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Of Mice and Men: The Siege on the Poor
The rich and poor are like a besieged city. The enemy sends destruction onto the valiantly
defending citizens, until the people are finally overrun and sent away to another land, vulnerable
without their city walls. In Of Mice and Men, the poor are the ones inside the city; the rich
bombard them with abuse and neglect, depleting them until they are left emotionless and with
nothing to live for. They are the most exposed amongst the seemingly unlimited power that the
rich use to get their way. This unequal balance between societal classes has spawned problems
that affect one side more than another. The gap between the rich and poor created economical
and emotional hardships that the workers at the ranch had to endure.
Curley and his wife use their wealth as a way to get away with treating the workers
harshly. Living comfortably in their two-by-four home on the ranch, the boss’ son seems to
enjoy antagonizing the poor workers. He and his wife victimize those that they dislike or feel
unfit on the ranch with mean treatment and derogatory statements, knowing that they will be
spared from punishment. One example of this is when the workers are gathered in the
bunkhouse, and Curley chooses to surface a grudge he has on Lennie. He comes up to him and
says, “‘No big son-of-a-b**** is gonna laugh at me. I’ll show you who’s yella.’ Lennie looked
helplessly at George… Curley was balanced and poised. He slashed at Lennie…” (62). This
behavior exemplifies Curley’s ability to act violently without considering the lives of others.
Lennie, aware that he could be “canned” if he reacted, could not think of anything to do but
submit to Curley’s blows. In addition to this, Curley’s wife also chooses to antagonize the
workers. For example, she views Crooks as inferior and worthless. When she, along with Lennie
and Candy are in Crooks’ room, she closes in on Crooks, him unable to do anything: “‘You
know what I could do?’ Crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall.
‘Well, keep your place then, n*****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even
funny’” (80). Curley’s wife is able to express her racist opinions of Crooks publicly, and without
punishment because of her social status. By taking advantage of her power, she pushes Crooks to
the point of absolute nothingness, confident that she would stay unaffected and superior to the
workers. Keeping the theme, abuse of power is shown through Curley, right after Lennie
accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Curley says, “‘I know who done it,’ he cried. ‘That big son-of-ab**** did it!”...He ran furiously out of the barn. Carlson said, ‘I’ll get my Luger,’ and he ran out
too” (96). Because Curley has the power to control his workers, his decision to find and kill
Lennie forced the others to go after him, some against their will, such as George. Curley had
good reason to do so, but this shows that at other times, he used his control wrongly.
Manipulation is similar to power abuse - using influence to control the lives of others.
The wealthy often give low consideration to the personal needs of their employees, preventing
them from leaving the farm. The boss cares for his own needs more than the reputation of his
ranch and the safety of his workers. Because of this, some of the workers developed health
issues, while others were unable to save enough money to start lives of their own. An example of
this is when Crooks’ room was described. At one point, the narrator states, “Crooks, the negro
stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little box over his bunk, in it a range of medicine
bottles, both for himself and for the horses” (66). This descriptive section is very important
because it notes how the boss gives the workers poor living conditions, such as the harness room,
where Crooks would be exposed to filth and disease. In addition, the medicine bottles that
Crooks needs to heal his crippled back show how his employer does not consider Crooks’ health
problem. The “stable buck” is forced to pay for his own medicine, taking away a large portion of
his wages that could have been used to support himself, or to eventually leave the ranch. Later in
the chapter, when Lennie visits Crooks in his room, Crooks explains to him, “‘A guy goes nuts is
he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya,’ he
cried. ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick’” (73). The boss, forcing Crooks to be away
from the other workers for his own personal preferences, sped up the progression of Crooks’
mental illness. This is evident when Crooks says that “he sees things”. The effects of
manipulation is also shown later in Crooks’ conversation with Candy and Lennie, when Crooks
responds to the plan to leave the ranch and have their own farm. “‘Yeah?’ said Crooks. ‘An
where’s George now? In a town in a w**** house. That’s where your money’s going. I seen it
happen too many times. I seen too many guys with land in their head. They never get none under
their hand’” (75). This shows that the boss is giving his workers poor wages to increase his own
profit - many of the hard-working men only make enough money for petty entertainment, not to
save up for productive lives. As a result, the mindset has been ingrained into the minds of the
workers, shown by Crooks’ doubt of Lennie and Candy’s goals.
All of the problems that the rich have created for the poor have come from a great
misunderstanding, the obliviousness of other people’s lives that they have never experienced
themselves. Curley and his wife ignored the lives that the workers were forced to live,
antagonizing them for things they couldn’t control. An example of this prejudice is when Candy
is explaining to Curley’s wife the ways he felt she had wronged him. He says, “‘I had enough…
You think we’ll hit the highway an’ look for another lousy two-bit job like this’” (79). Curley’s
wife has the misperception that the poor have no ambition nor feelings. Her meanness could have
surfaced from the belief that the poor did not matter, not deserving their own dreams. Besides
this, another section that shows this is when Curley’s wife scorns Lennie and Candy for having
their dream for a farm. She sneers, “‘Baloney... I seen too many you guys. If you had two bits in
the worl’, why you’d be getting two shots of corn with it and suckin’ the bottom of the glass’”
(79). Again, the woman is expressing her thoughts about the worthlessness of the poor, thinking
them simple slaves to alcohol and entertainment. What she does not know is that the poor truly
want something from life: freedom from the oppression that the rich have put on them. Finally,
Curley also shows a poor view of the destitute. Candy hints Curley’s bad attitude, saying,
“‘Don’t tell Curley I said none of this. He’d slough me. He just don’t give a damn. Won’t ever
get canned since his dad’s the boss.’” This is an obvious misperception, as Curley ignores the
fact that the workers desire the same rights as the rich; to speak their mind and for their own
esteem to be protected.
All of the evidence here connects to one simple idea: that the differences between the rich
and poor have created divisions between people, inspiring acts from malice to hurtful ignorance.
The poor have been weakened by the power struggles where the rich have emerged
victorious. A vast unknowing has created prejudice that cannot be overcome, even today, when
one can hear the negative connotations associated with the term “poor”. The destitute are being
blocked from a brighter future, trapped in their low-class lives. We know of the issues that
existed in a time of hardship - now we must work towards solving them today.