What forms and features are present in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men that convey Modernist perspectives?John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

Modernism is, of course, extremely broad and far
reaching.  One element of Modernism that plays a part in Steinbeck's Of Mice
and Men is Marx's revelation that class systems are created, not natural. 
Marx's revelation is part of the world Modernism navigated
in.

Modernism dealt with a world that had lost its
foundations.  The late 19th century was a time when the Bible's literal truth came into
question, when human motivation was relegated to a basic sex drive, when ethics became
relative and were revealed to be constructed, rather than universal.  Modernism reacted
to these intellectual developments.

Of Mice and
Men deals with economic classes.  The hired hands are very much economically
trapped.  Marx's beliefs, which were part of the world Modernism dealt with, are
reflected in the novel.  Curly is certainly not inherently superior to anyone in the
novel, yet he is the owner's son.  The class system in the work does not accurately
reflect nobility, ability, quality of character, etc.  It is a construct.  Steinbeck, a
socialist, reflects Marx's revelations and demonstrates the injustice of America's
capitalistic economic system.