In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the quote “You can’t really get to know a person until you get in their shoes and walk around in them,” applies to a lot of different life scenarios. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, tells the story of two friends, George and Lennie, who is mentally insane. They travel to a ranch in California during the 1930’s. While at the ranch, George and Lennie must use their friendship against problems at the ranch and the future. One person they believe to be a problem is Curley’s wife. However, Curley’s wife was a victim of loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife was desperate because she was lonely. This cause her to marry Curley because she wanted to do something with her life. She states for example, “Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself, . . . So …show more content…
I married Curley.” (Steinbeck 88). This explains that Curley’s wife wanted to do something useful because she was desperate for change. Later, she states that she doesn’t even like her husband, she only married him because she was in a state of desperation. Curly’s wife was desperate because she was lonely. Curley’s wife was the only female on the ranch and people assumed things about her. During the 1930’s, the women didn’t work on ranches so Curley’s wife had nothing to do on the ranch and there were no other females to talk to. According to www.bbc.co.uk, “There are no other women on the ranch and she has nothing to do.” This part was listed under the loneliness section for Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife doesn’t have anything to do all day and she has no female friends that she can talk to that would treat her equally. Curley’s wife was the only female on the ranch, and therefore she was lonely. Curley’s wife always wanted to make friends and talk to someone.
Constantly, Curley’s wife was thought to be looking for her husband when really she was looking for someone to talk to and be friends with. Curley’s wife says to Lennie, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” (Steinbeck 86). This shows that Curley’s wife wanted to talk to Lennie because she never had anyone to talk to. Lennie was a good source for listening to her problems that she finally got to tell to the world. Curley’s wife was lonely because she didn’t have any friends or people to talk to. Some people may believe that Curley’s wife truly was trouble. They may think that because in the book the men say, “I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her . . . she’s a rattrap if I ever seen one.” (Steinbeck 32). The men saying this were quick to judge Curley’s wife and assumed things about her. They judged her based on her looks, rumors about her, and her appearance. However, if they were to befriend her, they would have known that she was just a victim of
loneliness. In conclusion, Curley’s wife was a true victim of loneliness. First, Curley’s wife was desperate to change her life and jumped to conclusions because she was lonely. Next, Curley’s wife was the only woman on the ranch and she was lonely without any female friends. Finally, Curley’s wife just wanted to make friends because she didn’t have any. Although some people believe that Curley’s wife is trouble, they were quick to judge her and never got to know her. It is important to get to know everyone so you don’t judge them in life.
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.
The first description of Curley’s Wife states that she gives multiple ranch workers “the eye” despite being “married two weeks.” From this we can instantly deduce that she is somewhat of a “tart” however if we evaluate further this could explain that she is lonely and not content with her new husband. The fact that she is giving other ranch workers “the eye” despite being married makes us feel no sympathy for her and instantly portrays her as endeavouring and potentially dangerous, although, on the other hand we can understand her restriction by Curley which makes us feel sympathy.
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.
From this readers see that she had the chance to live a better life then what she has now. She could have lived her dream and been a movie star, but instead she had to settle for Curley. She has a complex past that allowed her to build up walls around her past and helps build her character into and interesting complex person: more so then in the beginning of the book. Readers seem to forget one thing about Curley’s wife: She’s a human too. Just like the other characters she has feelings and needs as indicated in an analysis of major
In today’s society people are constantly judged, and a lot of the time this judgment is completely wrong. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is called a flirt and a “tart” (Steinbeck 28), but she is more than that. She is lonely and just wants someone to talk to, but that gets portrayed as something it is not. Curley’s wife is a woman who has been misjudged by everyone on the ranch. Through misunderstandings she is given a bad reputation, but this perception of her is completely wrong.
The first impression the reader get´s of Curley´s wife is definitely not a good one. She walks into the scene as if she owned the place, like a person who is confident of herself and well aware of their sexual appeal. The reader can identify that she is not afraid to use her sexual appeal as a weapon to her advantage. “Nobody can blame a person for looking.” She tells to Lennie as soon as she feels his look posed on her body. This is the first words she utters in her first encounter with Lennie. With judgment the reader can infer that she is a person fool of herself and self-centered. These thoughts later get confirmed when the workers call her a “tart”. The reader can now see how the workers behave around her and how they react to the thought of her. It´s not hard to quickly judge her and, like the workers, classify her as a tart and associated her with trouble.
Steinbeck wishes to prepare the reader to meet Curley's wife by giving the reader a biased and influenced look about the way she acts; this early impression of Curley's wife entices the reader to have a negative look on Curley's wife by mentioning her as a "tart," which exemplifies comments that are repeated multiple times when speaking about her. That comment makes the reader believe she will be flirty and promiscuous, as well as prepares the reader to the problems that Curley's wife will bring to the novel. When Curley's wife is presented, Steinbeck describes her as flirtatious.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Curley’s wife seems to get a lot of the other guys in trouble. Curley always suspects that she’s fooling around with the other men, “Any you guys seen my wife?” (p.53) Curley’s Wife always gives an excuse to confront the guys saying, “Any you guys seen Curley?” Then she tries to hang around and have a conversation.
When the reader first meets Curley’s wife, she gives off the wrong impression. She came into the bunk house “intentionally” and noticed the new boys, George and Lennie. The reader notices that she is just looking for attention, either because she is lonely or just a “tart.” Stated from the
Curley’s wife suffers from loneliness also. Her only companion is very controlling. Curley makes sure his wife doesn’t talks 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 need for interaction. Curley’s wife says,” Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? (Pg. 77)”.
Curley’s wife’s femininity may be seen as her greatest weakness or flaw to most, but she rapidly discovers that it is also her only weapon on the ranch and learns to use it to her advantage. Therefore, she puts up an alluring and sultry front in an attempt to receive attention, because she is aware that none of the men on the farm respect her because of her position as a woman. The men's blatant lack of respect for her belittles the miniscule amount of power she has acquired
“I never seen no piece of jail-bait worse than her” (George) what is the reader supposed to think about Curley’s wife?
Similar to Crooks, Curley's wife was not a fit member of society. She was viewed as a tramp due to her lust for attention. The men would avoid all contact from the fear of what Curley the boss’ son would do if they fell into temptation with her. Stienbeck clarifys her place on the socil latter when Curlys wife says “‘They left all the weak ones here”’ ( 77).
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
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.