Curley’s wife from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is an important character to the plot and themes of the novel. She is first introduced as the new wife of Curley who is very flirtatious. She grew up in Salinas and had dreams of being a Hollywood actress. However, her mother would not allow her to follow her dreams since she was only sixteen. So, she married Curley, who she met at a dance, and lives on the ranch with him and the other ranch workers. Throughout the novel, Curley's wife shows that she has a ignorant and flirtatious personality but is also very lonely.
In the novel “Of Mice And Men”, written by John Steinbeck, a key character is Curley’s wife. She was a thought provoking character because she was lonely, flirtatious and frustrated. These traits made Curley’s wife a fascinating and colourful character in the novel.
In Steinbeck’s novelette, I find Curley’s wife to be an intriguing character, as she is the only character (and only woman in the story) given without a name. When she is first introduced in the story, her actions of trying to find her husband pretty much defines her role: a flirt who uses the power of her skin color and beauty to sway other men. For example, during the scene in Crook’s room (in the middle of the story) she reminds Crooks of his role and status and threatens to have him lynched if he does not show the proper respect towards her, a white woman and the wife of the boss’ son. Despite many of the ranchmen being aware of her seductiveness, she still manages to obtain Lennie’s interest to the point where Small himself cannot stop staring at her. George, realizing Lennie’s fascination with Curley’s wife, warns him to stay away from her. We also notice that Curley’s wife is
Throughout the story Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley's wife plays an important role to conclude the ending resolution of the novel, even though she is only presented in-person three times. Each time she shows her expressions both physical and mentally. During the course of the story you see Curley's wife is a tramp and she uses her body to get attention from the men on the ranch. At the beginning of the story, George and Lennie meet Curley's wife at the bunk house; both have their own impression about her. Then the next two times she is involved in the story, Lennie gets to spend time with her in Crook's room and in the barn.
As the only female on the farm, Curley’s wife is an outlier, often judged or ignored solely because of her gender. Throughout the book, Curley’s wife typically dresses in a risque fashion that results in the men making assumptions about her. The workers perceive Curley’s wife as a physical temptation and an object that they need to avoid in order to stay out of trouble. When first arriving at the farm, George says to Lennie, “Don’t you even take a look… I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her” (Steinbeck 32). George’s reference to Curley’s wife as “poison” and as “jailbait” signifies that not only is she an object in their eyes, but that she is troublesome.
We only know more about Curley’s wife through the comments of the men at the ranch. Everyone refers to her as ‘Curley’s wife’ so doesn’t have her own identity, therefore is not addressed as a person but as a possession. Prejudice leads to her loneliness as she has no rights and feels isolated. Every worker on the ranch appears to try to avoid Curley’s wife as they fear the consequences that Curley could put upon them if he discovers anything suspicious. Because of this, she’s a lonely character and seeks attention from others as Curley doesn’t give her any; however, she sometimes comes across as being desperate without it being her intention. One of the workers on the ranch describes her as a ‘tart’ and a woman that would ‘sell out for twenty bucks’ – this would influence the other workers not to get involved with her by making Curley’s wife’s life on the ranch a challenging one in order for people to understand her intentions of being friendly rather than desperate.
Curley’s wife is a lonely and Naïve, and that makes her an easy prey. She is the only woman on the ranch she is a lonely woman. Her husband, Curley, is a mean and over powering man, uses her to pick fights with other guys. He is a terrible husband who not only is mean to his wife but also leads us to believe that he beats her up. Curley’s wife usually would listen to her records but Curley even breaks those. Her flirtatious nature is what gets her into trouble, and that also leads her to her death. Lennie is a gentle giant who doesn’t mean to hurt anybody but accidentally does. In the case of Lennie, Curley’s wife does not know what she is getting in for. Curley’s wife flirtatious nature is a harsh reality but as an innocent person get her in to trouble.
Curley’s Wife may be misinterpreted by most of the other workers at the same time, as there are times when she seems to snap out of the flirtatious character, and into the vulnerable human being persona. This character is introduced when she is confiding in Lennie about her ambition to be a Movie Star, but these attempts are being blocked by Curley. "Coulda been in the movies, and had nice clothes". This shows she want’s recognition She shows a very vulnerable and human character to us all when she goes as far as to tell Lennie her true feelings about Curley , “a nasty man”. This drives us away from the impression of Curley’s wife that she’s a vixen who sports fancy red shoes. This aspect of Curley’s Wife’s character tells us that she is a victim not of her actions, but of the stereotypical image of women. Also she's unnamed in the novel, possibly to add to her sense of loneliness or to show the insignificant role women played in that time/era in the eyes of males
It was very different to be misunderstood in the 1930’s vs today. Curley’s wife is the most misunderstood character in the novel ‘Of Mice And Men’ by John Steinbeck. This is clear when the reader studies the book from her point of view. She is innocent, lonely and defensive in a way that readers see as mean and tart. In real life, we should not judge or exclude someone because of a first impression, yet that is exactly what happens in this book. Curley’s Wife is described as wearing suggestive clothing multiple times in this novel, so the reader automatically jumps to the conclusion that she dresses like this to impress the boys on the ranch. Why can’t she dress the way she wants? Maybe she dresses that way to boost her confidence! She
Generally, during the course of the novel, women are viewed negatively. They are seen as objects, not real people. For example, throughout the novel, Curley's wife is merely known as 'Curley's wife'. She is never called by her real name. The term 'Curley's wife' implies she is owned by Curley, and not a person with freedom. From this, the reader can tell that Curley's wife lives in an unfair World, in an era of inequality. This suggests Steinbeck
Curley’s wife is probably one of the most misunderstood characters in the novel, often being looked down upon, or talked badly about. She is the only woman on the ranch, and who appears consistently throughout the novel. At one point, some of the workers are
Throughout most of the book Curley’s wife strikes us as a compelling and riveting character as we initially see her as a wicked character till those few seconds before she dies where you think, hey she might not be so bad after all. In the novel ‘of Of mice Mice and men’ Men’ Curley’s wife’s image is portrayed as a very sexual, flirtatious, cheeky and desperate. Steinbeck uses specific words, sentences and techniques to create the image of Curley’s wife as one that is very contrasting.
to Crooks' door when all the men are in town on Saturday night we realize that she is
In the novella, Of Mice and Men, there is a character named Curley’s Wife. Curley’s Wife is first shown in the novella as a character who is provocative and represented as darkness. Throughout the story she is dehumanized, objectified, and sexualized. Therefore, Steinbeck crafts the character, Curley’s Wife, in order to convey how the american dream is unattainable through him showing sexism and discrimination towards women.
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