Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Curley’s Wife was a subject of Prejudice because she was a woman. During the 1930’s a woman’s place was to be at home raising a family, also women were seen as second class citizens and property of their husbands. Before we meet Curley’s Wife, the reader already has an opinion of her because of what the character Candy calls her- “jail bait”; George calls her a “tramp”. It’s implied that she is a tart and a promiscuous woman; she craves the attention her husband doesn’t give her.

This shows that neither may be happy in the relationship or Curley is worried about his wife cheating due to the relationship being out of necessity for Curley's wife and she may not get enough attention so she looks to other men which may make Curley insecure. There is also a chance that the relationship may be abusive due to Curley's wife admitting to wanting to hurt Curley.

Our first impression of Curley’s wife is through Candy, when she is mentioned for the first time. Candy creates tension before we meet her, “Wait’ll you see Curley’s wife”. The hesitation after he says “Yeah. Purty... but-” foreshadows and suggests she might be dangerous. Candy implied that she is a deceitful, unfaithful flirt as she gives people “the eye” and “Curley never seen it”. What he says causes us to prejudge

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.

Curley’s wife, who is never given a name, but always called “Curley’s wife”, is shown with a lot of sexual prejudice. She is referred to as a “looloo” (51) with a very flirtatious nature and “she got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody”, and she might “even gives the stable buck they eye” (51). A "ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like

As Candy, the housekeeper mentions to George, ?Well, I think Curley?s married?a tart.? (p. 14) What the men do not know is that Curley?s wife is just incredibly lonely, once having dreamt to be a star, and marrying Curley after the failure of that dream. She is all alone in the secluded world of the ranch. Having a husband who pays no attention to her, she tries to find someone to talk to among the men in the ranch, dressing provocatively for that reason only. Unfortunately, the combination of misunderstanding and their knowledge of only one type of women ? the kind they encounter at ?cat-houses? ? drives the men away from Curley?s wife.

(Steinbeck 87) Curley’s Wife becomes innocent and lonely towards the end of the book because her ideal self emerges. She expresses how her life is behind bars. She talked to all of the guys when Curley wasn’t around because she could never talk to anybody with him. Their marriage is broken because of how he treats her and puts limitations on her.

When a person is lonely and does not feel a sense of belonging, they disregard societal expectations and search for a sense of belonging anyway they can. The character of Curley’s wife, who is a lonely ranch wife, demonstrates this throughout Of Mice and Men. Curley’s wife is ostracized from the men working on the ranch by, her husband, Curley. She, therefore, has no one to talk to except Curley who does not make his companionship meaningful to her. So, when Curley is away from the ranch she takes advantage and

In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he illustrates the journey George and Lennie have throughout a significant part of their lifetime. Throughout the novel, many characters, including George and Lennie, are facing lonesome and they struggle to deal with it the right way. Most of the men are all alone because they have no family left or they isolate themselves from their peers. Loneliness touches each character at some point in the novel and it really emphasizes the impact it can have on an individual. Steinbeck uses the characters Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy to develop the theme that containing loneliness will make someone’s desperation deepen.

talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad at me." (91) Curley's wife tries to combat her loneliness by flirting with the other workers, but when they plainly turn her down in order to stay out of trouble, it just further adds to her loneliness.

She has no friends and no one takes the time to listen to her. As the only woman on the ranch she has nobody to turn to. Curley doesn’t appreciate her or take the time to talk to her. When she goes to Crook’s stable her emotions overtake her and she admits her loneliness, “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in awhile? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?” (77) She is always stuck in the house either alone or with Curley. Curley just ignores her and doesn't give her the attention that she wants. So she finds it from other men. As the only woman she has only the workers for company. She is isolated and all alone. She only gets attention when she flirts with the men, nobody appreciates her for anything else. They all know she’s unfaithful and flirty, so when alone with her they take advantage of her. The men on the ranch only give her attention if it is to flirt with her,“”If I catch any one man, and he’s alone, I get along fine with him. But just let two of the guys get together an’ you won’t talk...Ever’ one of you’s scared the rest is goin’ to get something on you.”” (77) The guys on the ranch only pay attention to her when they are alone with her. So they can mess around with her without the other workers knowing. They especially don’t want Curley to find out. It’s hard for Curley’s wife to feel at home on the ranch when no one wants to be her friend.

Steinbeck has written of Mice and men in a time period where men travelled alone and rarely sent time with other people. This is reflected in the characters of the novel, who are all lonely however some are lonelier than others. These include Crooks, Candy, Curley and Curley’s wife. They all have the hope of achieving their own dreams, which is the cause of their loneliness.

She is considered an outcast because she is a woman. All that she wants is freedom and the ability to leave the house and talk to who she wants, but this is very difficult for her. When she tries to talk to the men on the ranch, they characterize her as a tramp because of her flirtatious personality and disregard everything she says and tells her to go back to the house. These actions can make Curley’s wife feel belittled and degraded because she doesn’t want to be stuck in the house like the ideal “housewife.” In the book they don’t even give her a name, which should reveal that they significant separation between men and women. The only other character in the book without a name is candy's dog. Another way that the ranchmen belittled Curley’s wife is by completely avoiding and treating her poorly when she was around. They outcasted her by making her feel like she didn’t belong, but the only reason she hung around them was to socialize, which she rarely got to do. Curley’s wife was upset because all the men called her a tramp and slutty and said that she should be waiting for Curley in the house. She tells the men , “ you can talk to people but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad” (87). Curley's wife wants to feel like she belongs, but they keep knocking her down. They degrade her by making her feel like less than she is, she is human just like everyone else on the farm or in the world, however, is still treated without respect and rights because she is a

Though Crooks is a Black man he is a hell of a good worker, so he says himself. When he talks to Lennie and Candy he feels pleasure mixed with anger. When Curley 's wife comes in and threatens him, he feels small and scared and feels like he lost power and privileges over his room and realizes he is black and shouldn 't have back talked her. He knows what she could do to him for what he did, so she says her self. “She closed on him. “You know what I could do?”.....“Well, you keep your place then....I could get you strung up so easy it ain 't funny. '”(80, 81). Because she was a white female and the boss ' son 's Wife she had superiority over him and so he felt alone at that moment. He didn 't realize the cruelness of white folk when he was younger but as he grew older he did, mainly because of where he slept and the way he was treated. “ 'Why ain 't you wanted?”...“Cause I 'm black. They play cards in there, but I can 't play because I 'm black... '”(68). This

'Of Mice and Men' is based around two main themes; loneliness, and the fragility of dreams. Each main character connects with both of these themes at some stage throughout the novel. Curley's wife is no exception to this. At the beginning of the novel the reader views her as an unpleasant, naive and troublesome character. However, as the novel progresses, the reader is gradually exposed to another side of Curley's wife, one that suggests she is merely a