Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Essay

The “Dangers” of the Unfulfilled Life of an Unsatisfied Women One that lives an empty life void of passion or excitement is typically the least dangerous person you would expect to encounter. In the novel, “Of Mice and Men'', written by John Steinback, Curley’s wife who’s name was never mentioned in the book, is perceived by other characters working on the ranch as a provocative, flirtatious and attention-seeking women, who by her very nature is a catalyst for trouble and poses as an extraordinarily dangerous threat for those who seek to interact with her in any manner or capacity. The book itself is written in such a way that often reinforces the idea that Curley’s wife is a threatening and potentially harmful character that will be the

Ever'body! An' what am I doin'? Standin' here talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs- a ni**er an' a dum-dum and a lousy ol' sheep- an' likin' it because they ain't nobody else."” (Steinback 79). Curley’s wife expresses in this quote how she feels so lonely and alienated from people on the ranch that she has to resort to speaking with the implied outcast members of the ranch as she, herself, is an outcast member of the ranch. What Curley’s wife says in this quote further exemplifies how she is misunderstood and simply lonely. She is not trying to cause trouble by talking to other people and is just trying to interact with other men since she feels lonely and not because she wants to flirt with them. In addition to her isolation, the conflict between her wanting to live a desirable life and her inability to do such, is evident in the novel as she expresses her dissatisfaction with her life with Lennie and talks about her failed dreams and aspirations to become an actress, saying “"Well, I ain't told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought'n to. I don'like Curley. He ain't a nice fella." And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him. "Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An' I coulda sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers took of me. When they had them previews I coulda went to them, an' spoke in the radio, an' it wouldn'ta cost me a cent because I was in the pitcher. An' all them

Lennie Small, a character who exhibits a type of cognitive and mental development disorder, and is prone to causing trouble due to the disproportion between the immense strength that he possesses and his child-like mind that can not compensate for that strength or control it. Although Lennie did not know what he was doing because of his mental disability, he is still ultimately responsible for Curley's wife's death by homicide. Lennie displays a pattern of causing trouble and accidental harm due to his inability to control his own strength. Moments before the murder of Curley’s wife, Lennie kills his puppies by accident which foreshadows the death of Curley herself. As Steinback write in this chapter, “Lennie looked at it for a long time, and then he put out his huge hand and stroked it, stroked it clear from one end to the other. And Lennie said softly to the puppy, "Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard." He bent the pup's head up and looked in its face, and he said to it, "Now maybe George ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits, if he fin's out you got killed." He scooped a little hollow and laid the puppy in it and covered it over with hay, out of sight; but he continued