How important is Slim in Of Mice and Men?

Slim
plays two important roles in Steinbeck's novella. First, he acts as a sounding board foras he
describes his life within chapter three. Second, he is the arbiter of the important decisions on
the ranch, and two in particular which have an effect on the plot of the novella. Slim is
described as almost godlike in chapter two. To show his importance he is not described by Candy,
as with the other main characters on the ranch, but is portrayed in the third person omniscient
narration:

He was a
jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules
with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a fly on the wheelers butt with a
bull whip without touching the mule. 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. This was Slim, the jerkline skinner. His hatchet face was
ageless. He might...