“Lyin', cheatin', hurtin, that's all you seem to do. Messin' around with every guy in town, always the same, playin' your game. Drive me insane, trouble is gonna come to you, One of these days and it won't be long,” -Your Time Is Gonna Come, Led Zeppelin. These lyrics conjure up images of a most sinful woman, the epitome of immorality; a liar, cheater, a maleficent wrench. When one applies these lyrics to the cast of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, they resonate clearly with only one character- Curley's wife. Thanks to her toxic conversation and self absorbed personality, Curley’s wife is easily the most despicable out of all the characters in Of Mice and Men. Curley’s wife is unlikeable, for the way she carries herself is disreputable. …show more content…
From even before George and Lennie's first encounter with Curley’s wife, Candy tells the pair to tread carefully around her. Curley’s wife is a good-looking lady who wears quite a bit of makeup, form-fitting dresses, and ostrich feathered-high heels. Not to mention, she is the wife of arguably the most dangerous man on the ranch to Lennie and George. George warns Lennie about Curley’s wife: “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch… you leave her be” (32) It is apparent the obstacle Curley’s wife will pose to the protagonists. In the scene, Lennie is adamant he is doing nothing wrong by admiring her, saying he means no harm. The fact is Lennie just does not know any better, sowing the seeds for disaster. If George already does not have enough to worry about just trying to subsist, Lennie is now transfixed with what looks to be another hurdle on the track to their ultimate dream- the farm. George doesn’t have a good way to keep Lennie away from Curley’s wife like other methods he employs. Ordinarily, George dangles the carrot of the farm in front of Lennie because it is simple, motivating, and to the point; Lennie can understand that. What would George say to Lennie that would make him understand why Curley’s wife is dangerous? Curley’s wife knows her beauty is her source of control and displays her power by flirting with the ranch hands, making her husband jealous in the process. This is coupled with the fact that her husband is the most dangerous man on the ranch to the protagonists, “He (Curley) figures he’s got you scared and he’s gonna take a sock at you the first chance he gets.” (29) The amount of tension that already exists just because Curley feels inferior to Lennie’s height is palpable. Imagine what will happen if Curley finds out his wife has a thing for the Lennie. This combination of factors proves a confrontation is but certain. Curley’s wife is the root of George and Lennie’s problems from the very start. Her appearance, and flirtatious demeanor trigger Curley’s jealousy and with that jealousy comes wrath. From the beginning of the story, Curley’s wife proves to pose a hazard to the men through her body language and appearance. Curley’s wife use of dialogue displays her malign.
In chapter four, she berates the men left behind from the work saying “They left all the weak ones here.” (77) In her conversation with the men, she reveals her strange dilemma – while she berates these ranch men, they are the only people she can converse with. She states how lonely she is, but subsequently trashes their dreams and self worth. “If you had two bits in the worl’, why you’d be in gettin’ two shots of corn with it and suckin’ the bottom of the glass. I know you guys.” (79) How much of a hypocrite is she? First she wants to have conversations with genuine people, but does not give the other party the respect required to carry a conversation. Still, in order feed her ego, she has to seek out those who have less power than she does. Curley's wife casts a cavalcade of catty cracks composing of cruel chastising. She cruelly cuts down Candy for his old age and meekness “A lousy ‘ol sheep” , Lennie for being "a dum dum," and most harshly, she threatens Crooks with a lynching: .”...you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” (81). If there was any inclination of sympathy for Curley's wife, these quotes all but destroy them. Curley’s wife is lonely, but vile filled dialogue such as this cause the men then distance themselves from her so they can not be vexed by her, therefore causing her even more loneliness. She does nothing to correct her own problems which …show more content…
leads into her final flaw. The last straw with Curley’s wife is that she fails to realize her own shortcomings. Curley's wife completely self-absorbed- she fails to recognize her circumstances, always talking about her lost opportunities.
She fancies she could have been a traveling actor since one actor once told her she could join their show. Everyone in that time is full of unattainable hopes and dreams. Everyone thinks “If I only had that one shot, my life would be changed…” which Crooks briefly touches chapter four. “Nobody ever gets to their heaven.” (74) In this same vein, Curley's wife convinces herself that it is not her fault that she didn’t reach “her heaven”. She instead passes the blame onto her mother and says she stole the letter, rather than realize that it could have been her talent or charisma that held her back. “‘Nother time I met a guy, an’ he was in pitchers… He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural.” She looked closely at Lennie to see whether she was impressing him. “I never got that letter… I always thought my ol’ lady stole it.” (88) It is this same self obsession that drives her to her death. She is a little scared of Lennie, but she also wants his adoration. It is hardly surprising that that she ends up dying because she wanted Lennie’s adulation. “When I’m doin my hair sometimes I jus’ set an’ stroke it ‘cause it’s so soft… Feel right roun’ there an’ see how soft it is.” (90) .She knows Lennie is supposed to stay away from her, but wants his praise for her soft hair. It is not coincidental that she ends up losing her life because she
wanted to validate her self worth. While the other characters understand they are in an undesirable situation and have been forced to bear unwanted circumstances, it is inexcusable for a woman of considerable power as Curley’s wife to be an obstacle. George and Lennie know that they are at the bottom of the barrel, but that does not stop them from striving toward their dream. If one isn’t leading or following, they should get out of the way. Curley’s wife fails improve her conditions that she complains so readily about and gets in the way of the men. They see her as a trap and impediment as a result. In fact, it is directly because of Curley’s wife that George and Lennie lose their dream. Curley’s wife’s conversation and character reveal her to be the least amiable character in Of Mice and Men. It is hard to feel sorry when she meets her fate. Thanks to her, one should consider the effects of being agreeable, productive, and respectful, lest their misgivings catch up to them. Because like Led Zepplin said in Your time Is Gonna Come, “You’ve been bad to me woman, But it's coming back home to you.”
Impressions of Curely's Wife in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck sees Curleys wife as 'nice girl' and not a 'floozy' however in the novel 'Of Mice and Men', Steinbeck introduces the character of Curley's wife; she could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel. In the novel Curley's wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch, the way she looks and acts lead others on the ranch to see her as a 'tart'. Additionally Curley might be the reason of Curley's wife behavior; Curley's wife is clearly lonely in the novel because Curley doesn't pay much attention to her. The lack of attention from Curley forces her to seek it elsewhere.
Comment on how the character of Curley’s wife is portrayed in Sinise’s. 1992 television film version of "The Thriller" How is this characterization different? to that of the original novel by Steinbeck? Introduction The “Of mice and men” by Steinbeck was written in the 1930’s during the period. great depression Era which came about as a result of the Wall Street crash.
Curley’s Wife in ‘Of Mice and Men’ is used cleverly by Steinbeck to create sympathy amid the reader but also to represent the position of women in 1930s America. Through an intelligently designed pattern of events in the book, we feel varying amounts of sympathy for Curley’s Wife and thus unconsciously acquire information regarding the issues women had to face in the 1930s. In this essay I will evaluate the extent that Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife as a sympathetic character and its relation to 1930s America.
In John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife as a flirtatious, mischievous, and over all isolated woman. Steinbeck doesn’t give this character a name, yet she is one of the most important characters in the story. Curley’s wife first comes off as flirtatious to the main characters, George and Lenny, when they first hear about her from the character Candy . Candy is talking about how she gives men “the eye”. He also displays his feelings about her by saying, “Well, I think Curley’s married… a tart”(28). This is setting George and Lenny up to expect she is a flirt.. Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife in her first introduction as a scantily dressed woman.. Steinbeck writes, “Both men [George and Lenny] glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, roughed lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled cluster, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers”(31). The color red is sometimes considered for portraying a sign of danger or sex. This passage supports Curley’s wife as being flirtatious and also how she’s dangerous and can cause trouble displaying herself while she is married. Also, when George and Lenny are talking to Curley’s wife she tries to flirtatiously talk to them too. After their first conversation she re-adjusts herself. Steinbeck displays her with “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”(31). Steinbeck is explaining to the reader in detail that Curley’s wife is trying to show herself to Lenny and George to get thei...
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.
Curley’s wife shows her sympathetic side when she comforts Lennie after he kills the dog. She tells Lennie, “Don’t you worry none” (87). This quote demonstrates trying to connect with someone on the ranch; in this case it is Lennie. She tells him he is not a bad person and tries to keep his dream of tending the rabbits alive. She also says, “You can get another one easy” (87). This quote shows that she is a compassionate human being despite the constant judgment of her personality. Because Curley’s wife is comforting Lennie, he calms down and starts listening to her. Moreover, despite ...
In the novel Of Mice and Men Steinbeck creates a character which is different from the rest of them, on which the reader might have a strong opinion about, differing from beginning to end. Curley´s wife switches from being classified as an antagonist of the novel, to just a fragile women with a hopeless dream.
...r say anything. So she is stuck at a ranch where all the members there avoid her because she is trouble and can’t even run away because of her being a female in the early 1900’s made it almost impossible to survive on her own. She dresses a certain way to live out the American Dream the only way she can. She doesn’t dress that way to show off her body, she wants to feel like she is living her dream. She realizes that she is good looking and she uses that to her advantage to talk to some of the people at the ranch like Lennie. The only way she got to talk to Lennie was by letting him touch her hair. Steinbeck let Curley’s Wife die in such a peaceful way; I didn’t even realize she was dead until I read over the section multiple times. He left her there in the barn describing her beauty, showing the reader through Curley’s Wife that even the worst of us have humanity.
In Of Mice & Men, the character Curley’s Wife is depicted as flirtatious, promiscuous, and insensitive. However, her husband Curley sees her as only a possession. Most of the workers at the ranch see her as a tart, whereas Slim, the peaceful and god-like figure out of all the men, see her as lonely. This answer will tell us to which extent, is Curley’s wife a victim, whether towards her flirtatious behaviour, or to everyone’s representation of her.
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 book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, after Lennie’s death, there are many people to blame, but Curley and Curley’s Wife are to blame more than anyone else and there are strong reasons as to why.
We can see how Curley’s wife feels about Curley on page 78 of Of Mice and Men, where John Steinbeck writes, “ “Sure I gotta husband’. You all see him. Swell guy, ain’t he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to the guys he doesn’t like, and he doesn’t like anybody.
Curley makes sure his wife doesn’t talk to anyone. She is a victim of herself because she married a man that she hardly even knew. She married him though, to have a companion. She killed herself and Lennie because of her need for companionship. She craves companionship because she is an attractive woman with a need for interaction.
In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, published in 1937, many characters are depicted as having a turbulent and continuously changing relationship with power. In the case of Curley’s wife, her power, or lack thereof, derives from her status of being the only woman on the ranch during a time when females were viewed as being inferior and subordinate to men. In some instances, Curley’s wife uses her femininity to her advantage to flirt with the various men on the ranch and obtain information from them. She is aware of her beauty and the control over men this gives her and she realizes that a seductive attitude can be used to manipulate others. Although, ultimately, being a woman is her downfall. The men on the ranch ridicule her and dismiss
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.