SLIM
‘Of Mice & Men’
Appearance
Slim was the ranches ‘work leader’ he commanded the other workers and yet he looked like the average cowboy. “A tall man stood in the doorway…he combed his long, black, damp hair straight back. Like the others he wore blue jeans and a denim jacket…he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsman…His hatchet face was ageless. He might have been thirty-five or fifty.” The way Slim looks is no average than the other workers yet he is in charge of the others, he wears the same clothes as the other workers yet he works with such grace above the others that he is a worker externally- but a different person internally. Slim dresses like this to blend in with the others and feel like they can confide in with Slim, like George does, this shows that his appearance gives him a more casual look rather than having a more powerful presence like you would expect a character like Slim to have.
Behaviour
Slim’s behaviour on the ranch is kind, protective and firm. The things he says he clearly has thought about so it shows he doesn’t make any rash decisions. “I think you got your han’ caught in a machine. If you don’t tell nobody what happened, we aint going to. But you jus’ tell an’ try to get this guy canned and we’ll tell ever’body, an’ then will you get the laugh.” This quote shows that Slim is trying to protect George and Lennie by persuading Curley to tell everybody a lie. He knows that Curley tries to be a proud man, but his height means he tries to pick on others. Slim stays calm whilst he tells Curley this, he doesn’t shout or stutter his words, and he stays civilised and collected with his words. The amount of years Slim has been alive- “He might have been thirty-five or fifty.”- so he may have dealt with situations like this, which makes him a vital character, if Slim wasn’t there to save George and Lennie’s job, then they would have been fired and the book would have basically started again, George and Lennie would have to find a new job and start again.
Key things they say.
“A guy don't need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems sometimes it jus’ works the other way round. Take a smart guy and he ain’t hardly ever a nice guy.”
“There ain't many guys travel around together. I don't know why. Maybe everybody in the whole damn world's scared of each other.”
“You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me.”
“I think you got your han’ caught in a machine. If you don’t tell nobody what happened, we aint going to. But you jus’ tell an’ try to get this guy canned and we’ll tell ever’body, an’ then will you get the laugh.”
“Well you been askin me too often. I’m getting god dahm sick of it. If you can’t look after your own god dahm wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me.” This shows Slim’s dominance over the other characters, especially Curley, which wins the respect of others and is a key point in the book to show the not so nice side of Slim.
The significance of their name.
Slim is a good name for somebody such as Slim. He is thin and tall, therefore slim. “A tall man stood in the doorway” His height means he towers over the others and the nick name they have given him could include he is actually slim. His significance of his name is that he is possibly the most powerful character in the book, with his linguistic skills, but he is slim, therefore doesn’t have a powerful presence on the other characters.
Their dream.
Slim seems to be the most down to earth character in Of Mice and Men. He doesn’t have any dreams as such, because of his age, he may of had a dream when he was younger, maybe he has achieved his dream by being ‘prince of the ranch’ or maybe it crumbled like many others in 1930’s America. Whenever somebody starts to talk about dreams, Slim is never in the same room or with the person that is talking about dreams, maybe Slim doesn’t like the thought of dreams and only likes the realistic things in life, he’s realised that working on the ranch and being the unofficial boss is good enough, to have the respect of those who work for you, is good enough.
Key events he is involved in.
Slim is involved when George opens up, the fight between Curley and Lennie, the finding of Curley’s Wife’s’ body and when George has just killed Lennie. When George kills Lennie, George is still in shock in what he’s done, he doesn’t know what to do so Slim shows support ‘you hadda George, I swear you hadda’. This quote shows that Slim understands that George had to kill Lennie, as George knew it was for the greater good (Curley was going to shoot him with a shotgun in the stomach). Slim did try to convince Curley and co that leaving Lennie to runaway would be better, but failed, so he knew Lennie would die one way or another. Slim understands that Lennie meant a lot to George, and now George is just a regular guy like him, George doesn’t have the companionship of Lennie when he moves on from the ranch, Slim understands this and feels the need to comfort him.
How Steinbeck portrays Slim in the book
Slim’s portrayal in the book is as a role model and also a sort of ‘manager of a warehouse’ if he was in the modern age. “He was a jerkline skinner, prince of the ranch…” This shows that Slim is portrayed to be normal, but other people appreciate his personality and general good will for all men, that they give him the title of Prince of the Ranch, or maybe Steinbeck just described him as this to paint a picture of a normal ‘cowboy like’ character to a prince, two oxymoronic expressions.
Slim’s purpose in the book
Slim’s purpose in the book is to be the kind guy, the guy who other guy’s can come up to and say what they need to say to get it off their chest. “He moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsman.” This shows that the way he moves is compared to the like’s of somebody all men would want to be, and the way he looks is like a commoner, so for a commoner to be compared with a king is strange. This show’s Slim’s purpose as somebody that looks no different but his personality and the way he moves is above the ordinary, and serves as a role model for all men to look at.
Key things other people say about Slim
Slim is seen as a leader we know this because the way the other men speak to him. “Carlson stepped back to let slim precede him”. This shows that he is more important and is the leader because Carlson lets him though the door first to show his importance over him. Slim is talked about as a friendly person which is backed up by the way he talks to people, like George, and George feels comfortable to talk back to him.