Essay on Conflict in "Of Mice and Men"

English essay on conflict

The theme I choose for my essay is conflict which is one of the main themes in the novel ‘of mice and men.’ Throughout the novel there are different conflicts between different characters some more noticeable than others, and we see that some of the characters have inner conflict.
Firstly, outer conflict it is the most common and is shown throughout the novel and an example of this is Curley and the ranch men, “well ... tell you what. Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates bug guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with the big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at’ em because he ain’t a big guy. You seen little guys like that, ain’t you? Always scrappy?”   This shows and tells us that Curley is always looking for a fight and I think that it is a main cause of the conflict on the ranch, another piece of evidence is when the swamper tells George and Lennie, “Curley’s pretty handy. He done quite a bit in the ring. He’s a lightweight, and he’s handy.” Meaning that he likes to fight and that he is boxes, though Curley’s main conflict is not just with the ranch men but with Lennie especially, as he takes an immediate disliking to Lennie in the bunkhouse. “He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch.” It appears that that Curley feels intimidated by Lennie as he is a big guy, though I think that Curley likes a challenge with the big guys and therefore picks on Lennie which causes conflict within the ranch.
Another point relating to conflict is that there are weak characters in the novel, like Curley’s wife. She shows a lot of vulnerability throughout the novel as she is married to a man she doesn’t love and she has no friends on the ranch.   For instance “I’m lookin’ for Curley,’ she said. Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality. George   looked away from her and then back. ‘He was in here a minute ago, but he went.’ ‘Oh!’ She out...