“A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is… I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick (Steinbeck 72-73). The theme of loneliness is revealed here in John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. In the 1930’s during the Great Depression, loneliness was a very common feeling. Because stock markets crashed and crops died, desperate for work many men traveled as migrant workers, looking for work. One of Steinbeck’s characters, Candy, is an old man that started as a migrant worker, yet has been on the same ranch longer than many of the other workers, Candy is discriminated against because his increasing age makes him less valuable on the ranch. Crooks’ is another worker on the ranch who is discriminated …show more content…
Because Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch, she is treated differently by all the males. In this time period during the Great Depression, women were viewed more so as a possession than an actual human being: “You gotta husban’. You got no call foolin’ aroun’ with other guys, causin’ trouble”,(77). This conversation emphasizes that Curley’s wife isn’t referred to by her actual name, but is known as “Curley’s wife” because Curley is her husband and she’s basically owned by him. Curley’s wife chose to leave from living with her mom because she thought she “couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself”(88). However, even though she left and got married, she was treated the same way instead now, she is Curley’s property instead of her parents. Since Curley’s wife is female, she is unable to work with the males on the ranch, and it leaves her feeling abandoned by Curley: “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?”(77). In other words, while everybody else is working, Curley’s wife has nothing else to do but sit in a house and not have any communication with anybody. In the late 1930’s, women couldn’t work on ranches like these to make money, and even though it wasn’t necessary for her to try to work and make money since she is married to Curley, she had nothing to do while all the men were working. In result of Curley’s wife being married to Curley-the boss’s son- she is the only woman living on the ranch; being the only female gender, cause her to feel alone having no one to talk to: “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curly. Else he gets mad”(87). This dialogue emphasizes how Curley in some ways, owns his wife and whatever he says, goes. Curley does not allow her to talk to any other males besides him, and with no other women
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 is a young, pretty woman, who is mistrusted by her husband. The other characters refer to her only as “Curley’s wife”. This lack of definition underscores this character’s purpose in the story. Her character is unnamed in the book. She is a very flirtatious and provocative lady.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.
In Crooks. room, Lennie came to talk to him. Crooks was cautious at first, this was from the years of racism that Crooks endured, he learned not to associate with white folk. Steinbeck expresses the theme of loneliness in the character of Candy. Candy is lonely because he is missing half an arm.
Curley isn't much of a help for her situation. Because she is extremely lonely she tries to find attention from the men on the Ranch, but Curley doesn't like that. Another reason for the men to be afraid is because Curley constantly threatens to beat whoever up that talks to his wife. This makes everybody not want to talk to her in fear of getting beat up or thrown off the Ranch.
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 the only woman who is revealed to be living on the ranch. She has no one who wants to talk to her, including Curley, who controls her every move. Curley’s wife’s gender and marriage with Curley isolates her from the other people on the ranch, and she takes out her frustration from this loneliness on Crooks. Curley’s wife is depicted in a very feminine way with “full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made-up” to distinguish her from everyone else on the ranch. However, this appearance is incongruous with her true emotions and is an attempt to mask her loneliness. As the only woman on the ranch, she is regarded as separate as opposed to an equal to the men on the ranch. Throughout the novella she is defined as a possession of Curley’s which is why she is never actually referred to by her actual name but rather as “Curley’s wife”. Friendless, she is seen throughout the novella looking for people to talk to under the pretense of “looking for Curley”(31). However, as the men are afraid of getting in trouble with Curley, they all turn her away. She confesses to Lennie, “I get lonely… You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad’”(87). When Curley’s wife approaches Crooks after all the able men go to town, he turns her away saying that she “got no rights comin’ in a colored man’s room”(80). After years of being turned away by the working
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
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 so irrelevant the author didn’t even give her a name in the story. Curley’s wife is considered a minority around the ranch because she’s a girl and is helpless to the guys and has no use on the ranch. Curley’s wife is oppressed by the guys due to her being feminine no one wanted to speak or associate with her.
Curley’s wife is exploring her dream of being an actress in LA. In this novel, we see this when all of her attempts of leading men at the ranch on. This is shown when she walks out
Curley’s wife is a beautiful woman she’s the wife of the bosses son and is often lonely because she’s the only woman in the ranch, so she talks with the other guys, and is always looked at as “trouble”. She goes into the barn one day and sees Lennie in there, it's just the two of them, she never has no one to talk to so she begins to tell Lennie about her dream. On page 88 Curley’s Wife says, “ I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’t let me.
Crooks is black and disabled.Crooks represents another type of powerlessness. By being the only black man working on the ranch, he is isolated from the others.Even /curley’s wife is more powerful than Crooks when.the insignificance of black people during the 1930s can also be seen by how often Steinbeck makes Crooks appear in the novel. This is never more apparent than when Curley's wife threatens to have him lynched.The fact that she, another powerless person, wields such power over him demonstrates how powerless he is in this
Curley’s wife suffers the most because she does not provide the men with what they think she should. Interactions with her are widely believed to bring the men “trouble” because of Curley’s jealousy. However, the reason behind his jealousy is not because he cherishes her as a person, but rather because “she is to him a thing, a possession” (Gale) that he can brag about to the others. In order to avoid any conflicts with Curley, the ranch workers avoid her fervently. In their eyes, the only thing that she can give them, sex, would bring more problems than it’s worth.
Mother Teresa has once said, “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” Loneliness is sadness because one has no friends or company or the quality of being unfrequented and remote. This quote relates to the theme of loneliness as portrayed by the characters in Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men. Although some view George and Lennie as victims of loneliness, Steinbeck suggests that they are Crooks and Curley’s wife because they both suffer from isolation.