Of Mice and Men - Contextual Background - Conflict

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A good mule driver in the 1920’s and 1930’s could control a line of up to twenty mules single-handedly. This level of ability was highly regarded by farm owners as the driver could do more work and save a large amount of money in the process, also earning respect from their fellow farm workers for their skills. The character Slim is a jerk line skinner in charge of a team of mules and men. He has legendary qualities and is described as “the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bull whip without touching the mule.”(Ch2). Slim is the figure of a mule driver in the 1930’s and represents the contextual time period Steinbeck has based his novel on.

In Chapter One George and Lennie are residing in a clearing, sitting by a fire as George explains to Lennie how Ranch hands are lonely, have no family and do not belong: “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go into town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.” “But not us! An’ why? Because… because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” The value each individual holds to friendship is evident as both characters state the loyalty each holds for another.

By the end of the novel Lennie had killed Curley’s Wife and George had found Lennie’s place of hiding. George was forced to make a choice, save Lennie and put an end to him or let him suffer from future pain, fear and horror at the hands of Curley. “He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger” “…George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.” (Ch6). The “luger” is a small pistol originally produced in Germany, 1900 and in 1923 the American trademark for the "Luger" was obtained for the import of these German built pistols into America. By using a Luger pistol of recent release Steinbeck validated the time period of contexts the American Dream and the Great depression while ending his character Lennie.

To bring his work to life the composer has set the book around the Great Depression in the 1930’s with the American Dream of the 1920’s. This is because they are corresponding time periods that cause conflicts such as, financial downfall and problems of agricultural economics. In doing this, Steinbeck has created a realistic presentation of ideas, characters and events through the use of various techniques and devices that link the story to the chosen context.