Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Character Analysis

    First of all, Curley’s wife is warned, and even told, to stay in the house multiple times throughout the novel. Curley, her husband, spends most of his time running around the ranch searching for

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.

Curley’s wife acts very provocative, playful, childish and flirtatious, this is because she is very lonely and has no power at all. Nobody knows the real person she is because no one ever dares to get in trouble with her. Curley’s wife is often presented negatively by Steinbeck such as when she is cruel to crooks after his hopes have been raised by the dream. This is easily shown when Curley’s wife snaps at Crooks. “keep your place then, Nigger.

Curley’s wife’s dream was to one day become a famous Hollywood actress. Fame and fortune were the two things she desired most, and having expensive clothes living in extravagant hotels. Curley’s wife had met a famous Hollywood director who had told her that she was a natural at acting. He said he would mail her a letter about becoming an actress. He never mails her back, even though he promised he would. Her dream also becomes impossible because of her marriage to Curley. Curley will not let her leave now, and she has to tend to the ranch instead of pursuing her dream to potentially become a film actress.

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.

Curley’s wife perfectly represents the “average woman” in America in the 1930s. She would like to depend less on her husband, she has a fantasy of becoming a renowned actress and she feels secluded and miserable. She has to live in a

”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.

Steinbeck has written ''Of Mice And Men '' about an adventure of George and Lennie trying to accomplish their American dream's during the Great Depression during the 1930's where thousands of people lost their jobs in the Wall Street Crash making them feel hopeless. George and Lennie come to work at a ranch near Soledad in California. There they meet fellow ranch mates and a woman called Curley's Wife. In this essay I will focus on how Curley's Wife's personality and actions change throughout the novella and who she affect her and other bunkmates throughout the novella. In addition to that I would be showing how Steinbeck creates tension by using Curleys Wife.

In Of Mice & Men, the character Curley’s Wife is depicted as flirtatious, promiscuous, and insensitive. However, her husband Curley sees her as only a possession. Most of the workers at the ranch see her as a tart, whereas Slim, the peaceful and god-like figure out of all the men, see her as lonely. This answer will tell us to which extent, is Curley’s wife a victim, whether towards her flirtatious behaviour, or to everyone’s representation of her.

She has a big dream to become a movie star and when her mother did not let her go, she settled with marrying Curley. She does not love Curley and is very unhappily married. She only gets the wrong attention from the men at the ranch, and being the only woman makes her have no one to relate to. “‘Wha’s the matter with me?’ she cried, ‘Ain't I got a right to talk to nobody?’” (Steinbeck 86). Curley’s Wife does not understand why she is treated like there is something wrong with her. Giving the other men at the ranch “the eye” is wrong, but she does this because she does not get the attention she wants from her husband. Her loneliness leads to her confiding in Lennie, and ultimately, her

The daughter in law of the ranch’s owner, which we will refer as Curley’s wife from now on, was killed instantly by a fatal injury to the neck caused by a retarded worker, Lennie. Born with talents of acting, Curley’s wife was invited to an audition by a famous Hollywood director at the age of eighteen. Unfortunately, her mother turned down the audition for her, due to unclear reasons. She then married to Curley, the son of the ranch’s owner, and lived on the ranch until her death. From the workers on the ranch, we learned that Curley’s wife was very lonely

Each set of characters presented a new theme to give meaning to the book. Curleys wife presented sexism and how gender played a role in who will get to experience and hold the American Dream. She also gave the awareness of how women were continuously dehumanized and viewed as less than equal to men during that time. Steinbeck was inspired to write Of Mice and Men, from his childhood experiences and observations of immigrants moving from ranch to ranch in search of jobs. This gives a representation of how he believe the American Dream was unattainable. Steinbeck explored the nature and lives of the people during that time and connected that to the characters in the novella which set the stage for the

This emphasizes her craving to talk to others. Even though Curley’s Wife gets shut out by the other men, she still is determined to make conversation with others. She looks at the bright side and tries to be cheerful to not let Curley get to her.

In a plot full of twists and turns throughout the whole story, John Steinbeck’s book “Of Mice and Men”, published in 1937, astonishes the readers by taking them on a journey to the 1920s. This period witnessed a severe economic depression in America and thousands of unemployed people. Basically, the story is thoroughly narrated from the perspective of two ranchmen; George and Lennie. The latter caused the core issue in the story due to the lack of an adequate mental ability. Although George and Lennie are the protagonists; Curley’s wife appeared as a notable antagonist in the story. She was depicted as a lonely victim who has been labelled due to her ‘awkward behavior’. Namely, she was often caught attempting to start a conversation with other ranch hands while they were working.