An Analysis Of Curley's Wife In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

Over time, the United States of America has gone through many ups and downs. During the 1930’s, the Great Depression was already in full spring. During this dark time in our nation’s history, many people were left unemployed and even homeless. The Great Depression spawned much resentment. People all across the globe dealt with the financial hardships. Many people looked for somebody to blame for the Great Depression, and minorities of all kinds were blamed, especially blacks, the disabled, and women. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the harsh and unjust mistreatment through the farmhand’s general distaste for Curley’s Wife, the mistreatment and rejection that Lennie is faced with due to his mental handicap, and Crooks’s forced

In the novella, “Curley’s Wife is a minority in the book, not even having a name. This further separates her from the rest of the character” (Steffens 56-7). This separation from the rest of the characters on the ranch is clear from the beginning, as she is the only main character who does not have a name, and she is the only female in the novella. On the ranch, Curley’s Wife is generally disliked by everyone. Even George, after just meeting her, dislikes her. He warns Lennie not to go near her saying, “Don’t you even look at that bitch... I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be” (Steinbeck 32). From the moment that George meets Curley’s Wife, he can tell that she will be trouble, resulting in him subsequently warning Lennie about her. The other men on the ranch already know about her and steer clear too. They realize that she could be potentially troublesome and they, “talk about her behind her back with... disgust” (Steffens 57). The farmhands on the ranch are scared of irritating Curley by talking to her. Curley does not allow his wife to speak to anyone on the ranch because he is very insecure about his marriage. Curley’s Wife resents him for this, and she is still loney. Curley’s Wife even says that she is lonely, stating that, “I never get to

Even Lennie’s last name, Small, displays his personality and how society feels about him. Author and poet, Bradley Steffens, even claims that, “Small applies to everything about Lennie, except his size-his mental capacity, his interests, his hopes, and his dreams” (55). Steinbeck makes it quite apparent to the reader from the beginning of the novella that Lennie is mentally slower than other characters in the story through the ironic use of his last name. Even George, Lennie’s best friend and caretaker, treats Lennie differently. When trying to get Lennie a job working on the ranch, he says, “Oh, Lennie isn’t smart. I’m not saying he is. But he is a great worker” (Steinbeck 22). Even though George was trying to help Lennie and get him a job, he comments about his intellect in a negative manner. Because of Lennie’s mental deficiencies, many characters view him differently than other characters in the book. Due to Lennie’s mental handicap, “People on the ranch reject him” (Telgen). This quote quite obviously suggests that the farmhands working on the ranch treat him differently from other characters. Purely because of his mental disabilities, Lennie is treated as an outcast and shunned by many on the ranch. Also, “Lennie is repeatedly associated with animals and described as childlike” (Telgen). Steinbeck chooses to describe Lennie as animalistic and simplistic to further highlight