Preview

Relationship Between Curley's Wife In Of Mice And Men

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
489 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Relationship Between Curley's Wife In Of Mice And Men
In the novel of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses the character of Curley's wife to make all of the men's lives in the ranch hell. George and Lennie call here a "tart" or "jailbait". She likes wearing too much makeup and dressing like a whore. She uses red nail polish and red high heels. In the book she is not given a name and is identified as Curley's wife which makes her seem like a possession. "She smiled archly and twitched her body. 'Nobody can't blame a person for lookin,' she said" This showed that she liked flirting with the men that work in farm. This makes Lennie really fascinated in Curley's wife, but soon George realizes and warns him to stay away. "What's the matter with me? Ain't I got a right to talk to nobody?" In the story Curley's wife seemed really lonely as no one wants to talk to her and expects her to stay in the house all day. In the book Curley's wife seems to be the start of many conflicts in the book, like when Curly came into the bunkhouse following Slim saying sorry for suspecting him of being with his wife. Curly later on notices that Lennie is laughing and started picking a fight wit him. One reason why Curly might have suspected that his wife was cheating on him was because she hits on the man that work in the ranch. She …show more content…
She also has no respect for the anyone as seen when she enters Crook's room has no respect for the Candy, Lennie, and Crooks especially Crooks for him being Black. Also when she gets lonely she turns cruel because she is jealous she feels sorry feels sorry for herself so she is mean to others because she is jealous of friendship that is starting and she wants people to notice how lonely and upset she is. This makes the reader have mixed emotions toward her because they feel sorry for her because she is lonely but then we turn against because she uses her power against someone who has a lower status that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Why did Curley's wife have to that? Why couldn't she just let Lennie be? Well…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Initially the character of Curley’s Wife is described to the readers by the men on the ranch that George and Lennie last work on, in their conversations with each other, before Curley’s Wife’s character is fully introduced with speech and description of physical appearance. Expressions, such as the idiom “she got the eye”, are used to describe her, implying that she is promiscuous and flirtatious, something that is later emphasised by her being referred to by the derogatory term of “tart£, implying that she is suggestive and perhaps even similar to a prostitute in terms of the way she portrays herself. The word “tart” could also suggest that she presents herself flamboyantly in front of the men at the ranch, illustrating her desperation for attention. The fact that she is married and is still promiscuous and portrays herself flamboyantly in front of other men could suggest that she is unfaithful and immoral, or alternatively that her sexual needs are not fulfilled by her husband, providing a reasonable explanation to why Curley wears a glove “fulla vasaline”, something that is seen as “dirty” by George. She is described to be “heavily made up” which could add to her being unfaithful and untrue as she almost is disguised and covered up by cosmetics, covering her real natural appearance. Steinbeck purposefully conveys Curley’s Wife negatively through the ranch men in order to create an initial pessimistic and hateful approach toward her character by the readers.…

    • 1953 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    When she is first introduced in the book, she is seemed as the one to blame for everything that goes wrong. Chapter two: ‘Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in.’ The light – representing hope and reams - is cut off by her shadow, she casts a shadow over their George and Lennie’s dream., This foreshadows the death of their dream and her involvement in this; it is also significant as she appears just after George and Lennie have discussed their plans if they get involved in any trouble. Although, she could be seen as an angel, the light is shining behind her and she is the key to happiness. In this quote the…

    • 1876 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men is an example of why we need to be our brother’s keeper.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's wife is a beautiful and the only woman in that novel’s ranch, her husband doesn’t trust her and the reason is she doesn’t like Curly,she said: “He ain’t a nice fella”(89). and Curly was the son of that ranch’s boss,so that nobody dare to talk with her, they do not want to get any trouble. So she is…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although Curley is Always asking her whereabouts, but never interested in talking to her shows that Curley sees his wife as a possession rather than a person. Slim calls him out on this, saying “If you can’t look after your own God damn wife, what you expect me to do about it?” (Steinbeck, 62). This, of course, leads to the aforementioned encounter with Lennie. Furthermore, the relationship that Curley breeds with his wife is by no means a good one. They both harbor resentment towards each other, as shown when Curley’s wife says “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before…I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.” (Steinbeck, 89). She then goes on to talk about her dreams and aspirations, and then says that she merely settled for a marriage with…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife sparks much debate and controversy, being an extremely important character in the book as she symbolises the gender inequality and discrimination of the period. At the start of the novella, we assume she is just a plot device, but later on find out that there is much more about her and she has a very important role in the book as being the only woman. During the 1930’s women were treated unequally to men, and weren’t treated with as much respect, which is reflected later when we realise that Curley’s wife isn’t addressed with a name. The attitude to women at the time contrasts with how gender inequality is now; women have the right to vote and they are now appreciated.…

    • 1503 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The other men call her and treat her like a tart. She is often demeaned and made to feel oppressed. One way in which I believe she is oppressed is by the way she’s not given a name, just referred to as Curley’s Wife, Curley’s property. “I ain’t used to living like this”, this quotation suggests that she is sick of being made to stay at home all day and just clean, cook and do all the chores around the house. I believe that Curley’s wife also feels demeaned by the way in which people call her names, like tart. “Married two weeks and got the eye”, this is an example of Candy judging her, even though he does not know the slightest thing about her. “They’s gonna be a bad mess about her”, this is an example of when George is speculating about what she is capable of, even though he has barely even met her by this stage.…

    • 555 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Of mice and men’ is set during the Great Depression. When a Dust Bowl in the 1930s, which vastly damaged the economics and agriculture in the US. Hundreds and thousands of farmers lost their jobs and became migrant workers in California. Finding a job in the ranches was really difficult, because the society was cruel to those who are useless. In this book, there are a few minor characters that reflected some important social injustices in the 1930s.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to represent how many women in the 1930s were classed below men, and how this prejudice allowed their lives to be defined by the men around them. In this passage, Steinbeck has manipulated Curley’s wife’s appearance in order to reinforce our pre judged feelings towards her, based on gossip and rumours told by Candy.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's Wife Analysis

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck portrays the story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who are completely different people, but who stick together in the face of discrimination and loneliness. There are many different characters who each have their own hopes and aspirations that are depicted in the book, however one character that stands out is Curley’s wife. At first, the book introduces her as a seductress who dresses extravagantly and wears too much makeup. The men on the ranch say she plays around and they call her names such as “tart” or “jail bait”. She is defined by her role in the book, Curley’s wife. In other words, Curley’s property. She is never given a name throughout the book, only being referred to as Curley’s wife. However, as the book goes on, the reader begins to learn the complexities of Curley’s wife. It is revealed that she has a dream of her own, to be in the movies, and hates being tied down on the ranch. “ ‘Nother time I met a guy, an’…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's wife is one of the most significant characters in John Steinbeck's novel "Of mice and men," although we never learn her name. We learn about her through her own words and actions and also through other characters' descriptions and opinions of her. Before Curley's wife makes her first appearance, she is introduced to us through Candy's opinion of her. He tells George that, although she has only been married to Curley for two weeks, she has already "got the eye." He also describes he as "a tart" that has been flirting with both Slim and Carlson. Curley's wife's first appearance is dramatic. She suddenly appears in the open doorway, cutting off the bright sunlight, as if she has brought the darkness with her. The reader is already influenced by Candy's description of her so that when Steinbeck describes her as having "full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up" we see this as confirmation of her being "a tart." Equally, it could simply mean that she takes pride in her appearance and tries to get noticed. However, she does flaunt herself " she smiled archly and twisted her body" and is clearly aware that Lennie is fascinated with her. George's first impression of Curley's wife is that she is "a tramp" and the worst "piece of jail-bait" he has ever seen. Later in the novel, the young ranch hand Whit also tells George that he thinks Curley's wife flaunts her body and has "got the eye goin' all the time on everybody." He agrees with George that she is trouble. Steinbeck gives us a more direct insight into Curley's wife's character in the scene when she meets Candy, Lennie and Crooks in Crooks' room. She sneers at the men, telling them that men are afraid to talk to her when there is more than one of them present, "You're all scared of each other, that's what." When she says, "They left all the weak ones here" she may mean it as an insult, but she also seems to accept that she is one of "the weak ones" who has been left behind, because she knows Curley…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    little power and she is shown to have no control. She uses her beauty as a strength. This situation foreshadows her death because of her flirtatious sense of personality; she was purposely flirting with Lennie and he was not stable enough to handle this. Her mother makes the situation worse by telling her that she couldn’t be an actress this brings down her self-esteem making her believe that she could never amount to anything making her the way she was.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Outline For Curley's Wife

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates characters that play important roles throughout the story that contribute to themes and connect readers to an overall focus. Curley’s wife, a minor, but significant character in the story, contributes to the theme and is partly responsible for Lennie’s death. Her sinful actions and petty personality make her a character that isn’t respected by others and is known for being trouble around the ranch. Disregarding her flirtations ways and overall self-absorbance, her dreams of a promising future are destroyed. Her gaudy appearance and constant search for Curley makes the men on the ranch view her as a cheater and inappropriate woman. However, after hearing her story, some of…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's Wifes Loneliness

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout this novel Curley’s wife seems to always be looking for her husband, Curley. Having to always search for Curley is not a good relationship, as Curley’s wife steps into the doorway of the bunkhouse she says to George and Lennie, “I’m lookin’ for Curley Oh… Sometimes Curley’s in here” (Steinbeck 31). In this quote not only is Curley’s wife looking for Curley but she’s trying to carry on the conversation. All Curley’s wife wants to do most of the time is talk to people, but she’s not always allowed to. As a matter of fact Curley gets very upset when his wife talks to others, Curley's wife states to Crooks, Candy, and Lennie, “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?... I’m glad you bust up Curley… I’d like to… myself” (Steinbeck 77, 81). This passage shows that Curley’s wife will talk to another person if she wants to and doesn’t care what her husband thinks. Finally, Curley’s wife enjoys a lot of attention in general. Therefore, Curley’s wife is kind of throwing herself at the men, dressing up and leaning on the door frame Steinbeck adds a very detailed description of her, “Full rouged lips…eyes, heavily made up…wore a cotton house dress and red mules” (Steinbeck 31). This information from the novel shows that Curley’s wife dresses to impress. Curley’s wife is essentially acting out in these situations…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays