The Perils of Power in Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck

Power has greatly held a grasp on society and how people perceive one another. Abuse and manipulation of power are also very important when authority is given to individuals who care only for their egotistical interests. Curley’s wife, the wife to the son of the ranch’s owner, in John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice And Men is an illustration of those who abuse the power they have been given. With her flirty and seductive demeanor, she takes advantage of the power she has with her beauty and as Curley’s wife to attract the men on the ranch. Her enticing behavior causes insecurities in Curley, an aggressive and dictatorial son of the ranch owner, to beware of the other men at the ranch. As a result of this, Curley is vigilant of the places his wife goes and sternly interrogates the men on the ranch about her whereabouts. Conscious of this information, she transforms Curley’s distrust of the men in a manner that benefits her. Curley’s wife abused her authority over other workers at the ranch.

Curley’s wife knew the gravity of the power she possessed because she was able to utilize her status as the wife of Curley to intimidate and devalue the men. As Crooks, an African American worker on the ranch tried to make her leave his room to stop her from having a long discussion with the men, Curley’s wife snapped, “Well you keep your place then, ni****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (Steinbeck 79). She uses her power of race and status on Crooks to suggest she could fabricate lies against him to her husband with just her words, putting his life on the line. Using her superior authority on him, she degrades him to be a mere man that she could implicate and get rid of effortlessly if he hinders her from her desires. Similar to Curley’s wife’s actions towards Crooks, power has been used as a form of degradation; it has often “been described as being a strong influence in the exercise of oppression; that is, those who are in power are able to oppress those with less power” (“Power”). In various ways, Curley’s wife used her dominance negatively to threaten Crooks with racial derogatory terms and devalue his worth on the ranch. She exerts the influence she has been given to belittle others for the satisfaction of her wishes. Aware of the men’s fear of losing their job and of what her husband could do to them, she manipulates the influence she has to favor her wants. 

Having the reassurance of her husband’s authority over the men, she suppresses the men’s voices knowing her actions would not get reprimanded. This creates an uneven balance of power as it is unfair to the workers that she can easily turn their hard work into unfruitful efforts. The powerful take advantage of the powerless in demeaning ways to remain dominant amongst individuals. 

Works Cited 

“Power and Powerlessness.” Psychology, 2021, http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/counseling-psychology/personality-traits/power-and-powerlessness/. Accessed 20 October 2021. 

Steinbeck, John. “Of Mice and Men.” Penguin Books, 1994.