slim Flashcards
(14 cards)
‘his ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought’
‘ageless’
‘god-like’
steinbeck gives him alot of time and attention and even steinbeck is in awe of him
steinbeck elevates slim to immortal status. his character represents an ideal of what man can be: kind, compassionate, MORAL. slims character could be an attack on the status quo of 1930s america. he reserves the cowboy in stark contrast to his negative depiction of the boss and curley. through slim, steinbeck promotes his anti-capatilist message
(god like)
majesty’,’royalty’,’master’
cnnotations of regality, (the state of being a king or queen.) which immediately creates a sense of power and authority
(natural born leader)
‘all talk stopped when he spoke’,’for slims opinions were law’
its almost as if everyone is trying to hang onto his every word. a clear sign of respect the workers have for him
(natural born leader)
‘friendly’
his power seems effortless in contrast to the boss and curley who need to wear ‘high-heeled boots’ and give other characters ‘hell’ to assert their dominance
(natural born leader and isnt forcing anything, only being friendly achieves power)
(natural born leader)
natural born leader context
the contrast between slim and curley serves to suggest that the economic power of curley and his father is artificial, a violation of the natural order in which slim ought to rank highest. for steinbeck, slim represents an idealized american cowboy who is of high moral standing and contrasts with the greed of the capitalists that he believed were destroying agricultural life
(natural born leader)
jerkline skinner
his power derives from his skill, he lives in a capitalist world where your worth is determined by youre usefulness in making profit. he contrasts heavily to candy who is a low skilled worker and is considered disposable
(powerful)
carlson stepped back to let slim precede him
a literal indicator of the heirarachy at the ranch, (the order of which he enters the room)
(powerful)
i think you got your han caught in a machine. if you dont tell nobody what happened, we aint going to.
slim has authority of the boss son in this scene. his power dosent just derive from his skillset but he is also very perceptive, he understands that curleys reputation is important to him and uses it against him– this shows how smart he is as he can read people
slim is fortunate to be a more permanent ranch worker which is an unusual position to be in a the time.
(powerful)
i drowned four of em right off
slim is not drawn to sentimentality. his pragmatic mind justifies this seeimingly violent behaviour by considering how the mother wouldnt be able to feed that many. this way, he seems to be rules by a policy of ‘the greater good’ the nonchalant way he speaks of his actions is a good reminder of the brutal world in which slim lives, a world where the weakest are dismissed with little thought.
(pragmatic)
candy looked a long time at slim to try to find some reversal, and slim gave him none.
slims word is law therefore he can be seen as the one who got the dog killed.
his nonresponse sealed the sheepdogs fate. this suggests the idea of euthanasia which links later t his support for george killing lennie
‘you hadda george, i swear you hadda’
slim objectively considers the alternatives for lennie: he getsbrutally murdered by curley or her gets admitted into a mental institution (where he would get treated like an animal) . he is able to make rational decisions to navigate the cruel world in which he lives in(actions may be seen as cruel but theyre pragmatic)
(pragmatic)
pragmatic context
the belief of social Darwinism left no room for compassion for the likes of people like lennie whos struggles would be considered a natural order of things
although slim does have compassion for the weakest members of the ranch, these harsh actions reveal the repercussions of creating such a cruel world: you are left not always with an option to do good. but rather to do ‘less evil’
his power seems effortless in contrast to the boss and curley who need to wear ‘high-heeled boots’ and give other characters ‘hell’ to assert their dominance
(natural born leader and isnt forcing anything, only being friendly achieves power)
his power seems effortless in contrast to the boss and curley who need to wear ‘high-heeled boots’ and give other characters ‘hell’ to assert their dominance
(pragmatic)
hell of a nice fella
we are immediately introduced to him through candy as a good person
(moral)
hi good lookin’ ‘oh! hello crooks’,’lennie aint mean’
good lookin can be seen as a sexist comment but they lived in a world where a womans looks was considered very important its also important to her to look good so she can have some attention, he knows that calling her that will make her feel good. just like her knows blackmailing curley means he wont tell the boss as his representation means alot to him.
hes kind to all of the weakest members on the ranch.
(moral)
take a shovel’ ‘come on george me an youll go in an get a drink
its clear he shows compassion
he dosent want candy to see his dead dog
he understands how hard it was to kill lennie
slims capacity to care is important as it reveals that his harsher actions are acts of mercy rather than cruelty. His kindness provides a contrast to the otherwise hostile environment of the ranch. his character gives hope- men are capable of being good
steinbeck presents slim as thoughtful and sensitive to challenge the stereotype of a ranch worker. as the novella moral centre, we look to him to help determine the morality of Georges actions (act of mercy)
(moral)
