Curley's Wife of Mice and Men

When Curley’s wife dies, Curley, rather than showing the reaction that would be expected of a man whose wife has just been killed. He does not appear to grieve at all in any way, barely looking at the body, or regarding the her death into his immediate future plans. Instead, his first thought is towards seeking revenge and hunting down Lennie. It is perhaps this moment in the novel which epitomises the way in which Curley is aggressive, nasty, and shows no concern

However, when she notices George and Lennie, Curley's wife claims she is "lookin' for Curley". Inferring she is cautious and reserved towards George and Lennie.

When Curley and Carlson get into an argument about Curley’s wife, Carlson shows that women aren’t equal. He says, “Why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs” (Steinbeck 61). Later, when talking to Lennie, Curley’s wife says, “Wha’s the matter with me? I don’t know why I can’t talk to you” (Steinbeck 85). The first quote shows that men don’t believe women shouldn’t be equal and that they have one purpose, staying at home. The second quote shows what Curley’s wife’s dream is. She just wants someone to talk to and she wants to be able to go anywhere she wants. But dreams take work, and her dream came to an end because of Lennie. When Curley’s wife went to talk to Lennie, she made the mistake of letting him feel her hair. Lennie froze up when she told him to let go and Lennie only panicked. When it was all over, the book says, “When she didn't answer nor move her bent closely over her. He lifted her arm and let it drop. For a moment he seemed bewildered” (Steinbeck 89). This shows that Curley’s wife’s dream will not be realized because she was killed. But even if she didn't get killed, Carlson’s viewpoint on women wouldn't change. Also, Curley’s wife still wouldn't be able to go places and talk with the guys on the ranch. These facts show that women won't be getting equality for a long time. Therefore, Steinbeck shows that equality is hard to come by, by utilizing the character Curley’s wife, and her dream.

Curley's wife also yearns for attention and someone to connect with but is shut off and avoided because of her sex. Steinbeck reveals the barriers that trap people into isolation and the urgency to escape. Of Mice and Men comes to show there is a need in every human being for some type of connection, togetherness, and

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.

Curley's wife name is symbolically important wasn’t given a proper name in the novel. Throughout chapter 2 and further on to the novel, Curley’s wife was just regarded as “Curley’s wife”, despite she being a part of the story’s key development. By not giving her a proper name, Steinbeck show inequality with in the set society and the level of sexism that is apparent in the time being

The next time Steinbeck presents Curleys wife is in her conversation with Lennie, Candy and Crooks. In this extract we see how Curleys wife clearly enjoys having power over others and because she is the only girl on the ranch she is prone to discrimination by being made to feel like one of Curleys possessions. We first get

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.”

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

John Steinbeck uses Curley 's wife to portray the woman 's role in the 1930s. Back then, women were treated as property and trophies to their husbands. Women 's insignificance is signified by the fact that Curley 's wife is never given a name. She is always referred to as Curley 's belonging. Additionally, Carlson 's statement about Curley 's wife needing to go back to her place where she belongs characterizes women 's roles by saying that women should be at home performing domestic chores. In essence, women were looked down upon and never seen as equal to the men.

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,

Curley’s wife constantly complains how lonely she is as Curley is not around most of the time. This drives her to wander about the ranch talking to other men and questioning them about Curley's whereabouts. As most of the men are in town, Curley’s wife wanders to the barn where Candy, Crooks, and Lennie are currently located. The men question why she is there and see her as a nuisance. But, she stays and discusses her struggles with loneliness. “‘I get lonely,’ she said, ‘You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley, else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to nobody’” (Steinbeck 87). In other words, Curley’s wife is left alone by Curley so much that she feels the need to talk to anybody that she finds. This is why she wanders about the ranch all day and talks to any men she can find. This demonstrates how women were treated during this time; they were thought to be unimportant and were often left alone by their spouses. Curley’s wife did not have a name, which shows how unimportant she really is. Women were thought to be of no use, leaving them to not have the ability to achieve the American dream.

John Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife at the start of the story as an irrelevant character because she has no relation with George and Lennie. At the start, Curley is one of the most important characters (besides George and Lennie) because he has the power to crush George and Lennie’s dream of having a farm of your own. But as the story goes on, to end, we see the importance of her character and that everything that has happened on the ranch is caused by her presence; even though she is not in the story as much as others, she has a long lasting effect on the other characters. She is mentioned in the story a lot because of how she would acted around the men working in the ranch. In the end, we knew Lennie and George were not going to get a

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

Curley likes to think he owns his wife and that he should tell her what she can and can't do and consequently this is what makes her another very lonely character. If she tries to talk to the ranchmen they ignore her, because they fear Curley and she has no female friends so she is very isolated. His wife is never given a name in the book and is constantly referred to as "Curleys wife"; this for me makes an important and bold statement to the reader. Steinbeck shows how lonely she is, as she is never given a name it shows that no one thinks of her as a friend, but more of an object. She shouldn't really be as lonely as she is because she has a husband, but still she has no real friends. She has no real grip on life and lives in two completely different worlds. In reality she lives in an old ranch surrounded by ranchmen with no friends or companions to communicate with. However she longs and truly believes she can be a film star. She once told Lennie