Slim

Question 1

Reflects the social vs economic hierarchy on ranch

Answer 1

• Slim is contrasted with Curley, who has authority over the other workers due to his status as the boss’s son but struggles to earn their respect.
• For instance, while Curley wears “high-heeled boots” to make up for his short stature and remind the workers of his wealth and status,
• Candy explains pointedly that Slim “don’t need to wear no high-heeled boots on a grain team.”
• Unlike aggressive and cruel Curley, Slim is a source of moral authority in the novella.
• He correctly sees that Lennie “ain’t mean,” and later the reader learns that he is one of the only men to ignore the racist prohibition against entering Crooks’s room.
• Slim is also the only one to rightly understand that George kills Lennie out of mercy, and comforts George in his resulting misery.
• 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.

Question 2

Authorities

Answer 2

• Slim does not demand authority but is revered by the rest of the men on the ranch because of his natural influence.
• ‘His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.’
• Slim’s power is universal with the men because of their natural respect for him. Steinbeck presents Slim as being the calm holder of this innate authority, not demanding it or treating others badly to get it, which is why it is so strong.
• reflection on society and Jim Crow laws —> fear is not the way to gain power

Question 3

Empathetic

Answer 3

• Slim is the only character who shows understanding of how George feels after he has killed Lennie.
• ‘You hadda, George. I swear you hadda.’
• Slim comforts George by repeating you hadda, emphasising to George that he did not have any choice but to kill Lennie.
• This shows Slim’s concern for his friend and that he understands the difficult decision that George has had to make and how this will affect him, whereas the other men on the ranch do not see that there was anything worrying about what George has had to do.
• Slim has been influenced by George and Lennie’s deviation from the lonely nature of the itinerant worker