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.
(Steinbeck 29). In case Lennie is in trouble with Curley, George is telling Lennie what to do in case he decides to do something evil, showing how people become protective when around Curley. Another instance when self protection is most prevalent is after Curley struck Lennie, George told Lennie to protect himself and Lennie did just that: “Curley’s fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie’s big hand” (Steinbeck 63). Due to Curley’s spontaneous evil, Lennie was forced to defend himself, and in the end Curley walked away with the most injuries.
This becomes relevant during the tragic ending to the book when Curley hunts down Lennie and vows to kill him. Curley’s dislike of men larger then him only amplifies his rage for Lennie killing his wife. Question’s for the Author: Why does Curley have so much ownership over his wife? Why does Lennie disobey George and speak when he is not supposed to?
When Curley tried to talk to Lennie and George answered for him, Curley seemed almost angry about this. He started talking to George in a harsh way and while George could’ve easily just backed off and let Lennie talk to this tough person, he stood up for Lennie and talked back to Curley. This will be significant to the story because now Curley knows that Lennie and George will stand up for each other and he will not challenge either one of them. This quote shows how strong their friendship
”(Steinbeck 88). Curley’s wife unwittingly sets up Lennie to change the entire course of the book and further complicate the situation for them. Lennie ends up killing Curley’s wife in a situation she never should have been in, but her nosy behavior brings her to her doom. If Curley and his wife could produce a real conversation maybe everyone could have gotten their dream to come true but somethings just do not pan out. Curley’s wife can be vicious in about any way just like she is to the other
Steinbeck’s use of animal imagery emphasizes Lennie’s notable strength compared to others. The men mock Curley, and he tries to push his authority onto Lennie by fighting him, thinking he can re-establish his “boss” status with the men by showing the power he holds over others. He attacks Lennie for smiling as the men mock him, but Lennie was dreaming of his future, not mocking him, and at first Lennie just stands there. When Lennie finally fights back, he stops Curley just by crushing his hand in his fist, and “Curley [is] white and shrunken now, and his struggling [becomes] weak. He [stands] crying, his
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.
After Curley finds out about his wife’s death, he realizes that Lennie had done it. Curley says that he will kill Lennie and he most likely would have if George hadn’t done it himself, “‘That big son-of-a-bitch done it. I know he done it. Why-ever'body else was out there playin' horseshoes.’ He worked himself into a fury.
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.
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.
¨Ain I got a right to talk to nobody…?¨ This is a line directly said from Curly’s wife in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck introduced Curly’s wife as a tart, eyeing men up and down, while married, and always finding herself in the men’s cabin area. He also introduces her as a lonely average wife during the 1900s, having nothing to look forward too. Steinbeck gives information about what women felt like during these tough times, especially how lonely they were, and how they couldn’t follow their own dreams.
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).
Humans are a genuinely perplexing and baffling species. Someone may glance at a person and think they may be incredible, but associate with them and one may discover the person is atrocious. In the book Of Mice and Men, Curley is approached as the calamity of the ranch. He is analyzed as a racist, mean, and sexist man.
Curley is furious when he finds his wife dead at the hands of Lennie. He decides to hunt Lennie down and murder him in cold blood. When asked if he would like to stay back with his wife and grieve, he says, “‘I’m goin,’ ... ‘I’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand’” (98). Even
The couple fails to admit to each other that they are not in love for fear of losing their power and status as individuals. Curley’s marriage is revealed to be a sham through his wife’s conversation with Lennie, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I oughtn 't to. I don’ like Curley.” (pg. 89 Steinbeck)
