“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place”(Steinbeck,13). Loneliness can negatively impact peoples lives by causing them to act, look, speak different and be less of themselves. Loneliness isolates and dehumanizes the victim. Of Mice and Men takes place in the 1930’s in California. America is in the middle of the a Great Depression. Migrant workers traveled alone to find work in the west and take care of themselves. America was also in a time of extreme discrimination. People were judged on ageism, sexism, and racism. The theme of loneliness is revealed in the novella Of Mice and Men through the isolation felt by Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife. John Steinbeck …show more content…
She tries to flirt with the men but none of them are interested in her. This makes her feel alone or isolated because she just has herself. Because of Curley’s wife gender the reader can tell that this makes her a victim of discrimination. She has nobody to talk to which heavily contributes to her loneliness. Curley’s Wife is very flirty, so she tries to talk to the boys as much as possible. However, they continue to push her away: “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely”(). For Curley’s Wife, the days are hard to pass when she is by herself all day. Her lifelong dream was to be an actress so she is used to having attention. For the first time, she is being treated like she doesn't matter. Being the only woman on the ranch, Curley’s Wife is sometimes exposed to sexism. To start, Steinbeck doesn't give Curley’s Wife a name, which is an example of discrimination in its own. She is more seen as property rather than a human being. “ I seen ‘me poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her. You leave her be”(). George told Lennie to stay clear of Curley’s Wife because she tries to interact with the men. Due to her gender, Curley’s Wife is labeled as a troublemaker and is called discriminatory names by the men on the ranch: “I think Curley married… a tart”(28). “Well, George says you'll get us in a mess”(88). George says she will get them in a mess because she is a woman. Curley’s Wife repeatedly gets called names and is judged because of her gender. Regrettably, because of her gender Curley’s Wife is often judged and discriminated against for doing no wrong. Despite this, Curley's Wife still tries to talk to and interact with the men. However, they continue to push her away and reject
Curleys wife -Curley 's wife 's loneliness has altered her demeanor towards others tremendously, making her overtly insecure and excessively flirtatious. Curley 's wife has become virtually another person because of loneliness. The men on the ranch avoid her because of flirtatious personality to keep out of trouble. No one understands her situation and how loneliness affects her. Her insecurity is evident by the way she dresses and utilizes her make-up. She uses her appearance to receive attention like when "[Curley 's Wife] was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters,
None of the guys really take time to understand why she acts as the way she does and they continuously judge her. In chapter 4 of the novel, I concluded that she is kind of always on the lonely side. On page {78}of the novel she states that her husband barely pays any attention to her and doesn't show her the affection that she would like. “Spends all his time sayin’ what he's gonna do to the guys he don't like, and he don't like nobody. Think I'm gonna stay in that two-by four house and listen how Curley’s gonna lead with his left twilit, an then bring in the Ol one-two an’ he’ll go down”. Although it seems like Steinbeck is showing sympathy for Curley’s wife character, all the torture she makes the men on the ranch go through would never be right. Her character plays such a big role in the novel, which I believe makes the novel, continuously interesting. She is
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
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.
Curley's wife proves to be a flirtatious character in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. She is the only woman on the ranch and uses her beauty as power to flirt with the guys on the ranch and make her husband jealous. The other guys on the ranch know that she is trouble and refer to her as “jailbait” or “tart” because of the way she dresses and acts to attract attention from all of the guys. Although she is known as trouble on the ranch, she talks a lot about how she was offered to be in the shows, but that dream was crushed by her mother who said that she was too young. During the time this novel was written, women were not well respected and this explains her behaviour throughout the story. Over all, Curley's wife demonstrates to be a tempting, good looking, yet lonely women who often uses her looks to get what she wants.
She was always visiting the bunkhouse stating that she was looking for Curley when actually she was just looking for company. She never acquires the opportunity to really talk to anyone because Curley doesn’t allow them to speak to her. Along with not being allowed to speak with anyone other than Curley, she is also the only female on the ranch. Being the only female makes many of the men on the ranch prejudice toward her. Throughout the novel this woman is only referred to as “Curley’s wife”. Steinbeck never gives her a name to show that she is an object that is owned by Curley, showing again how she is a victim.
Curley’s wife, on the other hand, is not insecure, but suffers from ostracism and isolation because she is a married woman. Michael Meyer points out, “…the hardship for a woman to live on the ranch as presented in the novel should not be ignored”. Curley’s wife only wants someone to talk with her, but the men on the ranch mistake her trying to start conversations as sexual advances: “I never seen nobody like her. She got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody… I don’t know what the hell she wants” (Steinbeck 51). They also ridicule her, calling her a
According to Steinbeck, Curley’s Wife doesn’t have a memorable reputation. The author, himself, makes a great deal of references outlining her social status as a minority. Essentially, all that Curley’s Wife is known for is her beauty. She spends most of her day flirting with the other ranch members. However, every time she surrounds herself with other men, there is always a sense of mockery imputed upon her.
Curley's wife is cast out because she is a woman. Curley watches over her carefully since she is his wife and the only woman on the farm. Curley does not allow his wife to converse with the other workers because he is afraid she will be unfaithful. She complains that individually, the men are generally nice, but in groups, they shun her and are sometimes cruel. Since Curley's wife is oppressed, she lashes out at a target that is weaker than she is, which is usually Crooks. He does the same.
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.
Of Mice And Men “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.” In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, one of the main themes is loneliness. It’s is shown through the book in many of the characters.
He is constantly isolated. Even his wife does not want to spend time with him. Inside of the barn during a heart to heart conversation with Lennie, Curley’s wife reveals that she “don’ like Curley” because he “ain’t a nice fella” (86). Know wonder Curley is insecure in his marriage! His wife not only does not
Without argument, loneliness is a very large theme in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Throughout this novella loneliness has affected every character. The ones that it has affected the most are Crooks, Candy, Lennie, George, and Curley’s wife. Out of all of the characters I believe that Crooks has faced the most loneliness.
Loneliness affects everyone at some time in life, unfortunately some more than others. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, loneliness affects everyone in the story. Three of the characters who suffer from loneliness for assorted reasons are Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks. Lennie’s loneliness is due to his mental disability, Curley’s wife due to a bad marriage, Crooks from racism. Lennie is lonely because of his mental disability.
As with Crooks’ treatment of Lennie, however, the author reveals the reciprocal nature of prejudice and resentment in the farm. Curley's wife encounters a lot of discrimination because of her sex over the course of the novel. Living on a ranch where the large majority of the inhabitants are male, she is very lonely. George knowingly comments, "Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain't no place for a girl" .