How Does Steinbeck Present Curley's Wife

This essay will explore the way Steinbeck uses language and structure, to present the character of Curley’s Wife to create sympathy or dislike. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck has presented Curley’s wife as the only women on an all-male ranch, this is a chance given to represent the women’s attitude, and attitude towards women during the 1930s. Curley’s wife is also presented in a sympathetic and unsympathetic way throughout the novel. Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife nameless throughout the novel as “Curley’s Wife”, which suggests that women did not have an identity or value, and were seen as possessions of men (objectified). This creates sympathy, as it shows women were treated like second class citizens.

Steinbeck introduces the character of Curley’s wife via other characters, this is a given chance to build up a negative image of her using language that creates dislike. The structure shows the low importance of Curley’s wife, which creates sympathy for her. The overall quote tells us that Curley’s wife was not seen as a loyal woman, but a woman just seeking a sexual

This leads to the dislike of her, as it suggests she is an attention seeker. Steinbeck states “her finger-nails were red” and “rouged lips”. This implies she is going to be a dangerous character, such as a trap who causes confrontation between men, as danger is associated with red. Another thing that is suggested by “red”, is the lust that Curley’s wife creates among men, such as Lennie who says she is “purty”, again this is a foreshadow of the ending as lust gets Lennie and Curley’s wife killed. Another phrase which describes Curley’s wife’s introduction is, “little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.” An “ostrich” has no feathers and cannot fly, which is related to Curley’s wife in the sense that she cannot follow her dreams of being a movie actor. This aspect creates sympathy for