The Protagonist In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In several parts of the world there are problems that arise on a daily basis, but many can usually be traced back to one group of humans, women. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, a man named Curley, the son of a ranch owner, gets married to what seems to be a nice, pretty, and naive woman. Although these two are married, they are rarely seen together around the ranch. This then leads to Curley’s wife being seen ‘flirting’ with the male workers on the ranch and disliked among several of the male characters in the novel. Nonetheless, Steinbeck expresses that Curley’s wife is actually the antagonist of the story through her characterization, actions, and dialogue. Imagine having a younger sibling who gets anything they want no matter what they do. This would make most people dislike that sibling, similar to the way the workers would eventually feel about Curley’s wife. Many of the workers believe that “a ranch full of guys ain’t no place for a girl”(51) and also that “she’s gonna make a mess”(51). This indicates the original bias against Curley’s

Curley’s wife best demonstrates this towards the stable buck, Crooks. During a confrontation in Crooks’ home, she throws a tantrum against the innocent stable buck, confessing that he needs to “keep his place then nigger”(81) and how she could get him “strung up on a tree so easily it ain 't even funny”(81). Curley’s wife is abusing the power that she only has because she is Curley’s wife. She truly has no authority over any of the workers and saying this is a threat. Even when Candy tries to defend Crooks, she still insists that “Nobody’d listen to you an’ you know it”(81). This indicates that she believes she can simply get away with any situation no matter the severity. Numerous times she has been able to do this just by talking her way out of it. Her dialogue is the last sign as of why she is the antagonist of the