Violence and Social Hierarchy in John Steinbecks Of Mice...

In the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’, Steinbeck presents the ranch in a ruthless and brutal way. He portrays a patriarchal society dominated only by white robust men. Steinbeck illustrates the different views and opinions of the social hierarchy in the ranch life. As well as Steinbeck displays the harsh and violent atmosphere where the newcomers are restricted and victimized by the other members of the ranch. Therefore Steinbeck creates a world in his perception where he characterizes the predicaments of women, black people, crippled people and those with mental disabilities revealing the mistreatment and agony they have to encounter. This denotes that Steinbeck portrays the ranch as harsh and violent abode. During the 1930’s there was a rise of unemployment as figures increased from around 3% and over 26% by 1934. This depicts that there were few jobs around for those who were searching for work. This is significant to the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ because many of the characters in the novel are workers trying to make a living out of the ranch. The causes of the great depression was momentous to the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ as the Americans had to endure the harsh and violent life. In addition people had to care for themselves. The violent society of working and living in the cruel surroundings present the sexist attitudes towards women were typically implied. Thus, Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife as a dangerous and devious woman. This is illustrated in the following quotation