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How does John Steinbeck present power in the novel “Of Mice and men"?

I have to write an essay over the holidays and I am expected to get an A* but I cannot think for the life of me any original ideas for this topic to do so
I have some ideas like:
· Power between George andLennie.
· Physical power (lennie-animal/strength, curley)
· Mental power (power of seduction-, lennie curley’s wife , hope(American dream and the power of that))
· Friendship
· Nature (snake and heron,)
sexism and racism

But all my ideas are limited I have nothing that will make my essay stand out please help :smile:

Reply 1

tara_mc_

Original post by -GeeGee-

I have to write an essay over the holidays and I am expected to get an A* but I cannot think for the life of me any original ideas for this topic to do so
I have some ideas like:
· Power between George and Lennie.
· Physical power (lennie-animal/strength, curley)
· Mental power (power of seduction-, lennie curley’s wife , hope(American dream and the power of that))
· Friendship
· Nature (snake and heron,)
sexism and racism

But all my ideas are limited I have nothing that will make my essay stand out please help :smile:

I think you are spot on.

You could also talk about authority; how Curley uses violence to get power/authority, as does his father, how Curley dresses to show power and Slim's natural authority

You could also talk about how their pasts, upbringings, circumstances etc has power over them e.g. how Crooks' skin colour has power over his life, how Curley's wife's upbringing with little education has power over her as she cant get a job now if she ran away

I also feel you could mention the hidden power of Lennie's brain as his brain was able to recreate aunt clara, the rabbit etc and his brain was away that he always made a mess.

You could also talk about the effects of a lack of power e.g. the girl in Weeds' lack of the power of knowledge lead to Lennie being accused of rape, and the old dog and the puppies' lack of power (compared to Lennie's) lead to it's death

Hope I helped! :biggrin:

I think you covered the main stuff already though!

Reply 2

-GeeGee-

Thank you that really helped :smile:

Reply 3

Gwilym101

You also have Slim the jerkline-skinner.

Both he and Curly are refered to as the prince of the ranch. Curly due to being the bosses son (i.e. did nothing to actually earn it) and the fact that he's so aggressive few contradict him about it, whereas Slim commands the respect of everyone on the farm. When Candy's dog is so old it can barely walk, Slim says that he'd want a bullet between the eyes, and that's considered the end of the matter.

You also have at the very end, George is powerless stop anything bad happening to Lennie, so he takes the only option he has because Curly's abuse of power has taken away his own.

Reply 4

_Chels_

You could also say about the power that Curley holds over his wife:
All the way through the novella she is referred to as Curley's wife - The apostrophe signifies possession (here, you are linking in the ideas of language as well as context that you will need to access the higher grades!) - therefore she belongs to him and he holds all the power. We also never find out what her real name is which links to your original idea of sexism, she is the only female protagonist; yet she is not allowed her own identity and have the freedom she may deserve.
Just an idea... Hope this helps! Good Luck! :smile:

Reply 5

-GeeGee-

Thank you

you have all really helped