Have you ever met a person that was just…so optimistic…so…cool? A person who could just take the world in and be easy about it all and everyone listened to him or her because what he or she had to say was just, you know, right? Well, in the world of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, there aren’t too many characters that are optimistic and not oppressed by the migrant lifestyle. In fact, there’s only one character who, throughout the whole book, is what you would call optimistic, and his name is Slim. Slim is the only major character to not be truly oppressed because he is optimistic and offers help to others.
Slim does not let the oppression of a migrant lifestyle stop him from being optimistic when he helps his friends during rough times on the …show more content…
Although the men never say it directly, they all assume that Curley’s wife is having an affair with Slim. For example, when Curley’s wife is first introduced in Chapter 2, she says hi to Slim. He responds by saying “Hi, Good-lookin’.”(31) Coupled with the fact that Curley later exhibits jealous tendencies towards Slim, this first exchange demonstrates compelling evidence that there is more to the relationship between Curley’s wife and Slim than is ever explicitly stated by any character. It is under these circumstances that later on Curley searches for his wife and questions the men to find out if they know where she is. Consequently,Whit states that Curley spends half his time look for his wife. [53] They tell him that Slim is in the barn. It is important to realize that Curley is a very jealous man. This point is emphasized as the men overhear Curley ask Slim where his wife is when he says, “Well, I didn’t mean nothing, Slim. I just ast you.” Slim demonstrates his annoyance with Curley when he state, “Well, you been askin’ me too often. I’m gettin’ Goddamn sick of it. If you can’t look after your own Goddamn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me.” [53,62] Although Slim is nice to Curley’s wife, he recognizes that she is married and that Curley’s jealousy …show more content…
Slim essentially blackmails Curley into not getting Lennie in trouble for crushing his hand, therefore, not letting Curley learn not to challenge people over every little thing. In contrast,Slim knows when it is appropriate to intervene in behalf of his friends. Whether he consciously knows it or not he recognizes that it is important to defend and help those who cannot completely defend themselves.For example when George opens up to Slim at the beginning of the third chapter, the book reads, “Slim neither encouraged nor discouraged him. He just sat back quiet and receptive” (39) For this reason, Slim was willing to find out what problems George had and if necessary intervene to help his friends. Slim did not do much to help George in this moment, however, when Lennie fights Curley he knows that Lennie was not the one to start the fight. This knowledge gives Slim the ammunition he needs to defend Lennie and give Curley a dose of his own medicine.
Without Slim, Of Mice and Men would be devoid of optimism. Slim’s optimistic outlook isn’t the picket-white-fence kind, it’s a type of presence, one that knows and loves the human experience because of its beauty, innocence, and brutality. Because he knows this, because he understands that the moment and what it has to offer is all there is, he has an unbounded compassion, and such is invaluable
Slim does not let the oppression of a migrant lifestyle stop him from being optimistic when he helps his friends during rough times on the …show more content…
Although the men never say it directly, they all assume that Curley’s wife is having an affair with Slim. For example, when Curley’s wife is first introduced in Chapter 2, she says hi to Slim. He responds by saying “Hi, Good-lookin’.”(31) Coupled with the fact that Curley later exhibits jealous tendencies towards Slim, this first exchange demonstrates compelling evidence that there is more to the relationship between Curley’s wife and Slim than is ever explicitly stated by any character. It is under these circumstances that later on Curley searches for his wife and questions the men to find out if they know where she is. Consequently,Whit states that Curley spends half his time look for his wife. [53] They tell him that Slim is in the barn. It is important to realize that Curley is a very jealous man. This point is emphasized as the men overhear Curley ask Slim where his wife is when he says, “Well, I didn’t mean nothing, Slim. I just ast you.” Slim demonstrates his annoyance with Curley when he state, “Well, you been askin’ me too often. I’m gettin’ Goddamn sick of it. If you can’t look after your own Goddamn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me.” [53,62] Although Slim is nice to Curley’s wife, he recognizes that she is married and that Curley’s jealousy …show more content…
Slim essentially blackmails Curley into not getting Lennie in trouble for crushing his hand, therefore, not letting Curley learn not to challenge people over every little thing. In contrast,Slim knows when it is appropriate to intervene in behalf of his friends. Whether he consciously knows it or not he recognizes that it is important to defend and help those who cannot completely defend themselves.For example when George opens up to Slim at the beginning of the third chapter, the book reads, “Slim neither encouraged nor discouraged him. He just sat back quiet and receptive” (39) For this reason, Slim was willing to find out what problems George had and if necessary intervene to help his friends. Slim did not do much to help George in this moment, however, when Lennie fights Curley he knows that Lennie was not the one to start the fight. This knowledge gives Slim the ammunition he needs to defend Lennie and give Curley a dose of his own medicine.
Without Slim, Of Mice and Men would be devoid of optimism. Slim’s optimistic outlook isn’t the picket-white-fence kind, it’s a type of presence, one that knows and loves the human experience because of its beauty, innocence, and brutality. Because he knows this, because he understands that the moment and what it has to offer is all there is, he has an unbounded compassion, and such is invaluable