Life is full of choices: where to go to school, where to live, who to marry, and what jobs to apply for, and most of the time each of us control what happens with these choices. What if those choices brought someone to the point of being trapped and feeling helpless? In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck the wife of Curley is in just that spot. She made the choice to marry a tyrant of a man and is now forced to live with the consequences of her decisions. Curley’s Wife is misunderstood due to the workers’ assumptions, Curley’s relationship with her, and her unclear background. An example of Curley’s wife’s misunderstanding is how the workers on the ranch assume her intentions when she tries to talk with one of them. When she walks …show more content…
All she needs is someone to talk to that doesn’t see her as just a floosy, but an actual person who craves companionship. She seems different from the other characters however, “she is a character that is misunderstood because of her outward actions, but the truth is that she is actually very similar to many of the characters—lonely and sad. She has a very complex character, and the fact that she is not given a name results in us thinking that she is very low and deplorable.” (123HelpMe.com). The fact the Steinbeck left her completely nameless does help others think of her as unimportant, so redundant that she isn’t even deserving of a …show more content…
Went out to the Riverside Dance Palace with him. He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural. Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it.” […] “I never got that letter,” she said. “I always thought my ol’ lady stole it. I ast her if she stole it, to, an’ she says no. So I married Curley.” (88) 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
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.
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
Curley’s wife could be considered an outcast in society. Women were not supposed to be adventurous, talkative, and mischievous; she was the opposite of what women were supposed to be in society. Every member on the ranch seen her as trouble and
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 a difficult character to understand. Steinbeck hasn’t named her; this could be for a number of reasons. He may have wanted her to be seen as lonely therefore not naming her shows no one gets close enough to her to call her by her first name. He may have done it to show the other characters only see her as the wife of Curley rather than an individual. He may also have done it to show the male attitudes towards females. Curley’s wife also helps to provoke mixed emotions in the reader. We often feel sorry for her such as when she talks of her loneliness, but on other occasions the reader can find her cold hearted. This is seen when she is racist towards the other characters.
Despite being the only female on a ranch full of foul-mouthed men, Curley’s wife exploits both her sexuality and her status to demonstrate power throughout the novel. On Saturday night after most of the men leave, Curley’s wife stops by Crooks’ place. After a heated argument with Crooks’, she reminds him of her power on the ranch: “She turned on him in scorn. ‘Listen, n*****,’ she said. ‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?’ Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. She closed on him. ‘You know what I could do?” (80) Curley’s wife is aware that because her husband’s father owns the ranch, she will always have more power there than Crooks will as a colored, poor man. Once Crooks finally realizes that Curley’s
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
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
In the novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley’s Wife has a multitude of characteristics. She is quite evidently portrayed as a powerful and dangerous woman, this can be seen in her movements and in the way she speaks to the men. Steinbeck also discreetly places the idea of Curley’s Wife being lonely and vulnerable into the minds of the readers.
We first hear about Curley’s wife in section 2 when Candy, the swamper , warns George and Lennie warns from her. In this section the character, Candy, clearly expresses his opinion of Curley’s wife. From Candy’s word we know that he has no respect for her, indeed nobody on the ranch has, male gender, has any respect for her. First, Lennie says that she’s “purty” which this suggests that she is attractive and good looking young girl. However, Candy says that she is very dangerous and flirtatious woman, “she got the eye”.
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.
Curley?s wife had the most pathetic and depressing life. 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 trouble 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.
actress in the USA who many Americans identify with. This was clever casting as the film offers a more positive view of Curley’s wife in the book. She enjoys her little starring role on the farm - likes to know the eyes of the men follow her as she walks across the yard. Curley (Casey Siemaszko), a sadistic brute, does not. enjoy her seeking attention so much.
...ars for the fidelity of his wife as he believes there is a chance that Slim could be with her, despite his good nature. This makes the audience believe that Curley knows his wife is capable of anything, and that he would rather have her under his control. However, the poignant side to Curley’s Wife’s victimisation is when she is victimised due to the stereotypical image of women, either mother or prostitute. This adds a dark shadow over her complicated character, because the way she dresses, and the shoes she wears, especially at the ranch of all places, is unnatural. Also, her manipulative ways ironically cost her life, as she was probably toying with Lennie being mentally handicapped. Overall, I believe that the way that Curley’s Wife has cast her impression upon everyone, has eventually made her a victim of society, the ranch workers, and most importantly, herself.
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.