Explore the ways Curley and Slim

are contrasted in the book Of Mice

and Men
By Toby Hudson

In the book Of Mice and Men, linguistic devices and

presentational hooks are used to engage the reader and make
the book a fascinating read. In this essay, I will try to point out
some of the key features that have made the book so popular
amongst adults and children alike.
One of the main characters in the text is Curley. Steinbecks
description of his physical appearance is used to outline some
of his most distinguishing features and reflects his personality
as a whole. First of all, he is said to have a mass of tight curly
hair. This description is used to give us an idea of how he
reacts in general. His hair creates the impression of springs and
the idea of it being a tight mass of hair suggests that tension
is being built up until eventually it will all explode. The reader is
intrigued to carry on reading because of this fact. Its almost as
if we can feel Curleys tension and the tension of the other
characters around him. His physical appearance and
description of his body is also a key factor for us to understand
how Steinbeck will foreshadow future events. For example, the
way that the author says that his boots were like the bosss
boots. This may suggest that Curley thinks he is above his
station and maybe he is as good, if not better than the boss. It
also fits nicely with the phrase too big for his boots. This
shows us there may be some conflict between him and the
boss. The glove he wears for his hand that hes keeping soft for
his wife. This can be linked back to his image of selfimportance and that he thinks that any equipment in the farm
that he wants can be used for his own personal gain. It also

shows us the reader that he is an overall dirty man, who only

thinks about women and what he can do with them.
Another quote used in the text is that Curleys glance was
calculating and pugnacious This shows the reader that
Curley may have some dangerous qualities and that Steinbeck
may be hinting at what part he will play further on in the story.
A key word that Steinbeck uses is pugnacious which shows us
that hes always ready to fight and that he is on edge. The
reader can infer that he doesnt back down from a fight and
that he may even go looking for them. We can link this to the
quote later on in the text that says that Lennie squirmed and
avoided Curleys glance almost as if he knew how Curley
would react to him. This can also reflect the idea that Curley is
the villain; someone who makes the hero (Lennie)
uncomfortable. Curleys name is also only mentioned once
throughout the whole passage of his introduction. This way of
introducing him builds up his presence and the reader feels that
he is going to be an important part of the text before he has
been fully introduced. However, this is the complete opposite of
another character who we meet later on in the book called
Slim.
We are introduced to Slim by Steinbeck in Chapter 2 as an
opposite to Curley. Quotes such as prince of the ranch are
used to express his importance on the ranch. Even though Slim
has nothing to do with royalty and isnt even remotely related
to the boss, he is still referred to as someone of high rank.
This leads us to believe that he is maybe not important in the
money side and royalty, but maybe someone who is morally
right, someone who is important in other ways. In the text,
Steinbeck also uses lots of repetition to reveal information
about the character of Slim. For example, instead of using his
name, he is used over and over again. HE was a jerk line
skinnerHE was capable This effect is similar to the first
effect used to describe Curley to build up tension. However, in
contrast to Curleys bad side, Slim is shown to be a stronger
character and have a better persona than Curley. Again, we can

fit this into the idea of Curley being a villain and Slim being his
opposite. For example, he describes Slim with impressive
adjectives, such as gravity, authority and understanding. The
effect on the reader is that he is a very thoughtful and serious
character and that he is maybe a natural leader in and around
the ranch. However, we may also be able to see why Curley is
so annoyed. He is the bosss son, yet Slim is the one who is
classed as royalty and importance. This is a crucial point as
we see a reason as to why Curley is mad all the time.
Another effect used in the given text is the way that Slim is
very stereotypically American. Hes very tall and has a
crushed Stetson under his arm The Stetson is a very typical
American symbol and conjures up an image of the Wild West
and old spaghetti westerns. We can also link this this to further
on in the text where we are informed that the workers have
Wild West magazines. Maybe the other workers on the ranch
see him as the person in their dreams, the big, strong figure
they read about and want to be. The effect on the reader is that
maybe the reason he is treated as the prince of the ranch is
because the others feel that he is an actual hero. This can also
be linked back to the fact that Steinbeck uses he to describe
him. Its almost as if he isnt a real person, but a living entity of
a hero, and that any one of the men could imagine them being
him.
In the text, we also get a sense of how other people react to
Curley and what he does. For example, the swamper says he
hates big guysprobably angry because he isnt one This
shows that his earlier attitude of hospitality towards Lennie
may have been a faade to cover up the fact that he is jealous
of Lennie, and that he wants to be big and strong like him. In
the same passage, Curley also expresses his feeling towards
Curley. George threatens Curley and says he better not make
the mistake of trying to come at Lennie The fact that George
uses the word mistake suggests that even if Curley
accidentally does something to Lennie, George will step in and
fight a man who is probably stronger than him. The effect on

the reader is that even though they arent related, George has
become a sort of father figure over Lennie. Furthermore,
Steinbeck uses this paragraph to foreshadow the relationship
between the two characters and just how close they actually
are.
Steinbeck also begins to builds up Curley and Slims bond in
an interesting way, and begins to show that Slim is the
dominant character over Curley. In the text, a quote is used to
sum up how they react to each other. When Curley enters the
barn searching for his wife, the text says that Curley entered
the barn saying Where the hells Slim? This shows that
towards the other people in the workplace, he is very
aggressive and acts as though he is better than them and when
Slim isnt around, he is the leader of the ranch. However, later
on, when Slim comes into the barn and tells Curley that hes
had enough, Curley meekly replies I didnt mean anything by it
Slim. The effect on the reader is that Curley has 2 sides, one
where he thinks hes the boss and one where he is scared of
Slim. The change between his two personalities shows that Slim
is a large part of his life. However, we also get to see that Slim,
although not close to Curley, still feels compassion towards him
and still worries. For example, after Lennie crushes his hand,
Slim says It isnt your fault Lennie, but Jesus he hardly got
any hand left This shows us that Slim isnt only the better
worker, but also the better person morally as he looks out for
others, even if he doesnt like them.
Finally, there is another piece of vital piece of information that
tells us how Curley reacts to people and their views. This is
when Curleys wife dies. In the text it says that he worked
himself into a furyIll kill that son of a bitch myself The
word fury has connotations of a fiery ball, a mess even. We
can also link this back to how his hair looked like coiled
springs. Its almost as if he suddenly burst and all the tension
he was building up has been has been let out. The effect on the
reader is that maybe he never truly loved his wife. The way the
anger is described is not in the way of loss of a loved one, but

almost as though as though he is a naughty child who has

broken his favourite toy, as he doesnt feel any love, any
compassion towards her. All he feels is anger and wanting to
get revenge. The idea of his wife being a toy can also be
linked back to when he burst into his barn looking for his wife,
like hed lost her. Its like even though he is higher up than the
workers, being the bosss son, he still looks up to them to find
his toy. Slims reaction to the death is completely different to
that of Curleys. It says that he stroked her cheek silently
before getting to his feet and telling the men that she was
dead. This shows the reader that even though he had no
connection to Curleys wife, he still felt some sort of love for
her. We can compare this to Curleys reaction and maybe, Slim
should have been married to the wife and not Curley.
In conclusion, Steinbeck has used layers of language
techniques and clever structure to contrast Curley and Slim in a
number of ways. Through his cunning use of language, us, the
reader, sees Slim as a gentle caring man and Curley as the
mean antagonist. Steinbeck also uses the last few lines of the
book to reflect the American Dream. I think that Steinbeck was
trying to show that the American Dream can be achieved, but
at a cost. In this case, Lennies death. However, at the end, we
are left feeling happy and that good will always prevail as Slim
and George walk off into the sunset together.