In the 1930s the country faced the Great Depression. Men travelled throughout the country in hopes to find work. Many men found work on ranches and did labor. Women were a rare sight on a ranch. When there is a woman, they are usually overwhelmed with all the men so they flirt with them.
1. In the novel Of Mice and Men, it strongly sets a devastating scene towards the end, yet what was done was necessary. As Lenny sits in the barn staring at the dead pup he did not mean to kill, Curley’s wife comes in and sympathises with Lenny. Although Curley’s wife is beautiful and young, she is naive and dangerous as George knew from the beginning.
Someone you don’t necessarily want to associate yourself with. Steinbeck shows Curley’s Wife as an example of a misfit, someone who really has no one else to talk to, and someone who really just wants to let out all of her feelings. She is the only woman mentioned on the ranch, and this can cause some issues. She has no desire to be Curley’s Wife, and she has no desire to live on this ranch with these misfits. Steinbeck uses many different characters to play out his theme of dreams through the novel.
First thing’s first, not once throughout the entire book does anyone refer to Curley’s wife by her name, and it’s unclear if they even know it in the first place. She’s unsatisfied with her marriage and gets lonely, so she gets flirty with the other guys, however, as a result, they tend to avoid her because they suspect she’s gonna try to start trouble, which in turn, feeds into the cycle of loneliness. Whenever other characters talk about her, it’s usually in demeaning terms and insults, since she had unfairly accumulated a rock-bottom reputation. During a very vulnerable period, she strikes up a conversation with Lennie and starts venting about where she could’ve been, "I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself."
Curley’s wife is bullied by her mother and guys on the ranch. Other men on the ranch thinks she is cheating on Curley with other men. One of the men called her a “‘tart,’” because he thinks she sleeps with other guys (28). She wanted to become an actress, but her mother did not want her to be in movies.
Curley's wife can be seen as an outcast because Curley’s wife is the only female living on the ranch. Women were also looked at as property during this time period, and for this reason, her name was never mentioned throughout the novel. She also tends to seek attention from men other than her husband. The book states “‘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.
In Of Mice and Men Curley’s wife is hated throughout the book but near the end she reveals her past to unattentive Lennie. “Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am , anyways?”(pg.87), quote shows that Curley's wife is lonely and wants to talk to someone but she is ignored by all. She goes to explain to Lennie all the things that has happened to her “If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this you bet...
Curley’s wife is always looking at other guys. People stereotype Curley’s wife as the girl who always looks and flirts with other men on the ranch. The characters think that she is trying to hook up with every guy she can see, but in reality she's just lonely and wants somebody to talk too but that didn't end well for her when she talked to
Finally, Steinbeck dehumanizes Curley by the negative criticism that always pursues her and her loss of identity when accompanying someone or something. This is why she is always commonly known as “Curley’s Wife”, proving that she is an unimportant and insignificant character in this book. Plus, everybody in the book says that Curley’s wife causes trouble for everyone; as George says, “She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger,” (Steinbeck, 49) and is constantly getting blame for all that goes wrong in Soledad; as Candy says, You God damn tramp. You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad.
(Steinbeck 87). She was the only woman on the farm with a bunch of men. Including her very jealous and rude husband. A key to being cheerful is social interaction and that was something Curley’s wife did not have. However, it allows the person to feel like they have someone they trust and can count on.
In society it is natural to judge someone when you first meet them, and sometimes it leads them to misperception. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck talks about George and Lennie, their journey through the Great Depression. The start of the book talks about how George and Lennie move from farm to farm looking for work and they find a new farm. At this farm they befriend a few of the workers there, but they all misperceive Lennie right away and see him as this weakling that cannot do anything really serious. Since in the end Lennie ends up killing Curley’s wife and no one expected it since he comes off more childish.
In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck we learn about the characteristics and personalities of most characters early within the book. Except for one character who is very mysterious. Curley's wife is the only woman on the ranch. Everyone on the ranch refers to her as Curley's wife throughout the whole book. Is a character who does not have a name that important to the story?
Curley 's wife is promiscuous. She’s clingy, racist, and she annoys everyone on the ranch. At least that’s the way John Steinbeck portrayed her in his book Of Mice and Men. When a motion picture based on the book under the same name was produced, the director Gary Sinise decided to transform the way people felt about Curley 's wife. He presented her as more sympathetic and romantic, and in turn far more likeable.
Curley’s married woman is talked about before she is seen in the book. The first existent reference of her is ‘wife. ’ Already it has been established that she has no name. she is merely Curley’s married woman. The work forces see her as a adult females.
In the 1930’s women weren’t treated the same as men. If they were employed they had the responsibilities of work and home. They had to make sure they looked presentable for their husband after work. John Steinbeck the author Of Mice and Men, wrote a novel about two men, George and Lennie who’ve been traveling to find a job. Lennie made it hard for them to keep one, because his brain wouldn’t let him comprehend things like everyone else.
