Manipulation in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay Sample

Manipulation: The action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way. Humans, overall, are greedy. If you give a human power, they will most likely abuse it. Power gives a human control and once given control, a human will not want that control taken away from them. This is especially true in relationships in which the power dynamics between each party are uneven. For this reason, humans can not be reliant on other humans. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, we watch how these exact relationships end in trepidation. 

One of these relationships is the relationship between the protagonists George and Lennie. Lennie struggles with social interaction. Lennie also has trouble understanding social cues and has never really been taught how to live alone. In the novel, after Lennie mentioned that he liked to eat beans with ketchup, George states; “ ‘ Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress- just wanted to pet it like it was a mouse- well how the hell did she know you jus’ wanted to feel her dress’ “(Steinbeck 11). In this quote, George talks about a situation in which Lennie did not understand he was assaulting a woman. The fact that Lennie did not understand that his own actions were assault shows that Lennie struggles with human interactions and does not have a clear understanding of social cues. Also, from this quote, you can gather that Lennie just believed that the woman knew he just wanted to feel her dress because it has a nice texture. This implies that Lennie believes that when it comes to sensory experiences, everyone thinks like him. That, when someone else sees something soft they feel a need to touch it and get a sort of euphoria from the texture. This thought process coincides with disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder as well as Autism Spectrum disorder. Both of these disorders result in a struggle with understanding social cues. When it comes to George; George feels a need to take care of Lennie. This leads to some feelings of resentment for; George also wants time to himself without worrying about Lennie. As a result; George constantly berates Lennie. However, he also tells Lennie that he would not be able to live alone. George also has an upper hand. George does not struggle with social cues and can talk to people deftly. George does not have to worry about saying something or doing something he did not understand was wrong. In the novel, after preparing beans and then becoming indigent once Lennie mentions he likes to eat beans with ketchup, George says “ ‘I got you! You can’t keep a job, and you lose me everyone I get... You do bad things and I got to get you out’...I want you to stay with me Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by your self’ “(Steinbeck 11 and 13). In this quote, George is putting all the blame on Lennie. Telling him it is his fault that he can't keep a job. George also implies that he is just stuck with Lennie. That Lennie is just a burden to George. This in of itself is a form of emotional abuse. Lennie is not the sole reason George has lost the jobs he has had, and George should take some accountability. He may be infuriated, but that is not an excuse to imply that someone is a burden to you and put all the blame on them. Despite these very manipulative manners, in the quote it is clear that George does feel a need to take care of Lennie because he has not been taught the skills needed in order to live alone. The relationship between George and Lennie is riddled with manipulation. However, it is not the only relationship in the novel riddled with manipulation and a relationship that contains power dynamics that are uneven. 

Another relationship similar to George and Lennie is the relationship between Curley and his wife. Curly is a field worker at the fields Lennie and George work in.  One thing to take note of is the fact that this novel takes place in the 1920s. During this time, there was still stigma when it came to women working. This means Curley's wife was expected to be a “good housewife”. In the novel, after Curly had confronted a well respected field worker named Slim over the belief that he was messing with his wife, another worker named Carlson says “ ‘Why‘n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs’ “(Steinbeck 87). In this quote, this man is being very misogynistic. By saying that a woman deserves to stay home, implies that he believes a woman is only good for cooking and taking care of children. That she is not  good enough to work and should not go prancing around talking to other people. This shows that there was still a lot of stigma when it came to women working during this time. It also shows that women during this time were still seen as less than men. This perception of women puts Curley's wife at a disadvantage and puts the power in Curly’s hands since, after all, he is a man.  With this societal power and this pressure to get his wife to stay home, Curly actually uses fear in order to manipulate his wife into staying at home and away from all the other field workers.  After finding Lennie in the barn and allowing herself to open up to him, Curly’s wife says, “ ‘You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curly. Else he gets mad” (Steinbeck 87). In this quote, Curley's wife implies that Curley is attempting to isolate her by using fear to manipulate her. This is emotional abuse. The fact that Curly is able to do this to his wife shows that Curly has a lot of power; more power that his wife. What's interesting is,  this was normal during the time Curley and his wife were living in. Curly wasn't supposed to fraternize with other men as a married woman and was expected to stay home, cook, and do everything in her power to please her husband. Her breaking these societal rules makes Curley's behavior “reasonable”. However, With this abuse, it becomes evidently clear that Curley's wife does not want to be married to Curly and sees this relationship, and Curly, as a burden. In the novel, once allowing herself to open up to Lennie, Curley’s wife states, “ ‘I don't like Curly. He ain’t a nice fella’...’Couda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes’ “(Steinbeck 89). In this quote, Curley's wife  expresses her disdain while being in this marriage with Curly. It's clear that Curley's wife is fearful of him and hates this relationship because of this feeling of endangerment. It is also clear that she has some feelings of resentment because of all the opportunities she had missed for this marriage. As a result, Curley's wife also feels like her marriage with Curly and Curly himself, is a burden on her due to how much pain it has been causing her. 

It is clear that Curley's wife and Lennie are both in relationships that are not healthy for them. The thing is they can't get out of these relationships because of how reliant they are on their “partners' '. If Lennie leaves George, he will get hurt due to his lack of understanding social cues. If he leaves, he may be beaten up for saying something he did not understand was wrong. Also,  he struggles with remembering things. If he leaves George, Lennie might forget something. If he forgets, he will not have the slightest clue as to how to get help because he couldn't remember what he was doing initially. In the novel, after missing the bus that would drive them to their new job, Lennie asks George, “ ‘Where we goin’, George’ “(Steinbeck 4). The fact that George forgot where he was heading shows that Lennie would struggle if he were alone. He has a severe problem with recollection. If he were alone, he could easily forget where he was heading or where his home might be. If he did forget, he would not be able to receive the help he needed. When it comes to Curley's wife, she can’t leave Curly because if she leaves Curly she will be berated, called names, and would be a “disgrace”. This is because as mentioned earlier,  during the 1920s, there was still a lot of stigma surrounding women. During this time, women were still seen as less than men and were expected to stay at home and, once having a husband, were expected to do everything in their power to please their husband and only their husband. In the novel, after Curly confronted a well respected worker, Slim, for the incorrect belief that he was messing with his wife, another worker, Carlson, says, “ ‘You let her hang around bunkhouses and pretty soon you’re gonna have som’ pin on your hands and you won’t be able to do nothing about it” ‘(Steinbeck 62). In this quote, Carlson is implying that Curley's wife being let around the men in the bunkhouses will lead her into being unfaithful. This implies that Carlson believes Curley's wife should be isolated from the rest of the men and should just be around Curly. This also implies that Carlson sees Curley's wife as one to “fraternize” with many men. This shows that if Curly were to leave Curly, she would be seen in an even worse light and would be berated and seen as a disgrace. 

To culminate; in the novel Of Mice and Men; the relationships between the characters, George and Lennie and Curley and his wife, are not healthy. The power dynamics in these relationships are uneven, As a result, one party in both relationships, these parties being Lennie and Curley's wife, are at a severe disadvantage and rely on their partners. As a result, they are stuck in these relationships. This causes the relationships to end in trepidation; while one party cares deeply for the other, the other party sees the relationship as a burden. This inherently shows that if you give a human power; they will not want to give up that power and will most likely abuse it. For this reason, humans can not be reliant on others.