The Protagonist In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Authors frequently utilize antagonizing characters to drive and enhance the plot and meaning behind the story. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck explains the story of two lovable main characters and their struggles to achieve their own unattainable American Dream to own property and “live off the fatta the lan’” (14). In the story, the supposed side character and antagonist, Curley’s wife, becomes the obstacle between the main characters and their American dream, ignoring her ambitions. Accidentally murdering Curley’s wife, Lennie ruins any hope of achieving his goals while creating the turning point in the story. However, through the development of Curley’s wife as a character, Steinbeck demonstrates the theme of loneliness and its deadly qualities through her struggles in life and death.

Someone once said, “A villain is just a victim whose story hasn’t been told.” The character known as Curley’s Wife in Of Mice and Men is portrayed in John Steinbeck’s writing as an antagonist. Multiple time throughout the book she is insulted by the men, who call her things such as a tramp, or a tart. As the story continues, there are many hidden indications that she could be seen as a much simpler, innocent presence, rather than an evil. When looked at more in depth, Curley’s Wife can be seen as a victimized character.

Is being a woman something someone should be blamed for? Growing up as a woman in the 1900s was very unfair for all females. They had less rights and were treated as if they were prized possessions. A book that provides insight into this topic is Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. In the book, the only female character is married to the boss’ son, Curly. Curly and his wife 's relationship has no true love involved and according to Curley 's wife, the marriage is very forceful. In fact, we do not even know the name of Curley 's wife! In Of Mice and Men, it is illusive that Curley 's wife is treated poorly and has an unfair life. All Curley 's wife wanted to do was talk with the other ranchers instead she is considered a tart for talking to other

Curley’s wife is one of these characters, whom could be identified by many literary lenses. However, we will focus on one lens, the Gender lens. First off, while everyone in the story has a name or nickname, even Crooks, Curley’s Wife is never given a name. She is the only

“And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). The novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck takes place in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. During this time period, many men would travel looking for work and would end up working for a rich ranch owner. Most of this novella takes place at a ranch owned by a wealthy man in Soledad, California. At this ranch, Curley’s wife is a very present and ornate character; however, she is not at all respected. Two weeks prior to George and Lennie’s arrival at the farm, Curley’s wife married Curley to escape her family and gain wealth after meeting him at the Riverside Dance Palace. Due to all the hardships she endures at the ranch, Curley’s wife is the loneliest and most alienated character in the novella.

Have you ever been misunderstood before? Have things ever gotten really tough and you just don’t know what to do? Well, in the story “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, Curley’s Wife is very misunderstood. The story takes place during the great depression in Salinas Valley, California. During the great depression not many people had it easy and Curley’s Wife was one of those people who didn’t have so easy especially because she was a woman and at the time they didn’t have many rights. Curley’s Wife is the most misunderstood character because of her background, her seemingly unloving husband, and troubling times during the great depression.

The novellas Of Mice and Men and The Pearl are both often noted as social criticisms. The author, John Steinbeck addresses real-life issues that society is facing. Whether through direct statements and comments, or through a fictional characters’ situation, Steinbeck criticizes just some of the problems of society. He shows the way people are discriminated against, and why. He shows the issues society faces. Author John Steinbeck explores multiple real life issues in both works, and provides a message of how unfair the world is, as well as show how cruel humans can be to differences.

Curley’s wife was subjected to the power of her husband. He was an overly jealous man who loved to be in control. “Curley maybe ain’t gonna like his wife out in the barn with us.”(Steinbeck 78). Curley tried to control her every move. Curley’s wife knew at time she was powerless. “They left all the weak ones here.”(Steinbeck 77). Curley’s wife is calling Crooks, Lennie, and Candy weak because they didn’t go off to the whorehouse with the other guys, but here she is. She is weak by default and all her pretty dresses does not make her powerful.

While Crooks, a victim of racial prejudice, expresses his isolation openly, he also socializes with other workers on the job and while playing horseshoes with them. Curley’s wife, on the other hand, cannot talk to anyone without suffering the consequences of a jealous husband: “ I get so lonely,’ she said. “you can talk to people , but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?” (87) More specifically, the other men on the ranch refuse to talk to her because Curley’s position of power on the ranch portrays him as having the ability to have any man on the ranch lose their job. Furthermore, when Curley’s wife was conversing with Lennie in the barn and confided in him, she said: “Well, I ain’t

Due to the Great Depression, women’s rights took a back seat to employment and poverty. It was believed that women shouldn’t work but stay at home, clean, cook, and raise their children. The prejudice against women in the society was great back in the 1930s for they were degraded and underestimated. All the rights they had gained in the 1920s were neglected and the women were once again maltreated. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the victim of sexism is Curley’s wife who is so insignifact that even a name was not provided for her. Sexism is shown in the book when Curley’s wife is regarded as a bitch merely owing to the fact that she is flirtatious and wears appealing clothes.

Throughout literature, women who are characterized as shameless temptresses are often the way they are because of a desperation to break away from society’s oppression of low-class, uneducated females. This is never more true than for Curley’s wife in the fictional novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Through considerate yet concise descriptions of her fantasy of Hollywood stardom, putting down of others, and attention-seeking ways, Curley’s wife is revealed to be a downtrodden female who suffers from her own internal, emotional conflict.

Curley’s wife is not completely innocent, but she is not a villain. When she gets opportunity’s to show her true colors she is mean to the men on the ranch, which makes her at the least part villain. When Lennie is with Crooks and Cansy , she speaks to Crooks very rudely and says, “listen Nigger. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap”(Steinbeck 104)? Curley’s wife believes that she can take control and overpower Crooks. She thinks this because she is a white female and Curley’s wife, and Crooks is black. She is expressing her power, and taking advantage of Crooks. She does this because she recognizes he cannot do anything about it. Curley’s wife then takes the conversation farther, “ Well you keep your place then nigger. I could

Prejudice, it’s something humans all do naturally. Everybody, no matter what race, appearance and family history, have some level of prejudice against others. In the novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife, Candy, and Crooks are discriminated against, ‘picked on’ and there are certain degrees of prejudice they are treated with. These characters are crucial in providing the audience or the reader with evidence that prejudice is a human fault and the way in which these characters were treated, is to be expected.

“In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.” -John Steinbeck. Loneliness can be affected by many things and can affect many things. Curley’s wife is a character whose actions are debatably driven by the feeling of loneliness. Some think her actions are driven solely by her personality and moral values. Others see nothing wrong with her actions and excuse them by placing the origin of it on loneliness. These actions, no matter what the commencement, have a great impact on the people of the ranch. They affect relationships, sensibility, and moral character. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men the actions of Curley’s wife can be debated through what she does, her reasons of her actions, and the impact her actions have on

Steinbeck once again returns to his biological perception of the human. “The attack on us set in motion the most powerful species drive we know - that of survival” (Steinbeck). “By attacking us, they destroyed their greatest ally, our sluggishness, our selfishness, and our disunity” (Steinbeck). Steinbeck alludes self-critically to the American maneuvering and indifference during the first two years of WWII.