People who face great odds will hang on to hope, however, many will lose it to the cruel reality they live in. This is the story told in the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In this novel, Lennie and George are traveling bindle stiffs who experience the losses that come with the Great Depression, and the hope of others that is dashed by the death of one person. This theme of hope and loss is shown through Curley's wife, Candy, and George.
Marriage usually occurs when two people are deeply in love. This was not the case for Curley 's wife. Curley 's wife explains to Lennie, “I don’ like Curley. He ain 't a nice fella” (Steinbeck 89). According to the quote, Curley 's wife does not like her own husband! She was forced into marrying a guy she doesn 't truly love. Curly would abuse her, use her as bragging rights, and never spend time with his wife. Curley even had a glove filled with Vaseline so one of his hands could be soft for touching his wife. This is abusive because he talked about him and his wife’s sex life with the other ranchers. Since the other men on the ranch did not have a love, Curley uses his wife to his advantage by using her as bragging rights. It is unfortunate and disturbing what Curley’s wife had
The other men have labeled her a “tart” and other names later in the story. She also “has the eye” which means she’s a flirt even though she is married she tends to go around the farm looking for other men. The men think of her as property and and give her no respect or dignity. Later in the story, Curley’s wife also seems to be lonely and wanting attention. “ ‘I get 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?’” The quote identifies that Curley’s wife often gets lonely, causing her to flirt. The cause of her feeling lonely is most likely because Curley is controlling over her. Even though the
In this episode, Curley’s wife is having a conversation with Lennie about her American Dream of an actress in a desperate attempt to cure her loneliness. She also consolidates Lennie about the death of the puppy. Lennie confesses his desideratum to tend the rabbits because he simply likes to pet nice things. Curley’s wife then makes the big mistake of asking him to stroke her hair, and Lennie being Lennie goes too far, gets scared, and snaps Curley’s wife’s neck,”He shook her then, and he was angry with her… And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (91). At this point, Curley’s wife is clearly dead, along with her dream of what she could have been. Unlike the other themes, women do not necessarily die from men. What does die, is their dream. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to show that women will never be able to reach The American Dream. It doesn't matter if they have money. It doesn't matter if they can vote. It doesn't matter if they graduate college and end up teaching high schoolers that may or may not take the advice. There is a feeling of dissatisfaction that lives with women, and in the case of Curley’s wife, dies with women. Women will live their lives in distaste, or forever attempt to grasp the idea of The American Dream for themselves until it simply
Hungry for attention, Curley’s wife pays the men in the barn a visit, only to be pushed away by their cruel comments and harsh words. Offended and unwanted, Curley’s wife turns the tables against Crooks and insults him by saying: “well, you keep your place then, n*****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (80). Although she does not intend to hurt anyone, the men do not want to take chances retaliating at her resulting at them having to leave the ranch.When Candy found Curley’s wife half-hidden among the straw, lying still, he came to found out his dreams were taken from him. In the midst of things after Curley’s wife had died Candy had stayed behind and scolded at her “You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy tart”(95) Candy then goes on about how he “…could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys” (96) In this scene, Steinbeck exposes that Curley’s wife actually possessed more power in death rather than in life. In other words, her death revoked the dreams of many characters , including herself. Now candy, Lennie, and George will never have their ideal piece of farm land and Curley’s wife will pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. Unfortunately, Curley’s wife
Notably, Steinbeck also isolates Curley 's wife from everyone on the ranch because she has to stay at home while everyone is out working and Curly does not want his wife to talk to anybody except for him, but since he is always working, it pressures her to talk to others and be rebellionent since she gets lonely by herself. “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” (Pg 85). “I get lonely, 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?" (Pg 87 ). Steinbeck reveals how Curley 's wife is being isolated in this quote by her acknowledging how lonely she is and how she can not talk to anybody but Curley and if she were he would get mad at not only her but whoever she
The phrase ‘our responsibility as a society’ means making an impact by changing the lives of others regardless of the obstacles, circumstances and consequences you have to overcome. Our responsibility as a society is to be willing to sacrifice our well-being or lifestyle for the needs of others.
Furthermore, one of the most interesting roles in the ensemble of characters is Curley’s wife: her name is never mentioned in the book, as a reminder that she feels completely anonymous and useless, since her role is not recognised by none of the other characters. Her self-obsession probably originates from her desperate and unfulfilled need of validation. Someone may argue that her character is designed only as a tool for the development of the story, but her strong personality goes beyond this function.
Curley’s wife marries Curley in spite of her mother. She states that she does not like Curley. “‘Well, I ain 't told this to nobody before. Maybe i ought’n to. I don’ like Curley”’.(89) She simply marries Curley in a way to get back at her mother. Another reason Curley’s wife marries Curley, is she believes that her mother ruined her dreams. Curley’s wife could have been a movie star. She has one opportunity but she did not receive a letter. Curley’s wife believes that her mother stole it from her. “‘Well I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something and where they stole your letters”’.(88) “‘I ast her if she stole it, too, an’ she says no”’.(88) Curley’s wife has this whole conversation with Lennie. In conclusion
“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
Curley’s wife in this novel represents loneliness. Moreover she often had no one to talk to. She was habitually rejected by the ranch hands. Curley’s wife was always looking for someone to bend an ear to; she was not trying to seduce them. Curley’s wife is looking for someone who will listen and talk to her. Steinbeck states in the novel that Curley’s wife says “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” (86)
In the book, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character Lennis is a big, tall man who is described as a "big baby" because he has a mental condition that makes him act childish. The character referred to as Curley 's wife, is a petite and pretty lady. She is known to be a troublemaker and does not act the way a "normal" wife would. Although the two characters are very different, they share the feeling of being left out and alone.
It is said that it takes two months to get attached to a someone. In Of Mice and Men, characters spend well over two months with each other. Attachment is a prevalent theme throughout the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck encompasses elements of day to day struggles in the 1930’s through relationships and minor characters through the attachment they have. The theme of attachment is seen through the relationship between Lenny and George, the relationship between Candy and his dog, and lastly the actions of Curley’s wife.
After leaving home and basically forcing herself into a loveless marriage, she states that she isn’t in love with her husband. ”I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella”. (89) Throughout the course of the book, Curley’s wife spends most of her time “looking for Curley” when in reality she’s just looking for someone to talk to. “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” (86) in the book, Curley’s wife loneliness is mistaken for something else. Something in the areas of lust. Curley’s wife is not the only character to be