Marxism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Marxism Within Of Mice and Men
Within Of Mice and Men, different social classes affect the characters. Due to their position in the lower class, George and Lennie are constantly working, lack of economic mobility, and lack of power. This puts them and anyone in their class at a huge disadvantage compared to their more wealthier peers, especially since George and Lennie had lived through the Great Depression.
A struggle the low class had to deal with was having to constantly work. George and Lennie are an example of this. Since Aunt Clara had died George felt responsible for taking care of Lennie which meant another mouth to feed and care for. As a result the two must work to even survive which is evident when George yells at Lennie about

No matter the amount the poor or George and Lennie put into what they do it seems that they are forever stuck being low class. When one hits that line of poverty it is almost game over for that person; the chances of them moving up the economic ladder is pretty slim for them, especially for the time. In modern times, here in the us it is said that “ There's a 7.5 percent chance someone born into the bottom fifth of America's income distribution gets to the top fifth,” (Smialek). As for staying stuck in their class, on average about 43 percent of people remain in the bottom percentile (“The Numbers Show…”). Compared to the rest of the world this is very low. Not to mention that his is during modern day America, it is very likely it was worse during the 1930’s. While the poor struggle the higher class could sit comfortably because during the Great Depression, when it first hit it hit the poor and middle class the hardest while the wealthy “..Still retained much of the wealth which they had held before…”(“Relations of Class…”). This further proves how George and Lennie’s position as low class citizen leaves them at a disadvantage over people like Curley within the