Essay On Curley's Wife

Through characters like Curley, Steinbeck enforces the idea that women should be housewives, however, Curley’s wife defied the stereotype that women should be subservient to their husbands. Firstly, Curley and other characters express their dislike for Curley’s wife and they all agree that she should be at their residence and should leave the men alone while they work.

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

Although, some may interpret the way she dresses as a veil, protecting her from any offending comments the ranch workers may have. As well as this, it is known that Curley’s wife was not intended to be rude because John Steinbeck wrote a letter to Claire Luce, who was the first ever actress to play Curley's Wife in theatre, describing how he pictured his character as a 'more naive, innocent young woman, rather than a tart.' This shows that she is misunderstood because she is often interpreted by both readers and other characters differently to how the author himself intended; the reader really only understands this softer side, her after her death. Furthermore, in the previous quote, Steinbeck lists all her negative qualities as having 'gone from her face', which suggests that all along they were a mask hiding her true self, prompting people to misunderstand her. But, Steinbeck also describes her need for attention as an 'ache', conveying a painful, yet natural feeling, which suggests that this mask was automatic and involuntary. It is unfair to say that Curley’s wife is not portrayed as a rude character in the novel, but you can also look at her human qualities of wanting to be loved, and having nobody to love her.

“‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?’”, states Curley’s wife (87). This quote reflects a lot on what times were like back in the 1930’s. The story Of Mice and Men is an amazingly written story showing fictional examples that happened during the Great Depression. In the book Of Mice and Men the characters Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife are facing discrimination almost everyday. Whether it’s about race, gender, being a cripple, or mental health, at least one of them have gone through these tough struggles.

Throughout the novella she is constantly referred to as ‘Curley’s Wife’ as a name is never given. This could convey the idea that she isn’t regarded as a person, merely as a possession for Curley to show off and heighten his importance amongst the people at the ranch. This could be an explanation as to why she acts the way she does, she is simply trying to gain a personality and be treated as an equal person but the way she goes about it gives the workers a negative opinion of her.

Before we even meet Curley’s wife, she is already being perceived as a threat by the men in the barn. “Well- she got the eye” this tells us already a bit about Curley’s wife’s personality. We know that although she’s married, she still feels like she can ‘give people the eye’. If the men get caught giving ‘the eye’ back, she’ll get them into trouble, making her a threat to their job. This turns us, the readers, and Lennie and George against her, and we begin to see her as a threat too.George repeatedly warns Lennie to keep away from Curley's wife and the other men talk about her in ways that are consistent with the idea

The world Curley’s Wife lives in is one where women are discriminated against and as a result, women are treated way differently. In a letter from John Steinbeck to Claire Luce, Steinbeck tells Ms. Luce how, “No man has ever considered her as anything except a girl to try to make. She has never talked to a man except in the sexual fencing conversation.” (Steinbeck).

John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men is set in one of our country’s hardest times, the Great Depression. The main story follows two men trying to find a job, George and Lennie. While the story focuses on two male characters and their quest, there is another character in which this will focus on is Steinbeck’s only female character of the novel, Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife begs for men’s attention in any form she can. Without actual confirmation, Steinbeck alludes to Curley’s wife’s being promiscuous by describing her as, “tart” (the swamper 28), “tramp” (George 93), and also describes several situations where Curley’s wife was flirtatious.

Women are not portrayed as loving, maternal figures, but as seductive and poisonous. Because they are poison, women have no positive value in life; they just corrupt the hard-working men and get them into trouble. From the beginning of the novel, Curley’s wife is depicted in this negative light. The only point one may start to sympathize for Curley’s wife is the conversation she has with Lennie minutes before her death. Steinbeck gives readers a glimpse into Curley’s wife past life, which shows a more humane side of

Curley's wife is known as a tart around the ranch and is known to eye up any man which gets her hated around the ranch,

‘Of Mice and Men’ is a short novel by John Steinbeck, which is set in 1930s America. At this time in American History they were suffering from a hard hitting economic depression. This book is set on a ranch in Soledad, California. Throughout this novella, Steinbeck addresses key theme, for example discrimination, loneliness and the American Dream. Curley’s wife is a complex character. She is the only woman on the ranch. Curley’s wife is used as a plot device by Steinbeck to explore themes like discrimination and attitudes toward women in the 1930s. Although, she is thought of as a ‘tart’ at the beginning, throughout the novel we develop our opinion of Curley’s wife.

Curley’s Wife is always dealing with discrimination as a result of her gender. As a woman in this time period, her feminism restraints her from communicating with the other men on the farm. That isolates her greatly taking into consideration that a majority of the workers have that capability. Many of the men on the farm ignore Curley’s Wife, which then makes the atmosphere around her very tense and lonesome. When she does try to communicate with the workers, there is always a type of suspicion on her motif. The workers mention that, “I think Curley’s married… a tart” (Steinbeck 28). Curley’s Wife is stereotyped as a beautiful, passionate, and an untaught female. One of Curley’s Wife biggest regrets is her decision to marry off instead of pursuing her dream of performing on the road. On all accounts, the theme of oppression is visible in the character of Curley’s Wife on the grounds of her feminine

Women of the 20th century were as powerless as a fragile ant, and yet, men still used them as scapegoats. In Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is about two immigrant workers on their day to day lives during the Great Depression. One of the “antagonists” of the novel was the wife of a small and rebellious man named Curley. Curley’s wife was talked about as soon as Lennie and George, the main characters, arrived on the ranch and the men depicted her as a tart or a prostitute. At the beginning of the novel, the reader views her as an unpleasant, naive and troublesome character.

If people saw what Curley’s wife had to go through, they would understand why she was behaving the way she was. The men on the ranch only view her based on the actions that she does. They don’t know what she had to go through. Curley’s wife feels like she is confined in the ranch and she finally expresses her feelings by screaming, “Sat’iday night. Ever’body out doin’ som’pin’.Ever’body! An’ what am I doi’n? Standing here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs-a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep-an liken it because they ain’t nobody else”(78). Through her troubles of fitting in, she learns that her beauty is her power. She uses her allure to flirt with the men on the ranch to get rid of some of her loneliness since Curley won’t let anybody talk to her without getting canned or beaten. These circumstances cause her to become more dependent on the power of her beauty. The men saw her as “jailbait” or a “tramp” because they judged her on only the actions that she did, not the story behind

However, Curley’s wife also does not hold bock and picks on weaker beings than her, like Crooks. She imperiously says, “ I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” This shows how arrogant and self-centered, Curley’s wife is, which is why she is always forbidden. Through the authorial voice, Curley’s wife is represented lonely as of the commitment of her actions. However, this concept of loneliness is contradicted by the presence of George and Lennie’s friendship throughout the