John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men follows two migrant farmers and their experiences working towards their dream. The story takes place in the Salinas Valley during both the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, when jobs were few and far between. George and Lennie have a dream of owning land, which is inhibited by these conditions. On the farm they come to work on, they meet the sultry wife of the Curly, the boss’ son. She was deprived of achieving her dream or stardom, and is left constantly craving attention in any way she can get it.
Curley’s wife has many unrealized dreams. Before her death, Curley’s wife confesses her desire to become a movie star, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear... An’ all them nice clothes like they wear. Because this guy says I was a natural.” p.89
The death of Curley’s wife is a very shocking event which is what triggers George’s decision to shoot Lennie. She does nothing wrong and without noticing Lennie kills her; just how he killed the mouse and the puppy killed the puppy. Curley’s wife’s death is a tragedy and symbolizes Lennie’s untroubled life coming to an end. Even though Lennie is not a bad person after the death of Curley’s wife, we can no longer think of him as an innocent child-like person. George and Lennie’s life was about survival, but centred on the innocent dream of the rabbits.
As the only women on the ranch, this causes Curley's wife to be the minority to all of the men on the farm. This causes her to become very lonely and isolated since she is the only women. In the texts Curley's wife says, “‘I get lonely,’... ‘You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad, ‘How’d you like not to talk to anybody?’”
In conclusion the loneliest character in the book was Curley's wife for what she has done in the past and because Curley has her isolated from everyone. Throughout the story she is never really talked about because Curley doesn't bring her up a lot so when she comes in the barn with Lennie it was here first time in a while talking to another guy other than Curley and that shows her isolation.
As the novella progresses, the reader learns the flirtatious side is one of the many sides to the lonely woman that makes the reader sympathises with her. In the beginning of the novella, Curley’s wife is presented as a “tart”, “jail bait” and that she has “got the eye” by
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.
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.
Innocence or Accountability? In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, two men, George and Lennie, try to work their way to their dream of owning their own land. They go to work for someone on a farm, but find themselves in a bad situation when Lennie kills the wife of Curley, the son of their boss. Many people may argue that Lennie should not be penalized for the death of Curley’s wife, but I believe Lennie should be.
Curley’s wife always wanted to be a actress, but because of Curley she couldn’t ever follow her dreams. Curley's a crappy husband, he beats her and treats her like complete crap, “I don’t like Curley”, “He ain’t a nice fella” (89). I feel sympathy for Curley's wife, because she is the woman in the book and I feel like women need to stick together, no woman deserves to be called a
Throughout the book, Steinbeck supports the fact that man is basically evil. Throughout the book a few innocent souls are killed. However, it is the killing of Candy’s dog that clearly defines that man is evil. Candy’s dog is a very old sheep dog that used to be a good at herding sheep for Candy. Now, Candy’s dog is old, blind, crippled, can only drink milk, and smells.
"I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men). George and Lennie had been traveling together ever since George promised Lennie's Aunt Clara that he would take care of each other. Lennie is mentally challenged and George would do anything for Lennie. Although, some people believe that George made the right choice by killing Lennie, he actually didn't.
All forms of literature betrays life or nature in a particular matter or form. Realism is one form of literature that presents life objectively and honestly without sentimentality or idealism that had colored earlier literature. In realism as well as many others, the setting is developed in great detail. Realism was first developed in France in the mid-19th century and then spread into the new world.
And the most significant minor character is Curley’s Wife. She is lonely, not respected and wants someone to rely on, and how she’s described is actually how the women was treated in that period. Firstly, Curley’s wife is not respected. In the book, Curley’s wife is always called Curley’s wife, she doesn’t have a name, she has no identity that she is not respected.
Curley’s wife, the only main female presented in the novella, is depicted as a harlot. The only other time females are mentioned is when they are mentioned as being ladies in whore houses. This depiction sets the tone for all females presented in the novella. Instead of being seen as a worker, women were mainly seen as man’s companion, and as a symbol for love, lust, and desire. In the novella Curley’s wife’s appearance is described as, “Her face heavily made up.
