Conflicts in 'Of Mice and Men' 05/09/16

     In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there are many different conflicts between characters, with society, with nature, and with a character's oneself. All of these conflicts that are happening in one day help build the plot. They make the novella more interesting and the same time give more information about different characters. Two conflicts that are currently happening in the novella Of Mice and Men are the problem between Curley and Lennie and discrimination toward Crooks.

     The first conflict that I am going to address is the war between Curley, the boss's son, and Lennie. Since the minute Lennie and George walked into the ranch Curley has not liked Lennie. The novella states, "He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys." (page 26) Off the bat Curley doesn't like Lennie just because he is a bigger guy than him. He doesn't think about the reason Lennie doesn't talk to him or is looking at George for help. The novella also states "Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I'll show ya who's yella." (page 62) When Curley got shot down by Slim he automatically turns to the biggest person in the room so that he seems like he didn't get shot down. This war between Curley and Lennie is still going on throughout the novella.This conflict is man vs man. The reason why this conflict is man vs man is because it is two human being going against each other not only verbally but also physically.

     The second conflict that I am going to address is the discrimination towards Crooks. In chapter 5, Crooks talks about the issues he has because of his skin color. The novella states, "S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black." (page 72) He can't go into the bunkhouse like everyone other worker because he has skin of color. He is forced to have his own room with no one else to talk but read books. The novella states, ". . . I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse. . . Why ain't you wanted. . . Cause I'm black." (page 68) This conflict is man vs society. The reason why this conflict is man vs society because for so long colored people were slaves and now that they are like normal people they aren't seen as equals. So the other workers think that Crooks is different because he is african-american.