Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Analysis

In the novel, “Of Mice and Men,” written by John Steinbeck, two migrant workers are on a journey to fulfill their dream of ‘living on their own land and a shack they can call their own.’ However, the incident involving Candy’s dog indicates that the same will happen to Lennie. The author develops the motif of loneliness through the use of indirect and direct characterization of Curley’s wife, Candy, Crooks, and Lennie.
One of the main characters, Lennie, is described as being a five-year-old stuck in a grown man’s body, possessing some sort of mental illness. With that in mind, many of the ranch hands don’t seem to have as much interest in him and disregard him. Lennie does not mind that he is isolated from the others because he cannot exactly understand or grasp the concept that he is different. He ‘sees’ things, like his Aunt Clara or rabbits that can talk, in his head. ‘They’ are his friends. Being different, Lennie is separated from the others and he is not included in the games the ranch hands play. He is usually found by himself in the barn playing with the pups. Lennie is not exactly lonely, for he is not aware of the condition he is in that caused him to be in that

position. Lennie is an outsider, but he does not acknowledge that he is one.
In the beginning of the book, George and Lennie first meet the old, one-handed swamper, Candy, along with his old dog.

Another ranch worker, Carlson, finds Candy’s dog as filthy and useless, possessing a pungent smell. He is eager to kill the man’s dog. Candy refuses to let Carlson kill him, but eventually gives in, for the dog’s sake. The dog was Candy’s only companion, but now, Candy is lonely. He is already isolated from the rest of the ranch workers. His old age prevents him from doing certain tasks and he is becoming less ‘useful.’ Candy knows his time on the ranch will soon come to an end. He is also left behind when the rest of the men go to the whore house – it’s not a place for old men to be. Candy is an outcast as well, he doesn’t exactly belong on the ranch with the other

workers.
Soon after, the two meet Curley’s wife, and she comes off as a tart. She seems to be lonely most of the time, and it seems to be her biggest and only problem. Curley reprimands her, never letting her leave the house. Of course, she does not listen and always seems to be flirting with the other ranch hands. But Curley’s wife is just lonely. When the men first meet Curley’s wife, “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward,” (Steinbeck 31). Like any other human being, she craves attention from another person. Unfortunately, the only way she seems to get attention is by flaunting herself off. Not only is she lonely because she is referred to as a tart, she is the only woman on the ranch, and she is Curley’s wife. No one wants to get involved with Curley’s wife because they don’t want Curley to mess with them. As a result, Curley’s wife is also isolated, an outcast as well. She’s lonely.
Towards the middle of the book, Lennie meets Crooks, the negro stable buck. He lives in the harness room, separate from where the other men bunk. Crooks is illustrated as proud and aloof, and believes that others should keep their distance as well. He stands hunched over, due to an accident, and he is not able to keep his back straight. As mentioned, Crooks is a negro, and that separates him from the rest of the men. When the majority of the workers head out to the whore house, Lennie wanders into Crooks’ room and the stable buck is skeptical about letting him in. Eventually, Candy joins as well, and Crooks is irritated, but Lennie has already entered his dwelling. The men talk amongst themselves when Curley’s wife appears in the doorway. Crooks objects, but the tart feels that she can do whatever she’d like since she is Curley’s wife. The tart starts to ‘flirt’ with Lennie and she says , “‘O.K., Machine. I’ll talk to you later. I like machines,’” (81). Crooks and Candy notice that she’s after him and they stand up for Lennie and tell her to leave the guy alone. Crooks makes an effort to make her leave and tells her that she has no rights coming in to a colored man’s room. Once again, she has authority and says to the negro, “‘Well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny,’” (81). Although Crooks is trying to stand up for Lennie, he cannot do much because of his racial standing. Consequently, due to his racial standing, Crooks is also an outsider.
As shown above, there is a commonality between Lennie, Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks: they are all outcasts. There’s also a commonality between Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks: they’re lonely. However, it does not include Lennie because he is not aware of the situation he is in. Although the author has developed the motif of loneliness and not ‘outcast,’ it is by being an outcast that brings the four together. If the three men and the tart had not been left behind on the ranch, they would have never ended up together, and the audience would not have been able to come up with the motif of loneliness. It is by being an outcast that the characters feel the way they do. It is by being an outcast that the most precious things were taken from them: family, a friend, and unfortunately, two lives. None of them asked for any of this. “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley.”