Comment on how the character of curleys wife is portrayed in Sinise’s 1992 television film version. How is this characterization different to that of the original novel by steinbeck ? Introduction “Of mice and men” by Steinbeck was written in the 1930’s during the great depression Era which came about as a result of the Wall Street crash. Steinbecks purpose in writing this novel was to convey his concerns for the lack of support for the working class people. Steinbeck is also criticising the American dream. “Of mice and men” is about people who are lonely, sad and in search of a dream. Sinise’s purpose in producing this film was to turn a modern classic, enjoyed by millions of people, into a feature length film. He wanted to make a film of the book that was commercially successful and accepted that he might have to use some artistic license e.g with the character of Curley’s wife. The film is mainstream, so Sinise would have to make the film suitable for all audiences. The reason for this is because advertisers invest their money into adverts and they want to make sure people would keep on watching. An example of this would be, at the beginning of the film when George and Lennie are walking down the street to get their work cards. America is represented as a prosperous, happy society, clean streets and well dressed people. The early 1930’s were really depressing, so if the true image was shown on film, it could stop people from watching and advertisers wouldn’t like that.The true scale of suffering that people underwent is not confronted. Curley's wife was played by Sherilyn Fenn, a well known and popular actress in USA who many Americans identify with. This was clever casting as the film offers a more positive view of Curley’s wife than 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 of attention so much. Curley’s wife is an outsider on the ranch, simply because she is the only woman there. Steinbeck never names Curley’s wife. She is defined by her relationship to 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 dependant she is on Curley, for her identity and how little she is respected by all. In the book, Curleys wife is shown to be a very mean, unfavourable, self-willed, troublesome, young and lonely girl with no one to comfort
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
How does the reader’s perception of Curley’s Wife change through the book? In Of Mice and Men the reader’s opinion of Curley’s Wife changes throughout the book, in the beginning of the book the reader looks at her as trouble. Near the end the reader starts to feel sympathetic towards her. Although all the characters look at her as a “tramp”, despise, and avoid her, the reader sees her differently. The reader sees how miserable she is, and how many other things she has to put up with everyday. She might not be the nicest person out there, but she is still a person with feelings. The reader’s feelings drastically change from the beginning of the book to the end. She is perceived negatively repeatedly throughout the book, by all the characters at many different times. She is known as the “tramp” at the ranch, the reader would obviously think negatively of Curley’s Wife when all the characters are talking trash about her. In chapter 2 George said to Lennie “I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.” After reading this how could the reader see Curley’s Wife in any other way. As the reader I also despised Curley’s Wife, I didn’t want her to get close to Lennie or George because I knew she would try and get them in trouble or something bad would happen with her being there. This quote specifies how almost every man felt on this ranch, and this was very early on in the book, George had not even had a decent conversation with her and he was already talking about her in this way. This was not only in the beginning of the book; at the scene of her death Candy was shouting “you got damn tramp” at her dead body. This shows even when she is dead, how little everyone cared about her. The r...
Of Mice and Men Quarterly Measurement Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck that describes the journey of George, and his mentally disabled friend, Lennie, as they travel and work together on a ranch in California. The story of Of Mice and Men accounts for the experience of George and Lennie as they encounter different people on the ranch who live in solitude, such as Crooks, the negro stable buck, and the wife of the boss’s son, Curley. Crooks the stable buck is always alone because he is black, and during the time period of which the novel takes place, people with colored skin were discriminated and excluded from white social activities. Curley’s wife is alone most of the time because most of the men on the ranch stay away from her because they don’t want to get in trouble with Curley and because Curley doesn't pay attention to her. The loneliness that these characters experience impacts their personalities and actions in such a way that these characters are misunderstood most of the time.
As Stephen M.R. Covey once said, “We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behaviour.” Likewise, while one can directly view her as a slut for her flirtatious manner, others can infer that Curley’s Wife justifies her actions for her loneliness. In conclusion, Curley’s Wife is presented as a misunderstood person with a hidden dream, desire for recognition, and intriguing character interactions whose poignant story sets her up as a sympathetic figure. Indeed, it seems that in a world dominated by men, one woman had to solely endure the plight of gender oppression, with the cost eventually being death
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.
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.
In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, there are many subjects in which readers feel divided. Some examples of these are if George should leave Lennie, if George did the “right thing” in the end of the book, and if Curley’s wife is to blame for George’s, Lennie’s, and Candy’s collective lost dream. Although all three of these are interesting prospects to ponder on, the last is more mysterious and vague. Nonetheless, Curley’s wife is to blame for the lost dream, and shouldn’t be portrayed as innocently as she is, due to the fact that she almost willingly got herself killed, and that she was known for falling under the “temptress” archetype.
Curley’s Wife is no exception to this belief of Steinbeck’s. Always wanting to be an actress since a young age, her dreams have been shut down on multiple occasions, mainly by her mother. “I met one of the actors. He says I could go with the show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’ let me. She says because I was on’y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet.” -(Pg. 88). Being a hopeless dreamer, Curley’s wife dreams of a better life, a life where she weren’t lonely and despised by the men of the ranch. Even with her being married, it made no difference. Curley didn’t provide any love or affection to his wife. Unfortunately her loneliness is was lead Curley’s wife to her demise. All she wanted was a friend, and in the end, she never got one.
leaving the ranch. On page 77 Curley’s wife confronts Crooks about how she is not
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.
Curley’s wife is introduced at the beginning and causes the end of the novella as she is killed at Lennie’s hands. Her death causes the end of George and Lennie’s dream. Curley’s wife is described as a terrible and a wicked woman, who is seen with a sexual image. Steinbeck also makes the reader feel sympathy for her as the men in the ranch see her with a person who has no feelings. Curley’s wife is trapped in an unsuccessful marriage to Curley; her husband is strict towards her and behaves as if though he has authority over her. Later on in the novella her reality is discovered and we are told by Steinbeck that she is also a victim of
Also, the fact that Curley’s Wife does not have her own name and is simply a possession of Curley exemplifies the concept that women in the 1930s were treated as belongings of men and were stripped of their individuality, highlighting the social hierarchy in those times.
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.
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...
Curley’s wife wishes she had accomplished more in her lifetime, and now she is unhappy with the way her life has realistically turned out. In her opinion, nobody values her and therefore she has lost her identity. She wants to be known as a person who made something of themselves, but she is not the person she wants to be. Curley’s wife is also lonely, and the fact that she feels as if no one cares about her only adds to her feelings of isolation she has on the ranch. When Curley’s wife explains to Lennie about her dream to be in the movies, she claims that her mother stole her letters that would have allowed her to get her career started: “Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself...So I married Curley...I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella” (89). Curley’s wife exhibits lost dreams leading to lost identity, having changed her life to escape her restraints only to end