vital money source.
Violence in this novel is a very significant part, and keeps the reader entertained and interested. It adds excitement and encourages the reader to read on, and therefore is very important.
