Of Mice and Men Commentary

"Of Mice and Men" is a novel written by the 1962 Nobel Prize winner, John Steinbeck. It is an emotional tale of the extraordinary friendship between George and Lennie, who are traveling workers in the harsh depression years of the 1930s. George is a caring person whose love to Lennie is just like a father-son relationship, where Lennie, a mentally challenged man whose strength lies in body rather than brain, appears to be very dependent on George. "Of Mice and Men" teaches a universal theme about the nature of human beings that a person whose power exists over another turns corrupt. Steinbeck exploits the theme of power and control in his novel through the extensive use of sexism, racial discrimination, and the power of the strong over the weak.
Sexism is the belief that one sex is superior over the other. In "Of Mice and Men", Steinbeck undoubtedly shows that the power is centered on the majority sex, which is the males, against the minority, the females, where in this novel is "Curley's wife". By simply keeping the character nameless and using the expression "Curley's wife" to identify her is a clear example of referring to her as an object without any respect rather than a person. "Curley's wife" shows how women during the early 1900s were inferior under the men. She is merely the spouse of Curley as far as all the men in the ranch are concerned."They are only forced to relate to her through Curley; if they fear him or want no trouble, the men will stay away from her. George, for example, has set goals in his mind that he is committed to, thus he will stay away from her in order not to get into any trouble. On the other hand, if they do not fear anyone, they can enjoy their time with the intention of forming a physical relationship with her. Lennie, whose childish mind cannot comprehend why he should stay away from Curley's wife, falls into the trap and gets severe consequences for doing so."She is simply a person living in the ranch with the purpose of only