Slim Character Analysis | Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men Slim Character Analysis: Who he is in one sentence

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Slim is the most skilled worker on the ranch, the one man whose word settles any argument, and the character Steinbeck uses to deliver the two verdicts the novel needs: that the dog must die, and that George had no other choice.

What he does

In Chapter 2 he enters the bunkhouse last, after everyone else has been introduced. Steinbeck spends more description on him than on any other character, and treats his authority as a fact of the place.

He notices at once that George and Lennie travel together and says so. He is the first person on the ranch to treat the friendship as interesting rather than suspicious.

In Chapter 3 he gives Lennie a puppy. He listens to George’s confession about the old cruelty without judging him. When Carlson argues for shooting Candy’s dog, Slim gives his opinion and the argument ends there.

After the fight he takes charge. He tells Curley to say his hand was caught in a machine. It protects Lennie from being sacked and Curley from being laughed at.

In Chapter 5 he examines the body, works out what happened, and tells George plainly what Curley intends. He points out that a locked cage would be no kindness either.

In Chapter 6 he arrives at the pool with the others. He understands immediately what George has done. He tells him there was no choice, and leads him away for a drink.

What he wants

Slim wants very little for himself, which is part of why the ranch trusts him. He has no ambition in the novel, no dream of land, and no argument to win.

What he does want is for things to be done properly. He is the only character who consistently thinks about the effect of an action on the person it happens to.

“Guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus’ works the other way around.”
Slim, about Lennie in Chapter 3.

Use this when a question asks whether the novel values intelligence or decency more. It is Slim’s verdict on Lennie and it is offered without condescension. Steinbeck puts the fairest judgement of the book in the mouth of the man everyone already believes.

Key quotes

“There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.”
The narrator, introducing Slim in Chapter 2.

Quote this early in any answer that later relies on Slim’s judgement. It is the evidence that his approval at the end is not just one man’s opinion. Note that his authority is earned by skill, not by owning anything, which sets him against the boss and Curley.

“Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.”
Slim, in Chapter 2.

He widens the loneliness theme from the ranch to the world. A strong quote for a closing paragraph, because it turns a story about migrant workers into a claim about everybody.

“That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I get old an’ a cripple.”
Slim, in Chapter 3.

This is the argument George acts on three chapters later. Quote it in any answer about the ending. It shows that killing as mercy is established long before the final scene, and by the most respected voice on the ranch.

“You hadda, George. I swear you hadda.”
Slim, at the pool in Chapter 6.

The verdict that clears George. Useful as the closing quote of an essay on the ending. Steinbeck spent Chapter 2 establishing that Slim’s word is taken on any subject. That is why this sentence carries weight.

What he stands for

Slim stands for a kind of authority the rest of the ranch does not have. The boss has power because he owns the place. Curley has power because of his father. Slim has power because he is good at his job, and it is the only power in the novel anybody respects.

He stands for the novel’s conscience. When he approves of something, Steinbeck is telling you how to read it. That is a risk. Steinbeck manages it by establishing Slim’s standing carefully in Chapter 2, before using him to judge anything.

He also stands for the limits of decency inside a bad system. Slim is kind, fair and observant, and he still agrees that the dog should be shot. He does not change the rules of the ranch. He simply applies them more gently than anybody else would.

That is worth noticing in an answer. The best man on the ranch cannot save the dog, cannot save Lennie, and can only make the aftermath survivable.

Two strong essay angles

1. Slim as the novel’s judge. Use this for questions on the ending or on a character who influenced events. Show how Steinbeck builds his standing in Chapter 2. He then uses Slim to settle the dog in Chapter 3 and George in Chapter 6. The same authority does both, and the second decision would not work without the first.

2. Slim as a character who is good but not powerful enough. Use this for questions on an admirable character, or on whether a text offers hope. He protects Lennie after the fight and comforts George at the end. He cannot prevent either death. Argue that Steinbeck gives you one genuinely decent man to show that decency alone does not change the system.

Common mistake

Students often use Slim only as a witness, quoting his final line and nothing else. That wastes him. His importance at the end rests on the standing Steinbeck built earlier. An answer that quotes Chapter 6 without Chapter 2 is missing the setup. The other mistake is treating him as perfect. He agrees that the dog should die. Reading him as flawless makes the novel gentler than it is.

Quick recall

1. What is Slim’s job?

He is the jerkline skinner, meaning he drives the main team of mules. It is the most skilled job on the ranch. Steinbeck calls him the prince of the ranch.

2. Where does Slim’s authority come from?

From skill, not ownership. He does not own the ranch and he is not related to the boss. The men take his word on any subject because he is good at what he does.

3. What does Slim notice about George and Lennie?

That they travel together, which he says is unusual. He is the first person to find the friendship interesting rather than suspicious.

4. What does Slim give Lennie?

A puppy from his dog’s new litter. That puppy is the one Lennie kills at the start of Chapter 5.

5. How does Slim react to George’s confession?

Without judging him. George admits he once played cruel jokes on Lennie and nearly got him drowned. Slim listens and does not condemn him for it.

6. What is Slim’s role in the death of Candy’s dog?

He agrees with Carlson, and once he agrees the matter is settled. Candy gives in because he has no standing to argue against Slim.

7. What does Slim do after Lennie crushes Curley’s hand?

He warns Curley to say his hand got caught in a machine. It protects Lennie from being sacked and saves Curley from public humiliation.

8. What does Slim say about locking Lennie up?

That he would be strapped down and caged, which would be no kindness. It removes the last alternative George was hoping for.

9. How does Slim react at the end?

He understands at once what George has done, tells him he had no choice, and leads him away for a drink. He is the only man there who sees it.

10. Why does Steinbeck give the final judgement to Slim?

Because he spent Chapter 2 establishing that Slim’s word is taken on any subject. When Slim says George had to do it, the novel is settling the question for the reader.

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