Why Do We Feel Bad For Curley's Wife

During the Great Depression, times were very tough in the United States for everyone. In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck illustrates the struggles of discrimination and the struggle of finding a job, in everyday life during the Great Depression through Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife.

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.

Curley’s wife is one of the most alienated characters in the novel Of Mice and Men, if not the most alienated and isolated character as it is displayed through her being nameless, being very flirtatious, and the perception of her by the men on the ranch. Indeed, the author constantly is showing that how regardless if you are amongst people or have company, but however there is no sensation of love what so ever, it is just as equal to living a life through despair and desolation. Whenever Curley’s wife appears in the book she is either looking for her husband or other company to converse with, however it has a reverse notation and it pours out of her in resentment and disillusion as she states, “Why can’t I talk to you?I never get to talk to

‘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.

Curley is minimizing his chances of forming a meaningful relationship every time lashes out because of his own insecurities. He is also always keeping his eye on his wife and nagging people about her whereabouts because he doesn’t want her to leave him for someone else. “If you can’t look after your own God damn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay off me” (Steinbeck 62). Since he is unable to connect with other people, he starts to become distant from

Crooks experiences discrimination because he is black, and Lennie is discriminated against because of his mental disability. Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Lennie all have learned to live with discrimination, but they still long to someday be accepted. Curley’s wife experiences a lot of discrimination in the novel Of Mice and Men for being a woman. In the time setting of this novel, women did not have many options or much control over their lives.

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.

John Steinbeck explains how Curley, the boss’s son, is not involved in his wife’s life, because he spends all his time talking about the ways he is going to seek revenge, as a result Curley’s wife gets lonely and is tempted to flirt with the men on the ranch. When Curley's wife tried speaking to Crooks, but he also rejected her fiercely and she said to Crook “ Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever once in awhile, think I like to stick around in the house all time and listen to what Curley is going to do to the other men”(Steinbeck 77). Since Curley’s wife is not getting attention from her husband, she is forced to seek attention from other men in the bunkhouse. Curley’s wife is very loyal to Curley, but because Curley is not involved in her life she complains to other men like Lennie saying “I never get to talk to anybody. I get awful lonely”(Steinbeck 85).

Another example of Crooks getting discriminated because he is black is when he and Curley’s wife are arguing. She completely shuts him down by saying how she could get anyone to lynch him at any time. Crooks can say nothing but “Yes, ma’am”. Even Curley’s wife, who is considered weak, can pick on even weaker people, like Crooks.

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. People are prejudiced against Curley’s wife because she is a woman and also because she wears makeup and dresses. She is constantly called derogatory terms throughout the book simply because of her appearance and coquettish actions. She is perceived as Curley’s property so she is not to be looked at or spoken to.

”(Pg.81, Chap.4) Crooks tends to be mistreated by Curley and his wife. He was threaten by Curley's wife. At this period in time, African Americans were still seen as slaves. Many were called niggers and were not treated evenly.

This showed that even though she doesn’t have any power she still has power over African Americans. She can even threaten to have Crooks killed because he talked to her. After she said that “crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall. ‘yes, ma’am’” (80). This shows that the words Curley’s wife has a terrible effect on Crooks.

Aforementioned, Curley 's wife represents discrimination towards women, she is constantly looked down upon and isn 't treated with respect. However, when she is talking to Crooks, “‘Well, you keep your place then, n*****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain 't even funny,’”(OMAM 81). Crooks and Curley 's wife go through something similar. They are both discriminated based on a difference that the other men on the farm don’t have.

Curley’s wife is perhaps the least mentioned and regarded as a minor character but she is perhaps the most essential in the message of attachment. All she has is Curley, whose abusive nature is causing her to despise him more and more every day. She craves talking to others and forming an attachment to the boys on the farm (39). This causes her to try and make conversation with everyone around her. "Nobody can't blame a person for lookin', (40)", She says this as she reached a point where all she wants people to acknowledge her.

How can they be expected to live a long, happy life together if she is out playing around with other men? Can the ranch hands be expected to work efficiently if she is always acting suspicious around with them? Should her wrong actions be excused on account of loneliness? Curley’s wife’s behavior demands explanation and the source of which could be the emptiness she feels