Marxism in Of Mice and Men
“John Steinbeck: Marxist Supporter?”
Since the beginning of time, the world has been infected with human greed and hunger for power. However, only a lucky few are able to truly appease this desire and get to the peak of the economic hierarchy, while the majority of citizens scrambles at the bottom, hoping and praying for alleviation from the cruelties of the never-ending oppression in their lives. However, in the mid 1800’s, a man named Karl Marx decided that this perpetual cycle of difference and inequality was wrong. He believed in a system where everyone was peaceful, happy, and above all, completely equal with one another. Marx was certain that if society could be rid of all forms of private property, our natural goodness—which had been warped by the free-market system— would allow us to live in this world, glistening with perfection . Marx’s system, later known as
Marxism, caught the attention and support of thousands, including author John Steinbeck. While writing his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck seems to have been quite sympathetic towards many elements of Marxism, including how bosses encourage workers to distrust one another, how people in non-Marxist systems will always be oppressed by those who have more than they do, and how women are often objectified in private-property-based systems.
One prominent Marxist tenet in Steinbeck’s novel is the way in which workers are encouraged to compete against each other in private-property-based systems. This can be seen in the text when the bus driver drops George and Lennie off at a spot quite far from the ranch. The bus driver says that the ranch is “Jes’ a little stretch down the highway,” when he drops the two companions off, but they end up having to walk a long distance (4). The bus driver does not want to help these passengers because they do not matter to him, and he is only concerned about making a living, so therefore does not take them close to their destination. This element
Since the beginning of time, the world has been infected with human greed and hunger for power. However, only a lucky few are able to truly appease this desire and get to the peak of the economic hierarchy, while the majority of citizens scrambles at the bottom, hoping and praying for alleviation from the cruelties of the never-ending oppression in their lives. However, in the mid 1800’s, a man named Karl Marx decided that this perpetual cycle of difference and inequality was wrong. He believed in a system where everyone was peaceful, happy, and above all, completely equal with one another. Marx was certain that if society could be rid of all forms of private property, our natural goodness—which had been warped by the free-market system— would allow us to live in this world, glistening with perfection . Marx’s system, later known as
Marxism, caught the attention and support of thousands, including author John Steinbeck. While writing his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck seems to have been quite sympathetic towards many elements of Marxism, including how bosses encourage workers to distrust one another, how people in non-Marxist systems will always be oppressed by those who have more than they do, and how women are often objectified in private-property-based systems.
One prominent Marxist tenet in Steinbeck’s novel is the way in which workers are encouraged to compete against each other in private-property-based systems. This can be seen in the text when the bus driver drops George and Lennie off at a spot quite far from the ranch. The bus driver says that the ranch is “Jes’ a little stretch down the highway,” when he drops the two companions off, but they end up having to walk a long distance (4). The bus driver does not want to help these passengers because they do not matter to him, and he is only concerned about making a living, so therefore does not take them close to their destination. This element