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Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Analysis

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John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men is a gripping novel about life after the great depression. It highlights the loneliness, hardships and friendships of the men on the ranch. However, there is only one woman on the ranch, Curley’s wife who leaves quite am impression in this novel. This essay will highlight her life and experiences on the ranch. The first impression that the reader understands of Curley’s wife is that she wants to be quite noticeable and wants to stay that way. She also seems to be interacting more with the men on the ranch that Curley himself. Through Curley’s Wife, Steinbeck wishes to explore the ranch a little deeper and to see how people react to only one girl living on the ranch. She is shown trying to be too interactive with the men on the ranch creating a troublesome atmosphere, this causes the men on the ranch to slowly start to dislike her. She is referred to as being a “tart.” She is first introduced with a weak excuse of trying to find Curley. She wears a bright red dress and heels and shows a lot of needy attention as seen in the quote, “She leaned …show more content…

The book suggests that the readers do not like her due to her instructiveness with the others, creating her as a tart. The readers would find it quite easy as her humanity is removed as well as showing her to be too forward with the men. This conveys how the men are intrigued with aesthetics, showing how they only care about the outside and do not want to get to know her true feelings. This is shown in the quote “Ranch with a bunch of guys on it, ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her.” This conveys to the reader her presence is not needed on the ranch as it is only a place for men and also showing that she would not be happy on the

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She resorts to talking with other men by flirting, but only makes Curley more protective and abusive towards the other men she is associating with. People do not see others’ internal selves, but only their external images. By focusing only on the outer appearance, the men on the farm see Curley’s wife as a “tart” (Steinbeck 29). Curley is very pejorative and the men in the ranch

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In the novella “Of Mice and Men” one of Steinbeck’s central character is Curley’s Wife. Steinbeck presents her as a dangerous and powerful due to his language techniques like metaphor, simile and structure. However in a misogynistic society she can also be seen as a lonely and vulnerable character. Steinbeck’s use of symbolism especially towards Curley’s wife creates a dangerous and powerful persona.

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“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” In the Novel Of Mice of Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie are running into trouble in the small town of Weed. George and Lennie Quickly run out of weed and eventually work on Salinas Valley, there they meet Slim, Curley, Crooks, Curley’s Wife, Whit, Carlson, and Candy that all lived on the ranch. Lennie always gets George into trouble but not for much longer, Once Lennie accidently killed Curley’s Wife. Curley was furious and wanted revenge, but at that moment George had to do what was best and kill Lennie himself.

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Curley's wife is characterized as flirtatious. To start out with, in chapter 2, of the story Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck symbolically uses light to portray the ideal of how imposing she is, when he writes, " The rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. " Her physical appearance of "full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made- up. Her fingernails were red. " She is wearing a "red cotton house dress,” and a pair of mules decorated with "bouquets of red ostrich feathers,” portrays the type of character she is.

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My Grandfather lost his leg to diabetes a few years ago. He hasn’t been able to do much since it happened. I understand it was probably his fault that he didn’t recover the best, but I still feel sorry for him. Seeing him having to give up his business destroyed me, no more 4 a.m. Saturday mornings in the big truck delivering produce to Chuck ‘E’ Cheese’s and getting free cotton candy and tokens.

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Curleys wife is never given a name of her own in the novel, always referred to as ‘Curleys wife’. This isolates her as she is never giving her own identity and is only view by us and the men at the ranch as an addition to Curley. One of the most powerful symbols is Curley's wife's hair, described as "soft and fine...hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages" (Steinbeck 32). Her hair represents her femininity and vulnerability, as well as the constraints placed upon her by society. However, in her isolated moments, she lets her hair down, revealing an essence of her true self.

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Curley’s Wife was always labeled the hoe in the book. She would always find herself around Everyman on the farm besides her husband. Steinbeck explains, “He says he was gonna put me in the movies… Says I was a natural… Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it” (Steinbeck 88).

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After she barges into Crook’s room, she complains in self-deprecation that she is “‘[s]tandin’ here talkin’ to a bundle of bindle stiffs -- a n***er an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep --and likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else’” (78). She is cruel to Crooks, Lennie, and Candy instead of feeling empathetic because she is ashamed to acknowledge that once her makeup is wiped away she too is just as pathetic. Like them, she is powerless and shunned by society. However, while the men are are conversing about their dreams without aversion, Curley’s wife is snubbed for her reputation as a seductress, so as “she looked from one face to another, they were all closed against her” (79).

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Often, one’s social climate, including but not limited to the relationships that may exist in it, heavily influence one’s behavior. In John Steinbeck’s historical fiction novel, Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife’s relationship with her husband impacts her behavior around employees of the ranch. Examples of this include her flaunting, arrogance, and sensitivity and these qualities offer insight about Steinbeck’s beliefs and opinions relating to women. Firstly, Curley’s wife often flaunts around the employees because of her relationship with Curley.

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Since the other men on the ranch did not have a love, Curley uses his wife to his advantage by using her as bragging rights. It is unfortunate and disturbing what Curley’s wife had

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All the men on the ranch thought that Curley's Wife had a perfect life but she says, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes” (Steinbeck 3). Even though she’s married to Curley and seems like she has the life but even she doesn't want to be there on that ranch with the life and family she has. Curley's wife is very neglected on the ranch she's treated like she doesn’t exist and doesn’t matter. Curley doesn’t talk to her and or spend time with her and this makes her desire a better, higher lifestyle with a bigger

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John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, takes place during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, in the Salinas Valley, California. It establishes the prospect of the American Dream, discrimination,loneliness, and disenfranchisement through its characters. George and Lennie provided the value of the American Dream, to which the leading female role, Curley’s wife, represents how women are exempt from the American Dream, and appeared as less than equal to men. She developed a form of loneliness throughout the course of the novel. The novella seeks to demonstrate the way of which life was like for the characters of all different statuses and backgrounds.

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The reader is positioned to view her negatively as she uses her beauty as power to seduce the workers on the farm and make her husband jealous. The men often complain about her throughout the novel, calling her names that no woman would ever appreciate. Candy tells George and Lennie his honest opinion of Curley’s wife, “You know what I think?” George did not answer. “Well, I think Curley’s married…a tart.”

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She’s rude and hostile towards him because, like Crooks, Candy, Lennie and most of the characters in Of Mice and Men, she’s alone. Curley's wife doesn’t even have a name in the novel, making her appear unimportant on the ranch, simply there for Curley's pleasure. For example, she says on page 43, “Ain't I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways? You're a nice guy.

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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)

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