How Curley’s wife is portrayed in Of Mice and Men.
John Stienback presents Curley’s wife at the start of the novel as an irrelevant character, while her husband is quite an important character. However as the story goes on we start to see the importance of her character as everything relevant that happens on the ranch is due to her presence. She is symbolic of Eve- the female character who, in the Biblical story, brings sin and death to the world, but she is also there to symbolize women everywhere who are dominated in male-centered societies.
Curley’s wife is described as a “Mean and seductive temptress” on a website, while in the book there is the constant description of her as a “tart”, a “bitch” and a “jailbait”. Most of the time she
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Likewise the ranch-hands only recognise her on her looks and gender instead of an actual person, only when she is dead do the men finally see her as a person. Additionally she is simply an object or a decoration of Curley's. On the other hand, she has her own power- she can make life a living hell to the ranch hands and she can crush George's and Lennie's dream (which she does in the end). In the book she is seen as a "whore" who wears flattering dresses, a lot of makeup and high heels, as well as this the readers form a biased opinion on her as she is introduced in the story by rumours, she is also Curley's property. Regrettably, Curley's Wife is killed by her own desire for human contact because she is undervalued by everyone around her.
To get a more detailed look at the way Curley's Wife is portrayed I researched about how all women were treated in the 1930's. They weren't equal and had fewer rights then men, they were paid less and most of them were only ever allowed to do domestic chores. Women soon realised how submitted they were to men, so they began creating ideas on how they could improve their lives and gain more independence. Curley's Wife is the "average women" at the time, she wants to depend less on her husband; she feels secluded and miserable, and is an isolated character as she is the only female
Curley’s wife comes off as a provocative, flirtatious, lustful woman, but is really hiding her true identity as a depressed and lonely person. Throughout the book Curley’s wife does show her true identity, but still tries to stay positive and deal with the bad hand she was dealt. Curley’s wife is a prime example of even though your life took a wrong turn that you shouldn’t give up. Curley’s wife may of been depressed, but she still tried to communicate everyday with someone no matter what they said to her.
Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy are three characters who are constantly alone and feeling worthless. “Think I’m gonna stay in that two-by-four house and listen how Curley’s gonna lead” (78) Curley’s wife exclaims to Lennie, Crooks, and Candy. Constantly ignored by men, Curley’s wife acts overly nice and comes off as a flirty “rat-trap” (32). She
The way Curley’s wife was treated changed the responsibility she had, the views of her, and being alone all the time. In life, women and those who are different aren’t seen as equal. They all have harder lives than the typical man does. Unfortunately, one of the characters who were different was outnumbered and was seen on a lower
She is frequently held responsible for numerous problems the men have. Everyone gets annoyed by her, since she constantly wears provocative clothing and flirts with the guys. She is constantly “looking” for her husband, asking around in her nasal, brittle voice, which is irritating in itself. In reality, she just desires attention from the other ranch hands. The problem is that the other men do not want to get in trouble with Curley, who does not like his wife going around with other men. Whit warns George of this in the beginning of the story, saying that she only causes trouble. “ ‘Well--she got the eye.’ ‘Yeah? Married two weeks and got the eye? Maybe that’s why Curley’s pants is full of ants.’ . . . ‘Well, I think Curley’s married. . . a tart’ ”(28). Everyone knows that Curley’s wife is a tart, or a promiscuous woman. Her decision to marry Curley was made extremely quickly, as she wanted to get back at her mother, because she believed her mom stole a letter from her. Because the men do not wish to talk to Curley’s wife, she is often lonely. A reason for this detachment is that she does not know how to approach people, frequently insulting others. The only time she ever conformed was when she talked to Lennie in the barn; however, this conversation was not a true discussion, as Lennie did not comprehend what she was saying. Earlier in the book, she attempted to talk to Candy, Crooks, and Lennie, but all of them wanted her out of the room. “She looked from one face to another, and they were all closed against her. And she looked longest at Lennie, until he dropped his eyes in embarrassment”(78). Curley’s wife felt the most alienated at this point, because even the lowliest on the farm were rising up against her. Candy makes a stand, telling Curley’s wife that they have a place to go to, even if they are canned. Unbelieving, she laughs Candy off. After a while, Crooks even
Curley's wife also had a goal, which was to become a movie star. Before she married Curley, she met an actor who came through her town with a show. He promised her that she was a naturally good actress, and that he would get her into the movie business. He also promised he would write her, but she never received the letter. She thought that her mother destroyed the letter before she could read it. It can be assumed that the actor used his fame and position to have fun with Curley's wife. He promised to get her into movies to make her happy so ...
Curley's wife is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her.
Curley’s wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch. The way she looks and acts leads other characters in the novel to see her as a “tart”. George makes his opinions clear just after he first met her “Jesus, what a tramp”, and “So that’s what Curley picks for a wife”. She just wants some one to talk to. Males on the ranch don’t like her because they think she will get them into trouble. They make judgments without getting to know her first. They judge a book by its cover. Curley, her husband doesn’t trust her with the other ranch hands. She was just out of place on the ranch, and because of that, must have been a really lonely person with lonely feelings.
Steinbeck describes Curley's Wife as a very friendly young women. For example, when Steinbeck describes her when she says, “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward” (31). When reading this, one can learn that Curley’s Wife is a very friendly women who is just looking for someone to talk to. She is forced to live on the farm and needs to find something to do, or someone to talk to while she is stuck there.
All through the book Curley’s Wife is very “open” to everyone she meets. The reason for this can be interpreted by her and Curley’s “so-called” marriage. The relationship between Curley’s Wife and Curley seems to be somewhat unstable as he is always asking “Any you guys seen my wife?” (pg. ). This also shows how protective Curley seems to be as he is always checking up on where his wife is. Curley’s insecurity seems to cage in his wife from having any kind of a friendship with any other men. In turn, the wife gets so sick of being isolated like this and relieves her loneliness by conducting secret conversations with many other men on the ranch. As a result many of the ranch hands see her as a tramp but it can be viewed that all she really wants is a person to talk to.
In conclusion I believe that Curley’s Wife is a very significant character in the novella because she represents the stereotypical woman and they way she acted, and was treated leads me to feel great sympathy for her despite her flirtatious demeanour. Steinbeck is very successful in creating sympathy throughout her character change and he presents her in this way to prove that the majority of women went through similar situations. This leads us to sympathise with all people society deem to be ‘inferior’ and we can even apply this lesson to today’s society.
Curley?s wife spent her whole life trying to grab attention. She was always labeled and ignored by everyone on the ranch, an example of this is when George tells Lennie that she was troubled and to stay away from her. Curley?s wife was ignored and used from early on, when she was given false intentions on being a movie star.
Curley’s wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch. Because of the way she looks and acts, people think she is easy, or a "tart". " ‘Jesus, what a tramp,’ he said. ‘So that’s what Curley picks for a wife.’ " said George, p.35. She just wants someone to talk to.
Curley’s wife is an outsider on the ranch, simply because she is the one. only woman there is. Steinbeck never named Curley’s wife. She is defined by her relationship with Curley, as his property, not as an individual. Namelessness also has the effect of reinforcing how insignificant she is in the life of the ranch, how dependent she is on Curley, for her.
The character of Curley’s Wife is very hard to unravel, as throughout the book, Steinbeck’s representation of women through characters such as George and Candy, is very harsh. This is because the sociological opinion at that time was that they were either, mothers, sisters, or prostitutes, as the audience soon see, George and other ranch workers refer to her as “bitch” “loo loo” and “tramp”. There were also a growing number of prostitutes during the Great Depression period, as they would offload their services to those whom were able to pay and have some decent income during the Depression. Other aspects that may make Curley’s Wife seem like a tart, is Curley’s “Glove Fulla’ Vaseline”. Curley literally keeps a glove full of Vaseline, in order to keep his hand soft, possibly for a sexual act. Curley boasts to Candy that the hand is for his wife, which tells us that she gives him consent to do these acts to her, and also, Curley’s nerve to inform fellow workers about his glove shows that he believes that his own wife is a tart, which is very controversial today, but back then, women were seen as nothing more than possessions, yours to do what you will. George informs Lennie to avoid Curley’s Wife at all costs, and not to talk to her, because of her promiscuous behaviour, he believes t...
From her first appearance in the story, Curley’s wife is described as a different kind of threat, one who is all artifice and manipulation from her red lips and fingernails to her red mules, “on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (Steinbeck 31). The imagery Steinbeck uses, paints her as a woman who is quite bold, but fragile with a passionate essence.