How Is Curley's Wife Presented In Of Mice And Men

Matt McQueen
Mrs. Lutrell
English 11
5 February 2018
Curley’s Wife In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates a story about main characters George and Lennie that takes place during the Great Depression. All the characters in the story have different disadvantages, including Curley’s wife, the only women. She is used as a symbol for all women in society. However all the characters are used to develop the themes of the novella. One of the major themes being the American Dream. In order to demonstrate the American Dream is unattainable for women, Steinbeck, sexualizes, objectives and eventually kills Curley's wife. The character of Curley’s wife is created to show that all women are viewed in society are viewed as sexual objects.

Candy and Curley had just been introduced to the story. Curley had walked into the room and started interrogating George and Lennie about everything. Once Curley left, Steinbeck had Candy say, “ The swamper warmed to his gossip. “You seen that glove on his left hand?.. Well, that glove’s fulla vaseline… Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife” (27). With Steinbeck having Candy say this demonstrates the sexualization of Curley’s wife. Him telling George and Lennie about the how Curley is keeping his hand soft for his wife has a sexual connotation. The fact that Curley is rarely seen with his wife but he wears a glove “for her” demonstrates that all he views her as a sexual object. The fact that he never seems to care what she's doing until she's around the other men on the ranch, but he has a glove full of vaseline on his hand at all times proves all he sees in her is sexual opportunities. The view that Curley has for his wife is used as a symbol for how all men view women in the society at the time. Men in society seem to think that women are sexual objects that are only there when they need or want them to be. The description of Susy’s and

There are many different ways he shows this. Steinbeck uses the conversations between Lennie and George to objectify Curley’s wife. Lennie and George are talking to each other about Curley’s wife, who had just been introduced to the story by her coming into the bunkhouse to as if either of the men had seen her husband. George says, “ Listen to me, you crazy bastard… Don’t you even take a look at that bitch… I seen ‘em poison before, but i never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her,” (32). This is a powerful quote when talking about how women were objectified at the time. George shows what he and most men from the time think about women. He states that Curley’s wife is not a person, she is nothing but “jailbait”. That’s not even the worst part about this quote. This is clearly not just about Curley’s wife, it is in fact about all women in society. He says he's seen other women that are also nothing but “jailbait”. George and all the other men try to avoid Curley’s wife at all costs because they don’t see her as another person living on the farm with them. They see her as Curley’s property. Curley’s wife throughout the story wasn’t anything other than Curley’s property. She was set up for being nothing but property by the way she was introduced. The men are in the bunkhouse about to start talking Curley’s wife. Whit says, “Seen the new kid yet?... Why, Curley’s new wife,”