Of Mice and Men: Is Curley's Wife a Victim or Villian?

In this essay I am going to be assessing the character Curleys Wife from Steinbeck’s book Of Mice And Men. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression it features two farm workers called George and Lennie. The travel around together in search of work sharing a dream of a place of their own, a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. It tells the story of how violence may erupt to destroy those dreams. Curleys wife is a character in the book who from the brief encounters with her is presented in two ways. Firstly the dangerous, flirtatious character who isn’t trusted by the rest of the ranch workers but then later one we realize how she is just a victim

Imagine yourself being someone who loves to communicate, express feelings, talk about issues with your friends, but can’t. You can’t because you’re the only girl working on a ranch in the late 30’s trying really hard to get a little bit of money to have a better life. You have a husband but he’s got plenty of friends because there’s more men to communicate with. Curley’s wife has the exact same problems. Her loneliest ended up taking her life though.

Do you think Curley’s wife is misunderstood? I believe she is very misunderstood. Not only did she have to deal with a horrible husband. But, she also had to deal with being chained like a dog. She wanted someone to understand her and her reasoning behind the things she did.

Curley’s wife flirts with other men on the ranch to cope with her loneliness. “‘Sure I gotta husban’. You all seen him. Swell guy, ain’t he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody’” (78).

”(Steinbeck, 14) Even though George was mad at Lennie, he decided to forgive him and tell Lennie that even if he did something wrong, he would always have him until the very end. George and Lennie’s relationship is never about who is right or wrong, but who can fix it and solve the problem. The relationship between Curley and his wife is almost the opposite of George and Lennie. Curley treats his wife as an object that he can use to show off, and his wife sees him as immature and self-centered. When Curley’s wife talks with Lennie she mentions how she feels about Curley

Humans are responsible for their own actions, and the characters Of Mice and Men are no exception. In Steinbeck's novel, Curley’s wife’s actions result in her tragic death. She faces this situation when she denies the warnings she is given in the first place. Therefore, Lennie, or anyone else for that matter, can not be responsible for her death. Curley’s wife is the only one to blame because she is warned to stay away in the first place, has knowledge of Lennie’s strength, and still allows Lennie to pet her hair even after seeing the result of him petting the puppy.

I s’pose you’re glad to be. Ever’body know you’d mess things up? You weren’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy tart” (Steinbeck 95). After everything that has happened with their weeks on the farm, it was all Curley’s wife’s fault.

Curley's wife thought that the only person she could talk to freely was Lennie. There is irony in the fact that the first time Curley's Wife allows herself to be vulnerable and kind without fear or being manipulated or her motives misconstrued, she is murdered. Curley's Wife's last act was one of kindness where "she took Lennie's hand and put it on her head"(5). As Curley's wife and Lennie converse. Lennie repeatedly brings up rabbits and she asks him for the reason behind his infatuation.

In Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men" Curly's wife to me felt like a victim. Curly's Wife never able to actually talk to anybody, or do anything with anyone because they thought she was trouble. No one listened to her when she needed to vent on someone.

The last event that was influenced by Curley’s wife is Lennie’s death. In fact, she was the cause of it. After having killed her, Lennie escaped to the pond, just like George had said. George looked for him and had to kill him, otherwise he would have been killed in a much more violent way by Curley or one of the other men on the

Curley’s wife does not really portray the character in the book. I believe that this has to do with the sound of each character which can change your opinion about a character like Lennie and Curley’s wife. Overall she acts more loving in the movie than what is shown in the book. Curley himself acts that same in the book and in the movie. He is still the same person that is mean and is always meant to everyone including his wife. Slim is also the same. In the book, he is very chill and calm. Same in the movie. In the movie, he is very chill. But in the movie, he does not seem more powerful at all than what was portrayed in the book. In the book, he is called the prince of the ranch, but in the movie, he is still powerful but it is not shown very

Curley’s wife - a flirtatious, mysterious women in the novel. She is the only women that is described by Steinbeck in the novel. How we call her- “Curley’s wife” shows that she is just a possession of Curley. And the others names that George and Candy had given to her are “looloo; jailbait; tart”; these names show how badly she was treated in the ranch particularly and the sexism in American society in 20s - 30s generally.

However, when she notices George and Lennie, Curley's wife claims she is "lookin' for Curley". Inferring she is cautious and reserved towards George and Lennie.

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.