Literary Theories In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

While reading any novel, the audience has the ability to interpret the message using various different perspectives and literary theories. Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is no exception, as it is able to be looked at many different ways. One of the perspectives is through a psychoanalytical lense, and has the readers ask questions to help them determine the bigger meaning and motives of each character and their actions. Sigmund Freud’s theory of human personality being divided into three main parts (the id, ego, and superego) can be applied to the characters in this book. The main characters in this novel represent the id, ego and superego of Freud’s theory, which explains why they all work together and get along as they do. They are all very different but they need each other to survive. Each character corresponds to each part of the theory with Lennie being the id, Slim as ego and

He knew that “ [Lennie] ain’t mean..” (Steinbeck 41). He was the person who had the most “authority” over the other men, and the one who decided who deserved to be right in certain situations. When Lennie and Curley got into their fight and Lennie crushed Curley’s hand, Slim had to tell him to lie and say instead that “...[he] got [his] han’ caught in a machine..” (Steinbeck 64). According to a journal entry, the “Ego is the logical part, which is partly conscious, and is the mediator between the two trying to pacify the struggle in order to bring the psyche in balance.” (Manjhi, Kumar Tiwari, 19). Slim matches perfectly with this description, as he is the one who thinks and acts logically and rationally in order to make the best decision for everyone involved. He is called the “prince of the ranch” (Steinbeck 33) and is the person that everyone looks to for advice throughout the novel. He was important to Lennie because he was someone that he could trust in this strange