Emily Merlo Period:7 3/2/23 Of Mice and Men Essential Question: What in society can crush an individual? How is this idea evident in the story Of Mice and Men? In the book Of Mice and Men, Curley's wife is the one who suffers the most from loneliness and sexism. Both of these experiences result in the character being crushed. To begin, loneliness is what crushes Curley's wife the most in the book. For example, one way Curley's wife suffers from being lonely is because she isn't allowed to talk to anyone. Curley would be mad at her if she did. So, she stays in the house most of the time alone. It says "I get lonely," she said. "You can talk to people, but I can't talk to anybody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?" …show more content…
From the day she was introduced to the others, they have always referred to her as "Curley's wife" or other words like "jailbait," "tramp," "tart," or that she is "purty." Because of the way Curley's wife presented herself, the men on the ranch just thought she was trouble from day one, and since they were afraid of Curley, they never wanted to mess with her. But they felt that they could call her other names besides her actual name. Curley allowed this because he used her as a way to show that he was better and stronger than the rest because he had a wife that was his property. Curley's wife was just there to be used for Curley's needs. She had no identity of her own, she was only known as Curley's wife and nothing more. To continue, another example that shows discrimination and sexism against Curley's wife is that she was forced and controlled by her mom and Curley. Saying no to her dream of becoming a star (actress). Since the period was in the olden days, they believed that she had to find a husband, whom she had to stay home for and please. They crushed her with that, Curley's wife wanted to be seen, but they didn't allow it. It made her feel worthless, so she just got with a man who she didn't love. It