Archetypes are a manifestation of how our minds envision the roles of characters, these characters come in the form of the hero, villain, temptress, damsel, monster, and mentor. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, we follow the story of two men who struggle to pull through, on their journey they come across other characters that fulfill the roles of the archetypes. One character in particular that fills the archetype of the villain is Curley. Curley has an aura of evil that resonates from his attitude and his actions, which triggers people to act defensively around him for self-preservation. A villain's attitude shows what kind of person they are, for instance, Hitler was not seen as a nice person by his peers nor anyone for that …show more content…
‘By Christ, he's gotta talk when he's spoken to. What the hell are you gettin’ into it for?’” (Steinbeck 25). This is the first time Curley meets Lennie and George, and the attitude Curley presents to these people is plain rude even though he knows nothing about them. Curley’s attitude mirrors that of tree bark, it is rough, sturdy, and can give you splinters if not careful, it shows how coarse Curley's attitude is. Curley’s attitude is a crucial part of what allows him to fit the villain archetype, however, his attitude is not the only element that shows he is a villain. One’s attitude goes hand in hand with how the act, similar in archetypes you don’t see the hero hurting or torturing people for their amusement. After Curley and Slim arrive at the bunkhouse, the characters start to laugh at Curley for his glove filled with vaseline, so Curley decides that he needs to prove himself better by picking a fight with Lennie. “Curley was balanced and poised. He slashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his with a right. Lennie gave a cry of terror. Blood welled from his nose. ‘George,’ he cried. ‘Make ‘um let me alone, George’” (Steinbeck 63). Curley picks a fight with Lennie, even though Lennie did nothing wrong to deserve it. Curley’s fight with Lennie, which was completely uncalled for supports that Curley is a villain through his actions. Curley’s aggressive attitude leads to violent actions towards others, and sparks this villainous
“But Curley’s gonna want to shoot ‘im” (Steinbeck 97), said George to Candy. That there? Just an argument between Curley shooting Lennie. Ill explain later, but this is where George is thinking about what he's going to have to do to Lennie, you see Curley is going to want to slowly kill Lennie for killing his wife. But George kills Lennie quick and easy.
Upon further analysis, you can find some humanity, or reasoning behind Curley's actions. Remember, this text is extremely biblical, and as Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Curley is first introduced twenty-five pages into the book. Shortly afterward, the book mentions he is the boss' son. When Curley first meets Lennie, he goes into a fighting stance.
The humanity of the world has a wide variety of lessons and morals. The Book by John Steinbeck Of Mice And Men applies this with two characters Curly and George both demonstrating two very different things about society and humanity through George’s caregiver archetype and Curly’s archetype of the bully. Throughout the story, George the main protagonist cares for Lennie after he promised to look out and care for him through their uncertain adventure they end up at a ranch, and at the ranch, they meet Curly, a steel-headed individual who advocates rude and cruel behavior through yelling, stomping around, and fighting the characters of the book even if Curley is small and lacking compared to the others. In the book Of Mice and Men Steinbeck presents
Once Curley finds out about his wife's death he angerly promises the guys that he's going to kill Lennie, saying, "I'm gonna get him. I'm going for my shotgun. I'll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I'll shoot 'im in the guts"(Steinbeck 96). If George wouldn't have stepped in, Curley was going to make sure Lennie died as painfully as possible for the death of his wife.
This is another example of George helping Lennie not get into too much trouble. George knows that if something happens to Curley's wife, Curley will kill that person and kick them off the
He ran furiously out of the barn.” (Steinbeck 96) This quote shows the anger that Curley had towards Lennie, proving that if given the chance, he would have killed Lennie. George taking Lennie’s life allowed him to die with someone who he loves and trusts, not to be killed by someone who has nothing but hatred for him. George’s actions were not to hurt Lennie, but of an act of love and care for Lennie.
Her husband was very mad his name was Curley. So since Curley was disturbed about his wife he wanted to execute Lennie. The next moment Curley had a gang ready to find Lennie, but only George knew where he was at. In conclusion George goes to Lennie and him before anyone else can hurt him. There is debate whether George slaughtered Lennie with justification or not.
The definition of a sympathetic character is one whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, though not necessarily admire. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife, a main character in the book is blatantly portrayed as an unsympathetic character. This is because they only see her through the men's eyes, who only see her as a tiresome object, owned by her husband. Steinbeck’s portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair and misogynistic because he only displays her as unintelligent and promiscuous, never has a character have a turning point where they realize she’s more than an object, and he never reveals her true name. The first reason that Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair is that he never gives Curley any redeeming personality traits, he only depicts her as unintelligent and promiscuous.
With Curley saying this, George knew what was about to occur. He grabbed Carlson’s Luger and took off to find Lennie. It was right there, he ended it to Lennie’s benefit. He was sure that Lennie was happy and had a good last thought. He did it merciful where there was no pain involved.
In the text we can clearly tell that Curley has a major superiority complex which can be seen in two main points in the book. The first example is when Curley called Lennie out for not speaking at their first meeting which is seen in this quote. “Curley lashed his body around. “By Christ he’s gotta speak when he’s spoke to. What the hell are you getting’ into it for” (25).
This quote tells us that Curley would kill Lennie and shoot him in the guts. It tells us that Curley wants him to suffer. George killing Lennie was the right choice
In Of Mice and Men, the ranch and bunkhouse have a hostile atmosphere. “I don’t want no trouble,” Lennie said. “Don’t let him sock me, George.” This is an example of how Curley has created a hostile environment at the ranch because within the short amount of time that they have been at the ranch Lennie is already afraid of Curley. Curley is very unfriendly and always wants to fight someone which makes Lennie want to leave.
Curley used this as an excuse to kill Lennie. He really wanted to kill Lennie because he destroyed his hand though. Curley said he was going to blow Lennie's guts out and make him suffer and be in pain. George prevented this by shooting Lennie in the back of the head and ending him quickly. George killed lennie because if he didn’t, Curley would have made him suffer.
The point of physical violence has not been touched upon. In the midst of the rising action in the novel, Curley starts to beat Lennie because he was grinning at the thought of the ranch, but Curley thought that he was laughing at him. Lennie made a remark that he does not want to fight him. Consequently, Curley assaults Lennie, and he accepts it. It was only at George’s call for permission that Lennie crushed his hand.
Many books possess an evil character, a villain, however the villain normally helps to improve the story and create a depth to the plot. In the work Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck uses the character Curley to show that violence is never the answer. When introduced to anyone new, Curley has to threaten them, because he needs to showcase his role of leadership in the group. However if he showed them kindness instead, people wouldn’t see him as an angry person. For example, Candy warns George to distance himself from Curley, because he has a nasty temper and loves beating up big guys because he is not big.