Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Essay

During the Great Depression, many men created stereotypes on women which deprived them of getting a job or having social interaction. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, two men found work as laborers while trying to save up enough money to buy a ranch. While they were there, they met many new people such as Slim, Curley, and Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife was a victim of the many stereotypes created about women, which lead the readers to think she was the antagonist of the novel. However, John Steinbeck uses word choice, dialogue, and characterization to let the audience know that Curley’s wife was not an antagonist.
John Steinbeck uses word choice in Of Mice and Men to support the idea that Curley’s Wife was not an antagonist. Many of the ways the other men in the bunkhouse addressed Curley’s wife were stereotypes that wrongfully portrayed her as someone she was not. For example, when Lennie took an interest in Curley’s wife, George told him he’s seen people like Curley’s wife “poison before,” and told Lennie to “leave her be” (Steinbeck 32). This an example of one of stereotypes the men associated with Curley’s wife. Based on her gender, George automatically assumed she was going to do something bad and told Lennie to

stay away. The characters in this novel saw her as something evil, but they were the ones who create these fake personas for her. Another example of this would be when Curley’s wife peeked into the room Candy and some other guys were in and without her even saying anything, he “sourly” told her Curley wasn’t with him (77). This word choice implies a nasty way of talking to Curley’s wife. She did nothing to provoke this rude tone of voice, revealing that the characters merely made her seem awful without having any proof.
The author of Of Mice and Men also uses dialog to reinforce the concept of Curley’s wife not being an antagonist. The men often assumed she was looking for trouble, but she disproved this theory when she told Lennie she “can’t talk to nobody but Curley” or “else he gets mad” (87). John Steinbeck’s use of dialog allows the reader to see that Curley’s wife wasn’t looking for trouble, but was just in fact lonely. Curley’s wife also used dialog to remind the men that when she was alone with only one of the men, she got “along fine with him,” but when there were multiple men, they “won’t talk” (77). She directly stated that the problem is not that they didn’t like her, but that they did not want to be seen talking to her. This is not a flaw of Curley’s wife, but instead a flaw with the other men who were too scared to be seen socializing with a woman.
Lastly, John Steinbeck conveys Curley’s Wife as not being an antagonist through the use of characterization.

He uses characterization to show that Curley was the real antagonist, and not his wife. Curley’s wife told Lennie all about what it’s like living with Curley, and how “he ain’t a nice fella” (89). When the other guys thought she was trying to flirt with everyone except her husband, she was really just trying to run away from him. This idea was further proven when she asked the men, “Think I didn’t know where they all went? Even Curley. I know where they all went,” after pretending to look for her husband (77). She wandered around pretending to look for her husband, when in reality, she wasn’t trying to do anything except escape from

him.
John Steinbeck uses word choice, dialog, and characterization in order to show how Curley’s wife is not an antagonist. Many of the men used their own stereotypes on women to assume she was looking for trouble, when the truth is, she was just lonely and trying to get away from her husband who was the real antagonist. Luckily, much of these stereotypes about women have died down in today’s society. Overall, literary devices can help the reader conclude that Curley’s wife is not the antagonist of the novel Of Mice and Men.