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"And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand and he lay without quivering. George shivered and looked at the gun and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes." This excerpt from and the climax of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is one which demonstrates the complexity and power of a moral and social force over an ordinary man. Throughout Steinbeck's novels and stories, he generally portrayed working-class characters who were controlled or manipulated by forces beyond their understanding or control. He isn't saying that an ordinary person does not have a chance but is stating that people or rather the lives of people can be influenced, thereby shaping the outcome ! of their life whether for the better or the worse, by circumstances over which they have limited knowledge or control. For example in Cannery Row an enemy that Steinbeck attacks is a destructive force, one which manipulates people into acting a certain