In the short novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there are two best friends who travel together searching for some place to work to achieve their American dream, but two characters get in the way of Lennie and George's dream. One of the characters is Curley's wife. In the beginning of the book, Curley’s wife slowly evolves as a threat to both Lennie and George. She flirts with men on the farm trying to gain attention thinking it will get her respect and a better life. Men in Curley's wife’s life doubt her and look at her differently. When George and Lennie first arrived at the farm, Candy was talking behind Curley’s back. He says, "Wait'll you see Curley's wife” (28). Candy underestimates Curley’s wife because he views Curley’s wife in a negative vibe. Also, as Lennie was being secretive, while hiding the dead puppy, Curley's wife walked in, "’What you got there, sonny boy?’". Lennie glared at her, ‘George says I ain't to have nothing to do with you- talk to you or nothing.’ She laughed. ‘George giving you orders about everything?’”(86). In this Part of the novel, Lennie tries to avoid Curley’s wife because George had warned lennie about her, after Candy’s …show more content…
remark on Curley’s Wife. Curley’s Wife is disliked because of her actions.
When George and Lennie visited the barn, Curley’s wife came by to eavesdrop. “Curley's wife laughed at him. ‘Baloney," she said. ‘I seen too many you guys. If you had two bits in the world', why you'd be in gettin' two shots of corn with it and suckin' the bottom of the glass. I know you guys’”(79) Curly’s Wife's attitude gives herself a bad first impression, because she insults George and Lennie and misjudges them. Her unpleasant actions are also shown when Curley’s wife notices Lennie had injured himself from a machine. “Curley's wife laughed. ‘O.K., Machine. I'll talk to you later…..’”(80) . Curley’s wife insecurity shows in this part of the novel because she wasn’t making use of herself and helping but instead she decides to make a sassy
remark. Curley’s Wife does not obtain enough respect and attention, so she decides to flirt with others on the ranch. When Curley’s wife sneaks up on Lennie, the author describes her movements flirtatious. “Curley’s wife came around the end of the last stall. She came very quietly, so that Lennie didn’t see her. She wore her bright cotton dress and the mules with the red ostrich feathers. Her face was made-up and the little sausage curls were all in place”(86). Curley’s Wife movement described by the author, shows the things she would do to gain respect and attention. She decides to flirt with Lennie thinking she would gain something from the opportunity. When the men came back from the field, Curley’s wife had dropped by the bunk house searching for Curley. She says, "Hi, Slim," Slims answers back "Hi, Good-lookin'." When Curley’s wife asked about Curley’s whereabouts, Slim states "Well, you ain't tryin' very hard. I seen him goin' in your house." (31-2). This shows that Curley keeps avoiding his wife and so she feels lonely and visits the bunkhouse to flirt.
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.
In John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife as a flirtatious, mischievous, and over all isolated woman. Steinbeck doesn’t give this character a name, yet she is one of the most important characters in the story. Curley’s wife first comes off as flirtatious to the main characters, George and Lenny, when they first hear about her from the character Candy . Candy is talking about how she gives men “the eye”. He also displays his feelings about her by saying, “Well, I think Curley’s married… a tart”(28). This is setting George and Lenny up to expect she is a flirt.. Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife in her first introduction as a scantily dressed woman.. Steinbeck writes, “Both men [George and Lenny] glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, roughed lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled cluster, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers”(31). The color red is sometimes considered for portraying a sign of danger or sex. This passage supports Curley’s wife as being flirtatious and also how she’s dangerous and can cause trouble displaying herself while she is married. Also, when George and Lenny are talking to Curley’s wife she tries to flirtatiously talk to them too. After their first conversation she re-adjusts herself. Steinbeck displays her with “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”(31). Steinbeck is explaining to the reader in detail that Curley’s wife is trying to show herself to Lenny and George to get thei...
Shortly before her death, Curley’s wife shares her life story with Lennie and reveals how she is forced to marry a man she dislikes and give up all hope of achieving her dreams. This is all because she was conned by a boyfriend in the past and now must marry in order to survive. Throughout the novella, she is only known as Curley’s wife and we never learn what her own name is since she is referre...
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...
In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, after Lennie’s death, there are many people to blame, but Curley and Curley’s Wife are to blame more than anyone else and there are strong reasons as to why.
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.
Steinbeck displays, Curley’s wife as more of an object to the men at the ranch. He conveys this idea through the description of her appearance. When Steinbeck introduces the reader and George and Lennie to Curley’s wife he takes a long time to describe her. “She had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her finger nails were red “. This quotation suggests that Curley’s wife is an object to men in society and that she is as worth as much as she is wearing. Not only does Steinbeck describe her appearance he also describes her actions when on the ranch and talking to the men. He does this to show the awareness that the men have towards her. “She puts her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”. A lot of the men on the ranch try to ignore and do not want to start a conversation with her but through Steinbeck’s description of her actions the reader can see that she craves attention from the men on the
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.
Steinbeck also presents another view of Curley’s wife. In his omniscient description [form: overall writing technique] of her, he writes that she ‘bridles a little’ at Lennie’s attention; she is metaphorically shying away from the fixated attention. Steinbeck also unobtrusively mentions that she is a ‘girl’; both these observations suggest her innocence and vulnerability.
Curley makes sure his wife doesn’t talk to anyone. She is a victim of herself because she married a man that she hardly even knew. She married him though, to have a companion. She killed herself and Lennie because of her need for companionship. She craves companionship because she is an attractive woman with a need for interaction.
Curley’s wife is a complex, main character in John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men”. She is introduced as an insignificant secondary character, but evidently posses the importance of causing the end of the novella. Despite the weight of her role, her value is hindered because of the culture towards women in the 1930s. Steinbeck uses imagery, foreshadowing, and metaphors to show loneliness analyzed through a Feminist Lens.
In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, published in 1937, many characters are depicted as having a turbulent and continuously changing relationship with power. In the case of Curley’s wife, her power, or lack thereof, derives from her status of being the only woman on the ranch during a time when females were viewed as being inferior and subordinate to men. In some instances, Curley’s wife uses her femininity to her advantage to flirt with the various men on the ranch and obtain information from them. She is aware of her beauty and the control over men this gives her and she realizes that a seductive attitude can be used to manipulate others. Although, ultimately, being a woman is her downfall. The men on the ranch ridicule her and dismiss
In the Steinbeck novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, he introduces us to the character of Curley’s wife. She could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel, as no one relaters to her. This essay will go on to examine the character of Curley’s wife and how characters perceive her and how this influences the readers interpretation of her.
Curley’s wife was portrayed as a girl that was causing trouble for the guys at the bunkhouse but she too had a dream. Everyone saw her as a bad person for instance in chapter 2 (pg. 28) Candy tells George “Well, I think Curley’s married...a tart.” This quote shows how in the beginning the readers are shown she is a bad person who was just trying to cause trouble. But their perspective might have
In a way, the opposite of George and Lennie’s connection is the relationship between Curley and his wife. Curley is a very arrogant, jealous, and controlling man, while his wife - who remains unnamed throughout the novel - is gorgeous and flirtatious. She is a trophy wife for Curley, who is otherwise much more wealthy than all the other characters in Of Mice and Men because he is the son of the owner of the farm, and he treats her like one. Their relationship obviously lacks the mutual respect, love, and proper attention that marriages need to survive.