Of Mice And Men Curley's Character Traits

Character Analysis

- Curley

Physical: Curley is short, thin young man with a brown face, brown eyes and tightly curled hair. He feels very insecure about his height, and because of it, he instantly have a dislike towards anyone bigger than him. He's an amateur boxer and is always picking a fight with them too. His physical attributes makes him the arrogant, brash and violent character in the book because he is self-conscious about his height.

Intellectual: Curley's academic intellect is unknown, but him fighting others bigger than him and possibly stronger isn't a very smart thing to do. He will eventually pick a fight with the wrong person and this will lead to him getting into a sticky situation. I think Curley is smarter than Lennie, but George is definitely more intellectual than him.

He feels like he needs to prove his masculinity by confronting and fighting those bigger than him. Another possibility of proving himself is by marrying an attractive woman. When faced with challenges, such as Lennie, the emotion of wanting to pick a fight with him surges simply because Lennie is a very big person.

Social: So far in the story, Curley barely gets along with any characters, especially Lennie. As the Boss' son, he struts around the ranch and is very arrogant. Due to his social standing, George tells Lennie to avoid him at all cost because he doesn't want them to lose the job if he allows Lennie to fight back.

Philosophical: Curley believes that the way of life is to fight, and to feel better about himself when he beats those bigger than him. Those beliefs is based on his height and the need to feel masculine. His beliefs is what makes him a dangerous and malicious character, somebody who should be avoided. Furthermore, the choices he makes is not a healthy one as he mainly uses violence to prove