Curley's Wife Character Analysis Essay

In ‘Of Mice and Men’ most of the characters are subjected to discrimination and prejudice. The prejudice can be seen most in the characters Lennie Small, Crooks and Curley’s Wife.

In the afternoon of August 26th, 1930, two horrible and unfortunate deaths have occurred on a ranch near the Gabilan Mountains. The victim was the daughter in law of the ranch’s owner. (Due to her husband’s will, we are not to publish her name). She was in the barn house when killed by Lennie Small, a mentally retarded worker that just came to the ranch few days prior to this incident. Lennie left the ranch not long after the murder, but was soon chased down by the ranchers, including the first victim’s husband and several other men, and got shot in the head by his former partner, George Milton, on the bank of an anonymous river.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and Curley was playing horseshoes out with them other farm workers. I wanted to get away from that blasted Curley. He never let me talk to anyone, not anyone on the farm. Not only that, he won’t even treat me like I’m his wife, barely even talkin’ to me unless he had a hateful thing to say. I’m tired of life on this farm.

When Curleys’ wife first appears in the book Lennie was fascinated by her looks and thinks that she is very pretty. You know this because he looks at her from top to bottom. These facts are true because in the book it says “Lennie’s eyes moved down her body.” To show that Lennie was fascinated by her looks it says “Lennie watched her, fascinated”. Another way that we know that Lennie thought that she was pretty is that after she leaves the bunk house Lennie then says “she was purty.” These three quotes show that Lennie was very interested in Curleys’ wife’s appearance and thought that she was pretty indeed. But by Lennie thinking that she was pretty it then caused conflict between Lennie and George. George gets

Shannon L. Alder once said, “Somewhere between love and hate lies confusion, misunderstanding, and desperate hope.” Imagine living in a world where you stand in the middle of love and hate. In the novel, “Of Mice and Men,” written by John Steinbeck, one of the most significant characters was Curley’s wife. She lived in a world that was clearly ruled by men. Desperate, smutty, and aggravating where some of the descriptions Steinbeck used for her, but in reality she was a lonely victim in the cruel world she lived in.

Curley’s wife can be seen as a manipulative, vile woman or a victim of society as a whole. While she does appear to use her sexuality in attempts to get what she wants, I believe she may only be doing this out of necessity. Like the workers on the ranch, she too has her own hopes and dreams that she may never be able to fulfill. Also, there is never any overwhelming reason given for the reader to dislike her, just a general feeling of distaste. The only thing she truly appears to be guilty of is seeking the attention that she lacks from her husband. She may not be a paragon of virtue, but she is more a product of society than an innately terrible person.

Essay about Curley’s wife Curley’s wife is the only female character in the novel Of Mice of Men; Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only referred to in reference to her husband. Like the other people on the ranch, she is very lonely and has dreams of a better life which never come true. The author John Steinbeck introduces Curley’s wife in a symbolic ness way, this is shown when George is talking to Lennie about the dream and when Curley’s wife first meets both the men. “Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off.

Firstly, many characters in this novella are forced to feel lonely, despite the fact they have a companion. The majority of characters in the book do not have a companion and feel lonely, so how can men with a direct relationship feel lonely? This is all caused by unfair companionships, unfair meaning; they leave before one is ready, it is forced by outside factors, or by a mental state that is on a different level. An example of having a companion leaving before you are ready is with Candy and his dog. Candy has “had him since he was a pup[, and] herded sheep with him”(44), Carlson suggests to shoot him because “he skinks to beat hell” (45).

Of Mice and Men is a novel set on a ranch in the Salinas Valley in California, during the Great Depression of the 1930s by John Steinbeck. It was the first work to bring Steinbeck’s national recognition as a writer. The book addresses the real hopes and dreams of working-class America. Steinbeck's short novel raises the lives of the poor and dispossessed to a higher, symbolic level. The title suggests that plans of Mice and Men often go awry, a reference to Robert Burn’s poem "To a Mouse." Since the novel has been published, it has been called “Vulgar” and “Offensive”; perhaps because of the way it mentally handicapped people, people of different races (black people) and the way in which women were portrayed.

Finally, John Steinbeck shows off the bullying and meanness as intentional and contrasts it to Lennie’s unintentional meanness, such as when he hurts the puppy (pg 85), the mouse (pg 5), and kills Curley’s wife (pg 91). When Curley wants to fight it is intentional and violent. George explains Lennie’s violence when he says that Lennie "never done it in meanness" (pg 104). Lennie kills because he does not know his own strength – he cuddles or loves to hard. Also, he panics and reacts without thought, such as when he pulled the woman’s dress. (pg 41) Also, showing a contrast in motive is that Lennie is so upset by what he has done, especially to Curley’s wife. He is the only one who shows real remorse.

We are all raised in a world where a man’s voice is louder and more meaningful than a woman's. Whether we choose to realize it or not, it is the truth. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck shows just how much louder a man's voice is compared to a woman's. Throughout the novel, there is a scarcity of respect towards a woman’s voice, whether it be shown from a husband, a migrant worker, or a bystander. Society's lack of respect towards women specifically during the Great Depression era is displayed through interactions with Susy’s place, Aunt Clara, and Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men.

to Crooks' door when all the men are in town on Saturday night we realize that she is

Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men' explores the everyday lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this era, American men were forced to leave their families and become 'drifters'. These were people who didn't have a fixed job and continually moved from place to place.

Curley’s wife is treated with very little respect because of the small amount of power she has, which depicts Steinbeck’s lesson that people with less power are treated differently and then go on to treat others unequally, as well. Curley’s wife has a flirty reputation and often goes to talk to the men on the ranch even though she knows she shouldn't be. Shortly after Lennie and George are first introduced to Curley’s wife, George remarks, “Gosh, she was purty.” George is shocked and fiercely tells Lennie, “Don't you even take a look at that bitch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be”(Steinbeck 32). Lennie’s initial reaction of Curley’s wife is not uncommon for the lack of intelligence he has. George’s fierce attitude toward Curley’s wife when he calls her

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.