The Boss In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the novel Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck plays with the fundamental human aspect of loneliness; specifically in the American 1930s, how do his characters try to ‘fix’ their loneliness? Within the story, two characters remain unnamed, The Boss who owns the ranch and is the father to Curley and, the only woman to appear in the story, Curley 's wife. The fact that they remain unnamed is a statement on its own, but the statement different for both characters. In the case of the Boss, it shows a disconnect between the working class and the owners. He is unnamed, in never meeting his workers, while benefiting from their work. As to suggest that with sitting on a throne of gold will not fix all your issues, that material wealth does not equate to social wealth.

Curley, the Boss 's son, is also lonely; he attempts to fill that gap with a skin-deep relationship, but it was doomed to fail. At the same time Curley’s wife, who renames unnamed for the entire story, is in a similar state. She is the only women in the entire story, other women at a brothel are mentioned, but they are not really characters in the story. And seeing how John Steinbeck keeps her unnamed, she represents all women, and how they were treated. The fact that she is a person is an afterthought to even Curley; she is just Curley’s Wife. On top of this, her interactions with other men show the reader the fact that she is ultimately unhappy with Curley. This is shown to the reader after George meets her and calls her “a tart” (Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck, Page