In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, the lonely, flirtatious character, Curley’s wife, is portrayed in many different lights. Curley’s wife is a complex character who is introduced in the early chapters of the book and ultimately causes the end of the novella. During the first four chapters, Curley’s wife is first introduced through Candy, an old ranch worker, who describes her by saying that “she got the eye” and calling her “a tart”, which stands for a sexually provocative woman (Steinbeck 28). Candy’s descriptions were seemingly accurate, as Curley’s wife’s first appearance was her effortless search for her husband––Curley. As the story progresses, the reader can easily assume that her continuous search for Curley is an excuse …show more content…
However, her actions costed her life, for Lennie broke her neck as a result of being frightened. This acts as a turning point in the story because her character, that was affected by a dejected past and long-term loneliness, was put to death, which brought George and Lennie’s dream down with her. Curley’s wife’s depressing past can further be explained through John Steinbeck’s letter to the Broadway actress, Claire Luce. In the letter, Steinbeck gives background about the character Curley’s wife, and details that impacted her character development. Steinbeck describes that “she grew up in an atmosphere of fighting and suspicion” (Steinbeck). These conditions that no child should have grown up in caused her to never trust anyone in fear of being hurt. In conjunction with “moral training [that] was most rigid,” Curley’s wife became someone “impossible to seduce” (Steinbeck). The consequence of being unapproachable was her inability to form strong and meaningful bonds with other people. Accordingly, Curley’s wife felt lonely and disregarded due to having no one to depend on in times of need. Through the information provided by both Chapter Five and John Steinbeck’s letter, Curley’s wife can be seen in a more sympathetic light. The setting in which Curley’s wife grew up in is certainly disreputable and is definitely responsible for the adverse effects of her maturation. It was also disheartening to learn that a “natural trustfulness broke through
'Of Mice and Men' is based around two main themes; loneliness, and the fragility of dreams. Each main character connects with both of these themes at some stage throughout the novel. Curley's wife is no exception to this. At the beginning of the novel the reader views her as an unpleasant, naive and troublesome character. However, as the novel progresses, the reader is gradually exposed to another side of Curley's wife, one that suggests she is merely a
Essay about Curley’s wife Curley’s wife is the only female character in the novel Of Mice of Men; Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only referred to in reference to her husband. Like the other people on the ranch, she is very lonely and has dreams of a better life which never come true. The author John Steinbeck introduces Curley’s wife in a symbolic ness way, this is shown when George is talking to Lennie about the dream and when Curley’s wife first meets both the men. “Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off.
to Crooks' door when all the men are in town on Saturday night we realize that she is
Curley’s wife is treated with very little respect because of the small amount of power she has, which depicts Steinbeck’s lesson that people with less power are treated differently and then go on to treat others unequally, as well. Curley’s wife has a flirty reputation and often goes to talk to the men on the ranch even though she knows she shouldn't be. Shortly after Lennie and George are first introduced to Curley’s wife, George remarks, “Gosh, she was purty.” George is shocked and fiercely tells Lennie, “Don't you even take a look at that bitch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be”(Steinbeck 32). Lennie’s initial reaction of Curley’s wife is not uncommon for the lack of intelligence he has. George’s fierce attitude toward Curley’s wife when he calls her
In this essay I am going to be assessing the character Curleys Wife from Steinbeck’s book Of Mice And Men. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression it features two farm workers called George and Lennie. The travel around together in search of work sharing a dream of a place of their own, a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. It tells the story of how violence may erupt to destroy those dreams. Curleys wife is a character in the book who from the brief encounters with her is presented in two ways. Firstly the dangerous, flirtatious character who isn’t trusted by the rest of the ranch workers but then later one we realize how she is just a victim
Curley’s wife is a character in the novel “Of mice and men” set in California and written in 1937 by John Steinbeck. She is the only woman on a ranch of itinerant working men, and because of this she gets treated by each man in a different manner. Most of the men treat her in a negative way, therefore causing different degrees of sympathy from the reader. Sympathy implies that the reader feels an emotional connection towards the character. Her unhappy marriage to the boss’s son causes her great loneliness and unhappiness as she tries, in vain, to find someone to talk to on the ranch.
Curley’s wife is a complicated character. She is unfaithful and bitter. But that’s only because she is extremely lonely and feels unwanted by her husband. She takes the feeling of dissatisfaction and projects it at all of the men on the ranch. She regrets the direction her life has taken but still has hope that she can achieve her dream. All the characters in the novel feel like outsiders and Curley’s wife is no
Another very important event of the novel is Curley’s wife death. Lennie is blamed for having killed her, although she could have easily avoided this by not talking to Lennie. He speaks to him as if he were a baby, and, since he tells her that he likes to pet soft things, she asks him to touch her hair. “Feel right aroun’ there an’ see how soft it is.” Lennie cannot stop, and when she orders him to leave her he holds on.Curley’s wife starts screaming and, to make her stop and not get into trouble with Curley, Lennie puts his hand on her mouth. He doesn’t realize how strong he is, and he kills Curley’s wife by breaking her neck. “[…] her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”
Curley’s wife - a flirtatious, mysterious women in the novel. She is the only women that is described by Steinbeck in the novel. How we call her- “Curley’s wife” shows that she is just a possession of Curley. And the others names that George and Candy had given to her are “looloo; jailbait; tart”; these names show how badly she was treated in the ranch particularly and the sexism in American society in 20s - 30s generally.
He has used this by using the quote '' The ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.'' Steinbeck has described her as an angel who washed out her sins and went pure. In contrast to this Curley only cares about his social status. You can see this when ''Curley...ain't you better stay here with your wife''. Normally when your wife dies you would want to share your last moments together but the fact that Curley has to be reminded about his wife's death is upsetting since his main focus is killing Lennie. And it emphasises that he just used her as a possession due to the fact that it was a loveless marriage therefore he didn't really care much about her. In this quote you can also tell that all the bunkmates felt sorry for her even thought she acted with suspense because she didn't deserve more misery in her
The character of Curley’s Wife is very hard to unravel, as throughout the book, Steinbeck’s representation of women through characters such as George and Candy, is very harsh. This is because the sociological opinion at that time was that they were either, mothers, sisters, or prostitutes,
One event that foreshadows Curley's wife death is Lennie. Lennie’s actions foreshadow the death of Curley's wife. Steinbeck uses what had happened on Weed as a foreshadowing device to suggest what will happen later on in the novella. Steinbeck suggests that “ like what happened in Weed…touch ever’thing he likes...Feel this red dress an‘ the girl lets out a squawk…”(41). Lennie likes to nice things and soft
Steinbeck referring to Curley's wife as a 'girl' reminds us that she is still very young and inexperienced about life, suggesting that the innocent, brighter side to her personality has been warped and twisted by the way the men, and her husband in particular, treat her, causing her frustration and driving her even more to make them see her as a grown woman through the way she dresses. Throughout the novel, Curley’s wife is generally spoken about in negative terms. The first time she appears, she is described as blocking out the light, an image that symbolises how she will later block out the light of the dream shared by George, Lennie, Candy and Crooks, first by the way she treats Crooks, making him say he didn’t really want to be part of George and Lennie’s dream, and then by her death, which puts a final end to their plans.
One character in the story does not even have a name: Curley’s wife. Steinbeck illustrates her as someone who is a pawn of those around her. On the surface, she is reduced to a rude and selfish woman. But, if one looks deeper, Curley’s wife’s gender and class hinder her high aspirations and reduces her to ridicule. Her husband restricts her contact with others and does not show any affection towards her. She reveals this while
Before the reader even gets to fully experience the character of Curley’s wife, they are immediately given a bias of distaste towards her. The reader is programmed to dislike her before they even get to meet her. Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as being a tramp and a whore. She’s described as “having the eye,” or that she’s unfaithful. After our first encounter with her, George tells Lennie to keep away from her, because she is a danger.