Ranch Boss

Next up is the ranch boss. The boss has a very small part in the novel, at the start where he allows George and Lennie to work on the ranch, despite being rather suspicious of them. This lack of importance is actually quite significant as it appears to be a complaint by Steinbeck against how the rich people (represented by the boss) do nothing to help those in a less fortunate position and, once they have their wealth, do nothing more to earn it and instead rely on the exploitation of those in a less fortunate position than themselves to do all of the hard work as the rich will not get their hands dirty. A prime example of this exploitation is present at the time at which the novel is set. The novel is set during the Great Depression in America, where the normal people cannot find work easily. As a result, the entrepreneurs exploited those that were struggling to find a job by making them work for a pitiful wage, such as the construction of the Hoover Dam, where the exploitation of the workers was obvious. Any worker that died was to be left there rather than buried as this would take up valuable construction time. The lorries carrying the construction materials were also ordered to reverse down the narrow, winding road to the site as turning around at the top was deemed to take 'too long'. As a result, the truck drivers developed the habit of reversing with the door open so that they could jump out to (relative) safety should the truck fall down the sheer slope at the edge of the road. This is a clear example of the exploitation of the workers by their rich bosses.

Curley

Next up is Curley. Curley is the Boss's son and so represents those who are set to inherit a lot of money and/or property. As a result, Curley is rather big-headed. Curley also represents the people who have immunity, as he cannot lose a fight. If Curley gets into a fight and wins, everybody calls him a hero as he is a rather small person. However, if he loses, he can get his dad, the Boss, to sack the person responsible. This would be a double-whammy for the person who gets in trouble, as they would not only get sacked and have a poor reputation, hindering their chances of getting further employment, but the novel is set during the great depression, so there would be no other jobs that they would be able to find. Curley is therefore the arrogant and aggressive worker on the ranch, and is unpopular as a result. This all stems from his soon-to-be-inherited wealth.