- 15 Jan 2004 02:21
#78882
Influences of the Teachings of Karl Marx on Of Mice and Men
By Boris Bogdonowicz
Karl Marx is a man whose work has affected many great men. While some of them, such as Eugene Debs and Che Guevera, went on to become revolutionaries and eventually die for their views, others would be artists. Among these distinguished men are Bob Dylan, Langston Hughes, and George Orwell. But, it is also not unreasonable to hypothesize that John Steinbeck would be among them. His classic novel, Of Mice and Men, could easily be classified as describing the class struggles. In it, he explored the pratfalls of what Marx dubbed, “Idealist Socialism.†He also , in an extremely metaphorical way, describes the downfall of capitalism. By ousting both Capitalism and “idealist socialism,†(Two of the things Marx hated most) Steinbeck leaves the reader with only the option of Communism, a daring thing to do. It is safe to assume that John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a case for communism because Steinbeck describes both socialism and capitalism in the same way Marx did.
To understand what Marx had to say about capitalism, one must first understand what, or who, is designed to represent it. Clearly, George and Lennie’s dream of having a nice place all for them is capitalistic, it is the idea that they can rise above everyone else. On numerous accounts, George compares him and Lennie to other men by saying, “We ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us†(14). Clearly, they want to live out the capitalist dream. In a different sense, though, Lennie is the embodiment of the dream, hence capitalism. We can see the capitalist greed in Lennie on several occasions, for instance George tells him “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you wantâ€(11). He always wants more and more, which, in the ideas of Marx, represent the greed of the capitalist. Now that it has been established that Lennie represents capitalism, we can look at how Marx predicted capitalism would end. He predicted a violent revolution in which the upholders (the workers who kept capitalism alive, to Marx, those who kept the rich rich and the poor, themselves, poor) of capitalism would see its evils and “spontaneously combust,†so to speak, and violently destroy it after no other options are left. Which is to say, after it becomes so evil that it can no longer be around. This is what happens to Lennie. After he kills Candy’s wife, he can no longer be around without hurting others. George, the person he was keeping down, knew what he had to do, and though it was hard, did it. It is safe to assume he thought his life would be better without Lennie. So, in the end, Lennie, much like capitalism, died in a fast but violent death.
While Marx Was a communist, he has been blamed for the socialist revolutions in Russia, Cuba, Vietnam, and Korea. However, Marx vilely hated socialism, he felt that Communism would not be provoked as those revolutions would be, and a communist country would need no leader. Clearly, Marx’s hating of socialism can be seen also in Steinbeck’s novel. The ranch clearly represents the socialist community. At first the men (the example of Lennie and George is used here as a constant, since we must assume the men felt the same way as them) are ready to work, and have no problem with it. The only real thought they have is of the money and food they would be getting. Soon though, they realized it would not be all they had thought it would. This is seen more clearly when the microcosm is more closely examined. First, there is the boss, who is representative of whoever would control the socialist community. The boss represents, also, the corruptness of the socialist governments. We can see him playing favors when Candy says, “He just don’t give a damn. Won’t ever get canned cause his old man’s the bossâ€(27). The fact that he is playing favorites with his son makes no real difference, since favoritism is favoritism. Another key player in this fantasy world is Curley’s wife. With her, Steinbeck explores the myth of both communism and socialism that women would be common property. Though for the novels other purposes the men reject her advances, it is still notable the way she presents herself to the men. She is obviously coming on to the men, no matter what she may later say, when she says to Lennie (The new guy) “Well, if that’s all you want, I might get a coupla rabbits myselfâ€(80). After that, it was Candy who stood up for poor Lennie. Candy provides an interesting plea against socialism himself. He shows that the socialist system is inherently unfair and would not care for those who cannot help the system when he says “Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunkhouses they’ll put me on the countyâ€(60). Of course, none of this would be true if not for the fact that it is made obvious that every man makes their $50 a week (except for Curley, who has already been explored). But, no matter what everyone gets, “Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much. Jus’ somethin’ that was hisâ€(76).
Karl Marx’s teachings can be found in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men through his commentary on socialism and capitalism. Perhaps, though, communism is not such a hard thing to believe in at the time this story was to take place. In the 1930’s, during the depression, communism was something many people began to turn to, particularly the USSR. This is, perhaps, the main reason to argue that Steinbeck was not anti-socialism, and hence pro-Marxism. Or, perhaps, there is no political commentary in this story at all. Perhaps one can find political commentary in anything, if they look hard enough. Maybe, anyone can find anything in anything.
By Boris Bogdonowicz
Karl Marx is a man whose work has affected many great men. While some of them, such as Eugene Debs and Che Guevera, went on to become revolutionaries and eventually die for their views, others would be artists. Among these distinguished men are Bob Dylan, Langston Hughes, and George Orwell. But, it is also not unreasonable to hypothesize that John Steinbeck would be among them. His classic novel, Of Mice and Men, could easily be classified as describing the class struggles. In it, he explored the pratfalls of what Marx dubbed, “Idealist Socialism.†He also , in an extremely metaphorical way, describes the downfall of capitalism. By ousting both Capitalism and “idealist socialism,†(Two of the things Marx hated most) Steinbeck leaves the reader with only the option of Communism, a daring thing to do. It is safe to assume that John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a case for communism because Steinbeck describes both socialism and capitalism in the same way Marx did.
To understand what Marx had to say about capitalism, one must first understand what, or who, is designed to represent it. Clearly, George and Lennie’s dream of having a nice place all for them is capitalistic, it is the idea that they can rise above everyone else. On numerous accounts, George compares him and Lennie to other men by saying, “We ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us†(14). Clearly, they want to live out the capitalist dream. In a different sense, though, Lennie is the embodiment of the dream, hence capitalism. We can see the capitalist greed in Lennie on several occasions, for instance George tells him “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you wantâ€(11). He always wants more and more, which, in the ideas of Marx, represent the greed of the capitalist. Now that it has been established that Lennie represents capitalism, we can look at how Marx predicted capitalism would end. He predicted a violent revolution in which the upholders (the workers who kept capitalism alive, to Marx, those who kept the rich rich and the poor, themselves, poor) of capitalism would see its evils and “spontaneously combust,†so to speak, and violently destroy it after no other options are left. Which is to say, after it becomes so evil that it can no longer be around. This is what happens to Lennie. After he kills Candy’s wife, he can no longer be around without hurting others. George, the person he was keeping down, knew what he had to do, and though it was hard, did it. It is safe to assume he thought his life would be better without Lennie. So, in the end, Lennie, much like capitalism, died in a fast but violent death.
While Marx Was a communist, he has been blamed for the socialist revolutions in Russia, Cuba, Vietnam, and Korea. However, Marx vilely hated socialism, he felt that Communism would not be provoked as those revolutions would be, and a communist country would need no leader. Clearly, Marx’s hating of socialism can be seen also in Steinbeck’s novel. The ranch clearly represents the socialist community. At first the men (the example of Lennie and George is used here as a constant, since we must assume the men felt the same way as them) are ready to work, and have no problem with it. The only real thought they have is of the money and food they would be getting. Soon though, they realized it would not be all they had thought it would. This is seen more clearly when the microcosm is more closely examined. First, there is the boss, who is representative of whoever would control the socialist community. The boss represents, also, the corruptness of the socialist governments. We can see him playing favors when Candy says, “He just don’t give a damn. Won’t ever get canned cause his old man’s the bossâ€(27). The fact that he is playing favorites with his son makes no real difference, since favoritism is favoritism. Another key player in this fantasy world is Curley’s wife. With her, Steinbeck explores the myth of both communism and socialism that women would be common property. Though for the novels other purposes the men reject her advances, it is still notable the way she presents herself to the men. She is obviously coming on to the men, no matter what she may later say, when she says to Lennie (The new guy) “Well, if that’s all you want, I might get a coupla rabbits myselfâ€(80). After that, it was Candy who stood up for poor Lennie. Candy provides an interesting plea against socialism himself. He shows that the socialist system is inherently unfair and would not care for those who cannot help the system when he says “Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunkhouses they’ll put me on the countyâ€(60). Of course, none of this would be true if not for the fact that it is made obvious that every man makes their $50 a week (except for Curley, who has already been explored). But, no matter what everyone gets, “Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much. Jus’ somethin’ that was hisâ€(76).
Karl Marx’s teachings can be found in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men through his commentary on socialism and capitalism. Perhaps, though, communism is not such a hard thing to believe in at the time this story was to take place. In the 1930’s, during the depression, communism was something many people began to turn to, particularly the USSR. This is, perhaps, the main reason to argue that Steinbeck was not anti-socialism, and hence pro-Marxism. Or, perhaps, there is no political commentary in this story at all. Perhaps one can find political commentary in anything, if they look hard enough. Maybe, anyone can find anything in anything.
I abhor his work and style.
- By paeng
- By wat0n
- By Puffer Fish