Slim In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

George although seemingly ‘Casual’ and ‘Uninterested’ listens to Candy’s opinions without seeing an old crippled man, pleasing Candy. The other men rarely take Candy’s views into consideration; this is true of the death of his dog, which was ultimately Slims decision. Candy is subservient

Character Analysis: Mice of Men- Slim John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men utilizes the character as a compassionate companion that provides guidance and understanding towards each troubled character set during the Great Depression. Slim is present at all of the main events that occurred in the book, infusing the divine and secure viewpoints that leaks one major event to the next. When Slim is introduced to the story, his importance is evident: “...he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen.” (Steinbeck p33).

Slim understands George’s feelings of sadness, unlike the other men. Slim and George grow close over the period of time they are together due to the highly respected, understandable, and trustworthy characteristics Slim has, which allows George to get things off his chest or talk about things that he is unable

It’s very clear to see that Slim is the most humble and respectable person in Of Mice and Men. He is the go to person in the book. Ever since George and Lennie got to the new ranch to work, George always goes to Slim whether he has a problem, or if he just wants to talk. Candy says Slim's a, “Jerkline skinner. Hell of a nice fella. Slim don’t need to wear the high-heeled boots on a grain team”(Steinbeck 28). Candy says that Slim is a down to earth guy and doesn’t think he is better than everyone on the ranch. George shows that he isn’t humble because he is

Hope and despair are major themes in Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of Mice and Men’. The novella is set in 1930’s America which was a time when the effects of the Wall Street Crash impacted many people’s lives. Due to the fact that it was so hard to secure a job, a sense of distrust and despair was present among itinerant workers. In Steinbeck’s novella, these feelings of desperation manifest themselves in nearly all of the characters. This essay will discuss Slim and Lennie; two characters that defy the widespread depression of the time by giving either the reader or other characters hope.

Michael J. Fox has said that “One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrender.” In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, he gives dignity to Candy and Slim, who both live at the edge of society. It shows Candy’s love towards his dog and Slim’s compassion and understanding of George’s pain as well as his kindness to Lennie.

His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer.” (Steinbeck 34). In this quote from the book’s text Slim is seen as a powerful and legendary human being who is also exceptionally wise and understanding. Since Slim is described this way by the narrator of the story he must be special or important in a way involving the story, which makes me find him interesting. In addition, George made observations of Slim’s knowledge of persuasion while he was in the doorway, “His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.” (33). Slim clearly is in a good state of mental health and intelligence for others to automatically agree or understand what he has to say. It would make sense that he would be mentally sane and wise since the narrator who created him as a character said so with Slim being such a great person through his descriptions of

The interactions he has with the other workers are kept at a bare minimum and he even sleeps in an area that faces away from the worker’s common room. All of the time he is separated from the workers and has no one to keep him company while he goes about his day. This segregation has made Crooks bitter and when Lennie starts talking to him, he goes on a rant to complain and lament about how unfair it is to be kept from other people because “a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” (72). Crooks’ lonely state has made him a key example of isolation in Steinbeck’s

First, Steinbeck uses Crooks as a symbol to contribute to the overall theme of loneliness. Crooks is a nigger and also a stable buck. When the boss gets mad takes his anger out on him. They call him Crooks because he has a crooked back where a horse had kicked him. Candy explains, “... the boss gives him hell when he's mad…” (Steinbeck 20) . Candy says this because Crooks is all alone. They don't treat him right because he is the only colored on the farm. Because of this people don't relate to him and he tends to get left out. Crooks says, “come on in and set a while”. (Steinbeck 69) Crooks says this to Lennie when he comes in his room because the

In the novella, ‘Of Mice and Men’, the characters of Slim and Curley are created to have a strong influence on the other workers’ lives. While both the characters make an impact with the way they are presented, Steinbeck portrays them both very differently. He does this by giving the reader different impressions when each of the characters are introduced, the idiosyncrasies the author has given them, the way they treat others, how the rest of the characters react to the characteristics of Curley and Slim and why they influence particular characters.

As a contrast with George and Lennie, Crooks, a black man never wants anyone to go into his room. He sets an invisible wall between him and the rest of the world. He’s like a prisoner, in a world with one person, himself. He never talks to anyone; he never wants anyone to talk to him. He thinks that he’s a black, no one would want to talk to him. So he had his own room, and wanted everyone to keep away from his little room. Although he seems like he doesn 't want anyone to talk to him, but still at the deepest place of his heart, he wants to talk to someone, he wants a friend. He cried in front of Lennie, he told all these things in his heart that no one knows to Lennie, he knows Lennie won’t understand so he won’t go out and blab about it. He just wants to relieve his feelings. Crooks wants a friend as well, everyone needs a friend: ”a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don 't make no difference who the guy is, long he’s with you. I tell ya.”(Steinbeck, p72). Everyone needs a friend, even the people who say they don 't.

The character of Crooks is used to symbolize the social standing of the black community occurring during the time at which the novel is set. Crooks is a lonely African American on the farm that feels out of place. As George and Lennie explain their dream to Crooks he brushes them off and says that no one around here can implement their dreams. This realism gives the reader an impression that Crooks has absolutely no hope. However, Crooks may be pessimistic, but yet even he has a dream, which is the hope of one day experiencing the joys of his childhood again. Crooks' character is portrayed as very lonely in the novel, this is evident when Crooks explains, "A guy needs someone." (Mice 77). Crooks is telling the reader the need of human interaction. This realism that Steinbeck uses shows the reader the harsh realities of the black community during the time of the depression in the 1930's

The killing of Candy's dog deepened his loneliness, just as the killing of Lennie totally destroyed George. Since the dog was Candy's best friend, its death was drastic to him. Candy was rejected by the society because he was old and had only one arm. He was useless to it; therefore they did not care about his feelings. Also, since he was weak no one cared about him and he could not do anything about it. A stronger person like Slim had the respect of everyone and this forced the society to listen to them. Candy was deeply saddened by this, and this was shown when he said "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They say he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else."(Pg.60). Then he said "When they can me here I wished somebody'd shoot me. But they won't do anything like that. I won't have no place to go an' I can't get no more jobs."(Pg.60). This showed that Candy was hopeless and had no place to go. Without his dog, he was now alone.

The remarks respectively made by Carlson then slim shows a contrast between the two characters, as the fact that Candy only later agrees for them to shoot the dog after Slim’s words shows his high authority and how his words are what all men are to take, once again using Carlson to show the level of Slim’s respect within the men’s of the

The characters’ fates in the novel develop individually through separate journeys all controlled by power. The scene depicting Carlson influencing Candy to let him kill his dog represents the idea of power, and the concept of the characters’ journeys with power. Candy is an old man, and because of this, he does not have a powerful position in the social structure on the ranch. Carlson and Slim have power over him because of their younger age and physical abilities. Slim agreed with Carlson’s idea and had the last word on the matter when the book states, “Slim’s opinions were law” (45). Candy knows that he does not have any power over the situations or even himself as he becomes obsolete on the ranch. The dog symbolises Candy and represents the end of Candy’s life journey and the loss of power and worth due to old age when Slim states, “I wisht somebody’ed shoot me if I got old and’ a cripple” (45). The idea that Candy has no power over himself because of his social status and