How Does Steinbeck Present Curley's Speech In Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men Curley Essay The novella ‘Of Mice and Men’, which was written by John Steinbeck, was set in the 1930’s midst the Great Depression. This was a time of severe unemployment, where the longest and deepest economic disaster in history occurred. The result of this novel being written was due to Steinbeck’s own experiences, working as a nomadic worker on several farms throughout the United States. Furthermore, the character ‘Curley’ could have been someone he encountered during his travelling. The character of Curley is confrontational, mean-spirited, and aggressive who tries to take on bigger guys. As he is the Boss’s son, Curley takes advantage his position and uses it to treat others in a terrorizing and heartless fashion. Right

Steinbeck chooses vocabulary carefully when writing for Curley, in order to show how he is unmannerly and enraged he can become. For example, Curley says “What the hell are you gettin’ into it for?” This shows that Curley is quite angry that somebody has talked over him, but he might also be quite surprised because nobody would have ever interrupted him before as the workers are frightened of him. Another example of Curley’s speech is “Well, nex’ time you answer when you’re spoke to”, suggesting that Curley believes he has power and authority to say anything he wants, consequently he treats others as if he is in

Firstly, after meeting Curley for the first time, George says that “this guy Curley sounds like a son-of-a-bitch to me.” This could mean that George has already made his mind up on Curley and how he thinks he’s a bully. Another example is where Candy says “seems like Curley ain’t givin’ nobody a chance”, which could suggest that Curley wants to look tough and brave to fight others and from fighting, gain worker’s respect. Also, if Curley fights a big man and wins, everyone would think that he was strong and would congratulate him. However, if Curley were to fight another big man but would lose, people would feel sorry for Curley and tell the hefty man to pick on somebody their own size. Either way, Curley will come out as favourite from the