Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Analysis

Curley’s wife had no friends. She lived on a ranch flooding with men, so she was always alone. All she wanted to do was talk to someone, but Curley forbid it. Curley’s wife says, “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 to not talk to anybody (page 87).” The men on the ranch misunderstood her and her feelings. They figured she would come around to start trouble.

Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men' explores the everyday lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this era, American men were forced to leave their families and become 'drifters'. These were people who didn't have a fixed job and continually moved from place to place.

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

As a reader, we begin to relate with Curley 's wife when she enters Crook 's residence where Crooks is talking to George and Lennie. She enters the room, pretending to be looking for Curley. The men respond to her negatively and act coldly towards her. She begins to talk about her loneliness and how she does not want to be seen as an item, and live her own life. "...Think I don 't like to talk to somebody ever ' once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?"

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 is treated with very little respect because of the small amount of power she has, which depicts Steinbeck’s lesson that people with less power are treated differently and then go on to treat others unequally, as well. Curley’s wife has a flirty reputation and often goes to talk to the men on the ranch even though she knows she shouldn't be. Shortly after Lennie and George are first introduced to Curley’s wife, George remarks, “Gosh, she was purty.” George is shocked and fiercely tells Lennie, “Don't you even take a look at that bitch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be”(Steinbeck 32). Lennie’s initial reaction of Curley’s wife is not uncommon for the lack of intelligence he has. George’s fierce attitude toward Curley’s wife when he calls her

Finally, loneliness is predominant through many of the actions and words of Curley’s wife. Being the

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.

”Wha’s the matter with me?’ she cried. ‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways?” (Steinbeck 87) In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife is discriminated against because she is a woman living in the 1930s when few females could live economically independent of men. By choosing not to name her, Steinbeck reinforces her insignificance on the ranch and her dependence on Curley. While a misfortunate victim of isolation, Curley’s wife exerts unexpected power attempting to mask her pain.

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

She is considered an outcast because she is a woman. All that she wants is freedom and the ability to leave the house and talk to who she wants, but this is very difficult for her. When she tries to talk to the men on the ranch, they characterize her as a tramp because of her flirtatious personality and disregard everything she says and tells her to go back to the house. These actions can make Curley’s wife feel belittled and degraded because she doesn’t want to be stuck in the house like the ideal “housewife.” In the book they don’t even give her a name, which should reveal that they significant separation between men and women. The only other character in the book without a name is candy's dog. Another way that the ranchmen belittled Curley’s wife is by completely avoiding and treating her poorly when she was around. They outcasted her by making her feel like she didn’t belong, but the only reason she hung around them was to socialize, which she rarely got to do. Curley’s wife was upset because all the men called her a tramp and slutty and said that she should be waiting for Curley in the house. She tells the men , “ you can talk to people but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad” (87). Curley's wife wants to feel like she belongs, but they keep knocking her down. They degrade her by making her feel like less than she is, she is human just like everyone else on the farm or in the world, however, is still treated without respect and rights because she is a

I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her” (pg. 32). Curley’s wife tries to get attention from someone besides Curley by showing herself off, but the men on the ranch realize that if they respond to Curley’s wife, it will elicit a violent response from him and a possibility of getting kicked off the ranch. The result is that Curley’s wife gets a lot of negative attention without any actual friendship. She is also the only woman on the entire ranch from what Steinbeck describes. She cannot talk to the men and there are no women that Curley might allow her to talk to, leaving her without any meaningful relationships. Despite her efforts, she ends up even more separated from the other people on the ranch.

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

Consequently, Curley’s Wife also represents another figure of lower power. People use their power to criticize her, which affects her decisions to talk with people, how she uses her only power against Crooks, and her dream. George and other people of higher power despise her being around them, “I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse that her. You leave her be,” (Steinbeck, 32). Most people think her intentions are bad. However, Curley’s Wife defends herself by saying that she just wants someone to talk to, “I get lonely...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 anybody?” (Steinbeck, 87). People who have higher power affect how she reacts with them.

Loneliness affects Crooks and Curley’s wife through their actions and how they live. Curley’s wife is portrayed as a sexual and inappropriate woman to other men in the novella because of her makeup and behavior. Her makeup is a mask covering her real self –lonely and living a life of solitude. Even though she is married, not once do we see Curley’s wife and her husband together. Curley is going to a whore house every Saturday and his wife acts subtle about it. We