How Is Curley's Wife Lonely

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

eye' for the men on the ranch, even though she has only been married to Curley for

First, Curley’s wife, the beautiful and flirtatious spouse of the boss’s son, is treated unequally because she is the only female on the ranch. For example, after George first meets Curley’s wife, he says “Jesus, what a tramp… So that’s what Curley picks for a wife” (52). This not only shows George strongly judging Curley’s wife after just one encounter, but also expresses how she is looked at as a possession. She is never given a name, and George even says that Curley picked her, as if she is an item to be claimed by a man. Because she is labeled as a tramp and a tart, most of the men on the ranch try to stay away from her for fear of getting into trouble with Curley. This causes Curley’s wife to become very lonely and eager for attention since no one will talk to her. This makes her try harder to flirt with the men and get noticed, which just makes them shut her out even more. Even though she seems very confident with herself and strong-willed, she is definitely very alone and unhappy.

She has no friends and no one takes the time to listen to her. As the only woman on the ranch she has nobody to turn to. Curley doesn’t appreciate her or take the time to talk to her. When she goes to Crook’s stable her emotions overtake her and she admits her loneliness, “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in awhile? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?” (77) She is always stuck in the house either alone or with Curley. Curley just ignores her and doesn't give her the attention that she wants. So she finds it from other men. As the only woman she has only the workers for company. She is isolated and all alone. She only gets attention when she flirts with the men, nobody appreciates her for anything else. They all know she’s unfaithful and flirty, so when alone with her they take advantage of her. The men on the ranch only give her attention if it is to flirt with her,“”If I catch any one man, and he’s alone, I get along fine with him. But just let two of the guys get together an’ you won’t talk...Ever’ one of you’s scared the rest is goin’ to get something on you.”” (77) The guys on the ranch only pay attention to her when they are alone with her. So they can mess around with her without the other workers knowing. They especially don’t want Curley to find out. It’s hard for Curley’s wife to feel at home on the ranch when no one wants to be her friend.

Even though Crooks, a black stable hand, has been around the Ranch longer than most people and he is still probably one of the most lonely. This lack of contact with other people has made him severely bitter especially when people enter his personal space. He creates his personal space with books because it helps him cope with the loneliness. So when Lennie tries to befriend him he freaks out by exclaiming, “You got no right to come in to my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in her but me.”(68) In addition to Crooks being lonely he is also segregated from all the other workers. He lives in the barn with the animals instead of the bunkhouse with the others. It’s also very hard for Crooks to associate with the others, because during the time period blacks are seen as a lower class of people. When Crooks states, “Guys don’t come in to a colored man’s room very much.”(75) It shows how little contact he has with the others because of how segregated he is. This segregation mirrors the Jim Crow laws that were active during this period. Crooks’s treatment on the ranch represents the racial discrimination against blacks in

Curley’s wife is a victim because Curley her husband, abuses and mistreats her. Curley is always curious and spectacle of where his wife is as if he does not trust her with other men. Commonly asked by Curley "y'all seen my wife around?". Perfectly explaining as of how low the trust is in their relationship. Curley is also presented a being one of the cockiest, if not the cockiest, on the ranch, despite his size. Everyone on the ranch can see it too, the Swamper says” He’s cockier then ever since he got married.” The way Curley act’s comes off as he has a good-looking wife just to present her looks off to other men on the ranch, as a way to show his power. Or is treated because Curley truly does not care about her, he is really not in love

Curley’s wife, who is never given a name, but always called “Curley’s wife”, is shown with a lot of sexual prejudice. She is referred to as a “looloo” (51) with a very flirtatious nature and “she got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody”, and she might “even gives the stable buck they eye” (51). A "ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like

As Candy, the housekeeper mentions to George, ?Well, I think Curley?s married?a tart.? (p. 14) What the men do not know is that Curley?s wife is just incredibly lonely, once having dreamt to be a star, and marrying Curley after the failure of that dream. She is all alone in the secluded world of the ranch. Having a husband who pays no attention to her, she tries to find someone to talk to among the men in the ranch, dressing provocatively for that reason only. Unfortunately, the combination of misunderstanding and their knowledge of only one type of women ? the kind they encounter at ?cat-houses? ? drives the men away from Curley?s wife.

Despite being the only female on a ranch full of foul-mouthed men, Curley's wife exploits both her sexuality and her status to demonstrate power throughout the novel. Though the men often thought that she was ineffectual, she made certain to quickly prove them wrong. For example, when talking to Crooks she was exceedingly straightforward with her authority: “Well you keep your place then, ni**er. I could get you strung up on a tree so fast it ain’t even funny”(81). Even though she was a woman, Curley’s wife had an authority over others on the ranch because she was married to the boss’s son.

The only women on the ranch is curley’s wife, she is not known by a name. Curley’s wife presents herself in a negative way. Even though she is married to curley she still seeks attention from other men. The men thinks that she is nasty.

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.

Curley’s wife can be seen as a manipulative, vile woman or a victim of society as a whole. While she does appear to use her sexuality in attempts to get what she wants, I believe she may only be doing this out of necessity. Like the workers on the ranch, she too has her own hopes and dreams that she may never be able to fulfill. Also, there is never any overwhelming reason given for the reader to dislike her, just a general feeling of distaste. The only thing she truly appears to be guilty of is seeking the attention that she lacks from her husband. She may not be a paragon of virtue, but she is more a product of society than an innately terrible person.

Crooks talks about being black sucks, because you are secluded and alone. All of the guys go into Crooks room and he talks about how Loneliness can kill a man. “A guy needs somebody--to be near him.” He whined, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya,” he cried, “I tell ya a guys gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” (Steinbeck 78). It is very clear how lonely Crooks is, he just wants somebody with him and he doesn’t care who it is, but another theme back then is the strong vs. the

Perhaps as a further representation of her apparent insignificance she is always referred to as `Curley's wife', never given a name. She experiences further sexual prejudice in that none of the ranch hands will talk to her. This is partly because she can make up things about those she dislikes who will subsequently get `the can' and also because she is a `looloo' with a very flirtatious nature. "She got the eye goin' all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck they eye. I don't know what the hell she wants" says

Among many of the characters, Crooks behaves by isolating himself due to loneliness because of his skin color. Although it is not as popular as it was before, racism is still active today and has been going on for generations. The author strongly portrays loneliness within Crooks as many examples are shown throughout the story, one being easily exposed to discrimination because he is the only black person at the ranch. It’s also easy to tell he isn’t welcomed when it comes to socializing with others for many reasons; he lives in a shack where urinating on the floor is the only option, has the job of a stable buck, and is talked by no one. Obviously, Crooks is isolated on purpose and is only kept to do the dirty work. “A guy goes nuts if he