Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

Benjamin Pease

Mrs. Kigar

Honors English 10

27 Feburary 2023

The Isolation of Curley’s Wife

In 1937, John Steinbeck published Of Mice And Men. During this time, America was in the Great Depression, and many people, including ranchers in the West, were facing economic hardship. The book Of Mice And Men details the experience of two ranchers, Lennie and George, moving to a new ranch to work in Salinas, California. Not glossing over the scourges in Depression-era America, Steinbeck not only touches on the subject of disabilities but also about racism and sexism at the ranch. Another critical part of the book discusses the characters' loneliness and how that affects them. One such character is Curley's wife, the spouse of the boss's son. Suffering

She faced many instances where men spoke to her like she was a lesser being. For instance, Candy tells her, "'You ain't wanted here. We told you you ain't. An' I tell ya, you got floozy ideas about what us guys amount to. You ain't got sense enough in that chicken head to even see that we ain't stiffs..."' (Steinbeck 79). Candy sees Curley's wife as inferior to him because she is a woman, and he believes he can direct her conduct. The farmhands’ behavior, along with them not engaging with her for fear of being fired by Curley, further isolate her from other people on the farm. Curley also tries to keep his wife away from others. Talking to Lennie in the barn, she expresses her loneliness, "'I get lonely,' she said. 'You can talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?'" (Steinbeck 87). She feels oppressed by the social limitations set by Curly, stating that she gets lonely with her inability to engage with others. Both familial role and gender contribute to Curly’s wife’s isolation on the

Throughout the book, she often inquired about Curley’s whereabouts and inserted herself into various activities around the ranch. One such instance is in an earlier part of the novel when she says, "'I'm lookin' for Curley," and before leaving, also says playfully," 'if he ain't I better look someplace else" (Steinbeck 31). Curley's wife constantly tries to get involved with ranch activities to ward off the effects of her isolation and alienation. Because of her loneliness, she also tends to flirt with the men on the ranch. Steinbeck hints at this habit on page 31 when he writes, "She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door from so that her body was thrown forward." Standing in the doorway, she was trying to draw attention to her body and get the men to notice her. The effects of isolation on Curley’s wife often appear throughout the novel, and Steinbeck uses these effects and their reasons to hint at a broader theme in American