Despite being the only female on a ranch full of foul-mouthed men, Curley’s wife exploits both her sexuality and her status to demonstrate power throughout the novel. On Saturday night after most of the men leave, Curley’s wife stops by Crooks’ place. After a heated argument with Crooks’, she reminds him of her power on the ranch: “She turned on him in scorn. ‘Listen, n*****,’ she said. ‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?’ Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. She closed on him. ‘You know what I could do?” (80) Curley’s wife is aware that because her husband’s father owns the ranch, she will always have more power there than Crooks will as a colored, poor man. Once Crooks finally realizes that Curley’s …show more content…
wife could find a way to have him hanged if he doesn’t say the correct phrases around her, he loses his confidence in the argument. The other characters know how powerful she can be, and although most are older men, most still cower down in her presence. Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch that the men are around, so even though she is searching for an innocent friendship, the men still call her names and give her a bad reputation because of her sexuality and physical features. The way Steinbeck describes her beauty and fashion can make her come off as a tramp near the beginning of the story: “A girl was standing there looking in.
She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaces eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (31). However, it is later discovered in the story that she is searching for innocent company with the men to make up for the little attention she gets from Curley. The men don’t want to get into trouble with Curley so they choose to avoid Curley’s wife at all costs. She doesn’t understand why the other men on the ranch don’t accept her offers when she tries to carry on conversations with them, so she dresses and makes herself up this way to keep her audience’s attention. Even after she passes away, Curley’s wife still exerts more power than some men on the ranch by stealing all of their dreams too: "You g** d*** tramp," he said viciously. You done it, di'n't you? I s'pose you're glad. Ever'body knowed you'd mess things up. You wasn't no good. You ain't no good now, you lousy tart"
(95). Curley’s wife still crushes the boys’ goals after dying similar to how people did to her dreams when she was alive, Candy expresses his anger about Curley’s wife stealing their dreams because he knows now that none of them will have an escape from the ranch because of her.
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.
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
The first description of Curley’s Wife states that she gives multiple ranch workers “the eye” despite being “married two weeks.” From this we can instantly deduce that she is somewhat of a “tart” however if we evaluate further this could explain that she is lonely and not content with her new husband. The fact that she is giving other ranch workers “the eye” despite being married makes us feel no sympathy for her and instantly portrays her as endeavouring and potentially dangerous, although, on the other hand we can understand her restriction by Curley which makes us feel sympathy.
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.
This book depicts her as property of Curley’s because she is never given a name beside “Curley’s wife” or “Tart”. Curley’s wife was a woman who had aspiring dreams to be in movies and when that dream ended, she settled with marrying Curley. Curley’s wife shows abuse of power because since she is married to a person who is influential on the ranch, that makes her somewhat powerful, she uses her femininity and authority to manipulate others. She is unhappy with her marriage and is lonely so she goes out to the ranch to talk to the other guys, which gets Curley paranoid. When she is being forced to leave Crooks’s room, she retaliates by telling him, “Well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” When Candy tried to stand up for Crooks, she made sure they all knew their place, “Tell an’ be damned,” she cried, “Nobody’s listen to you an’ you know it. Nobody’s listen to you.” (79-80) There is a whole food chain in the ranch and Lennie, Candy and Crooks are at the bottom while Curley’s wife is at the top. On the other hand, she talks to Lennie because of his mental incapacity to know what’s wrong and right. He’s easier to allure in so she would have someone to talk to. Although Lennie wasn’t allowed to interact with
She is frequently held responsible for numerous problems the men have. Everyone gets annoyed by her, since she constantly wears provocative clothing and flirts with the guys. She is constantly “looking” for her husband, asking around in her nasal, brittle voice, which is irritating in itself. In reality, she just desires attention from the other ranch hands. The problem is that the other men do not want to get in trouble with Curley, who does not like his wife going around with other men. Whit warns George of this in the beginning of the story, saying that she only causes trouble. “ ‘Well--she got the eye.’ ‘Yeah? Married two weeks and got the eye? Maybe that’s why Curley’s pants is full of ants.’ . . . ‘Well, I think Curley’s married. . . a tart’ ”(28). Everyone knows that Curley’s wife is a tart, or a promiscuous woman. Her decision to marry Curley was made extremely quickly, as she wanted to get back at her mother, because she believed her mom stole a letter from her. Because the men do not wish to talk to Curley’s wife, she is often lonely. A reason for this detachment is that she does not know how to approach people, frequently insulting others. The only time she ever conformed was when she talked to Lennie in the barn; however, this conversation was not a true discussion, as Lennie did not comprehend what she was saying. Earlier in the book, she attempted to talk to Candy, Crooks, and Lennie, but all of them wanted her out of the room. “She looked from one face to another, and they were all closed against her. And she looked longest at Lennie, until he dropped his eyes in embarrassment”(78). Curley’s wife felt the most alienated at this point, because even the lowliest on the farm were rising up against her. Candy makes a stand, telling Curley’s wife that they have a place to go to, even if they are canned. Unbelieving, she laughs Candy off. After a while, Crooks even
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
Curley's wife, comparable to most other characters in the novel, is a type of character with little discrepancy, moreover being the only woman in novel. Curley’s wife is demonstrated by her position and part. This part is however, being a possession of Curley or a wife. She is heavily insulted and looked upon as inferior: George and Candy call her "jailbait" and "tart", which supports the fact that he has no voice and as a matter of fact, no name – simply being referred to as Curley’s wife. Due to her lack of power, she attempts to gain it by leeching off those with power. This leeching is portrayed as her seducing the other men on the ranch who have large presence like Slim: “Hi Slim” supports a casual and somewhat flirtatious approach to the other men. She seduces other by wearing far too much makeup and dressing like a "whore" with “red fingernails” and red shoes with ostrich feathers.
From her first appearance in the story, Curley’s wife is described as a different kind of threat, one who is all artifice and manipulation from her red lips and fingernails to her red mules, “on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (Steinbeck 31). The imagery Steinbeck uses, paints her as a woman who is quite bold, but fragile with a passionate essence.
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
Similar to Crooks, Curley's wife was not a fit member of society. She was viewed as a tramp due to her lust for attention. The men would avoid all contact from the fear of what Curley the boss’ son would do if they fell into temptation with her. Stienbeck clarifys her place on the socil latter when Curlys wife says “‘They left all the weak ones here”’ ( 77).
Conflict, by definition, is a back and forth struggle between two opposing forces. In the literary work, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, it is clear, the protagonist, George Milton, undergoes many conflicts that lead to the novel’s overall purpose. Steinbeck weaves together George’s conflicts with others, himself, and with society to illustrate what the true meaning of friendship is.
The ranchers understand her power, “Don’t even look at the bitch. I don’t care what… she does. (Steinbeck 32) Curley’s Wife threatens the ranchers when they cross her saying, “… you know what I can do to you if you open your trap… I could [have] you strung up on a tree so easy it [isn’t] even funny.” (80-81). This shows that she and the ranchers understand her power and will not take any chances. But even with all her influence on her husband’s colleagues’ lives she still isn’t content with her life. When Crooks suspects she is flirting with the group he suggests she leaves she responds, “Sure I [have] a husband you[‘ve] all seen him. Swell guy [isn’t] he? Think I’m [going to] stay in that two by four house.” (78). These remarks show that Curley’s wife regrets being Curley’s wife and despite having power. It also shows that she wishes she could pursue her dream of being an
She couldn’t talk to none of the worker because she was the Boss’s son wife or Curley would assume she was flirting. She also was lonely because she was the only female on the ranch.“What kinda harm am I doin’ to you? Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live. I tell you I ain’t uses to livin’ like this, I coulda made somethin’ of myself.” (Pg.88) Curley’s wife notices how she doesn’t like the life she is currently living. She is reflecting back on how she could’ve did something different with her life.She is tired of being punished for trying to socialize with people.“Well, I ain't told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought to. I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella.” “I coulda been in the movies and had nice clothes.”(Pg.89) This expresses how even Curley’s own wife doesn’t even like him. She looks back on how she could’ve been living differently with nicer things and people she could actually talk
At the start of the play, “the four Birling’s and Gerald are seated at the table, with Arthur Birling at one end, his wife at the other”, Priestly here is telling us about the status of women, as Mrs Birling is not equal to her husband so she is removed. Nevertheless it might indicates to that the two parents got control in the family where the older generation is against the younger generation.