Essay about Curley’s wife

Essay about Curley’s wife

Curley’s wife is the only female character in the novel Of Mice of

Men; Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only referred to in

reference to her husband. Like the other people on the ranch, she is

very lonely and has dreams of a better life which never come true.

The author John Steinbeck introduces Curley’s wife in a symbolic ness

way, this is shown when George is talking to Lennie about the dream

and when Curley’s wife first meets both the men. “Both men glanced up,

for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was

standing there looking in.” The symbolic ness of the word sunshine is

hope, freedom, happiness and dreams. This foreshadows that she may

cause trouble or come in the way and could ruin it all for Lennie and

George. Steinbeck also describes her as a ‘girl’, which tells us that

she is very playful, childish and vulnerable.

Curley’s wife is trying to make her self attractive by applying make

up and dressing up as if she was going to a party. This is clear shown

as Steinbeck describes her “She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced

eyes” This suggests she is trying to be provocative and incongruous.

Curley’s wife also wears red, red gives the symbolic ness of danger

and seductiveness. Curley’s wife is described “Heavily made up. Her

fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like

sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps

of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.” Again the red

on her fingernails and the red mules are symbolic to danger. Steinbeck

is again suggesting that women are trouble makers who ruin everything

for the men. Curley’s wife is in a ranch and she dresses up as if...

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...alk.” Steinbeck is

clearly suggesting that not a single person would trust each other on

the ranch.

The presentation of Curley’s wife’s death was astonishing due to the

way Steinbeck described her after the death. Steinbeck is suggesting

that she was under pressure, trying to gain attention and she was

mean. Steinbeck described her as she was “the meanness and the

planning’s and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone

from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet

and young” This suggest that she was under pressure all the time but

when she died everything was just normal. It also suggests that the

entire ache for attention was just gone and a simple beautiful woman

was lying dead. Overall Steinbeck is suggesting that all the

characters are cruel because they’re powerless and they all want to

exercise their power.