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Tragedy In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Finally, curley’s wife’s innocence and nativity is presented through her dream and death. From an early age the men in her life consistently let her down, tearing her apart piece by piece. She tells Lennie about a guy who said, “he was gonna put me [her] in the movies.” Like many Americans at the time she believed in the American dream and had a dream of her own. However, unlike George and Lennie hers was shut down and had no possibility of ever happening. It is likely the man who said he would put her in the “pitchers” recognized her profound nativity, telling her what she wanted to hear so she would sleep with him. Steinbeck writes she had “a natural trustfulness” which would perfectly explain why she didn’t see through the man. The dream …show more content…

Her “ache for attention” emphasized her need for attention was so strong it hurt her. Even in death Curley didn’t care for her, he wanted revenge more for his hand than his wife, dehumanising her as Lulu evoked more emotion when she died. She hurt because her dream was deemed insignificant from the beginning. Dreams give people’s lives meaning and without them life has no purpose. She’s always “heavily made up” as it gives her hope and allows her to cling on to her dream. This is supposed to make her seem vulnerable highlighting her innocence but because of the biased narrator we associate the makeup with the fact she’s a floozy. Curley’s wife is often compared to Eve from the bible for tempting Lennie and manipulating the ranch hands. However, it was Eve’s curiosity and innocent actions that had vast consequences just like Curley’s wife’s curiosity of Lennie. Steinbeck writes, “if anyone […] treated her like a person, she would be a slave to that person.” Lennie showed her kindness, so she satisfied him by letting him touch her dress. She died for innocent reasons allowing the reader to separate themselves from the lens the book is written through, letting them see her for who she is. They recognise the microcosm of society on the ranch and social injustices women were plagued with. For many readers this is too late to adjust their mindset of her because they haven’t

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Curley’s wife was weakened by her state of isolation as the only female on the ranch. Due to this, she sought companionship with Lennie. Although Lennie was a mentally challenged individual, he was stronger with his status as a man who was also physically strong. Despite her efforts to escape Lennie’s grasp, the difference in power made Curley's wife unable to defend

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How not to get away with murder Lennie got killed right after he murder Curley's wife, but what evidence points to Curley's wife being completely innocent for this beloved character's demise? Curley's wife had absolutely no clue that Lennie was dangerous, and did not know him long enough to discern his enigmatic, perilous nature. It is not Curley's wife responsibility for causing Lennie's death when it is Lennie's inability to stay away from trouble, that eventually led to his demise. Many people may argue that it is Curley's wife's fault for seducing Lennie and that Lennie did not know any better due to his mental disability.

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Curley’s wife is finds herself in an unlucky situation while attempting to befriend the “gentle” giant, Lennie, adding on to her already unfortunate past. She converses to Lennie of all her past plans, saying “‘I coulda made somethin’ of myself.’” Curley’s wife then reveals her backstory, how she nearly did make something of herself, with an actor or movie star husband, not some short-tempered, condescending control-freak. Following this, she dies because Lennie didn’t want her alerting the others to their location. What’s more, as readers follow the story, people see her as, states Candy, a “floozy,” which influences the opinion of how Curley’s wife is portrayed, a horrible, good-for-nothing whore.

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When Curley’s wife is talking to Lennie, she initially judges him and claims, “I think you’re nuts” based off of the way he sounds and the things he talks about (Steinbeck 98). Curley’s wife misjudges Lennie because he talks and sounds different than her, so her initial judgment is that he is nuts. She uses a stereotypical reference to implicate the idea that he is a crazy person. However, after talking to him for a while now she realizes that he is “kinda a nice fella” and came to accept him (Steinbeck 99). Once she really got to talk to Lennie and really understand who he is, she could make the right judgment about him.

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Curley’s wife is over stereotyped in such a way that it helps define her character and foreshadow her demise. She is self obsessed and she builds herself up by dragging other people down. Curly’s wife never achieves her dream because she trapped herself in an awful marriage to escape her family and did not think about the consequences. When she was younger, Curley’s wife desperately wanted to be a famous actor. People told her that she had incredible talent and was a “natural” at acting, and she looked past the possibility that these could all just be good pick-up lines, weaving herself a web of lies (88).

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Survival is often introduced as a concept of endurance, persistence and perseverance, a textbook idea about simply living or dying. At the inception of human life, merely surviving was imperative and existence was something that humans fought for on a daily basis. But, as we flourish independently, as societies and as a race, the concept of survival is warped, and growth as an individual, as well as coping with everyday hardships and not just traditional examples of adversity such as poverty and destitution are prime examples of survival. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader is presented with the idea that survival is not synonymous to staying alive, and moreover, that cultural and societal struggles shape self in accordance with the way we face them. Survival of the fittest is the primordial notion that only the fit have the power and strength to live, and more importantly, thrive in their environment.

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The definition of a sympathetic character is one whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, though not necessarily admire. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife, a main character in the book is blatantly portrayed as an unsympathetic character. This is because they only see her through the men's eyes, who only see her as a tiresome object, owned by her husband. Steinbeck’s portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair and misogynistic because he only displays her as unintelligent and promiscuous, never has a character have a turning point where they realize she’s more than an object, and he never reveals her true name. The first reason that Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair is that he never gives Curley any redeeming personality traits, he only depicts her as unintelligent and promiscuous.

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Curley’s wife is portrayed to be a “tart”, someone who is always flirting with other people. When she is first introduced, Steinbeck writes “ The rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off”, which gives the impression that Curley’s wife is ominous and perilous for Lennie and George. The imagery implies that Curley’s wife is the darkness in their lives and that she is the obstacle in the journey of accomplishing the American Dream. During the climax of Steinbeck’s novella, he writes “ The light was growing soft now” represents the slow release of her soul and that darkness slowly filling the barn and their lives. It also indicates the gradual discharge of hope and belief from the minds of Lennie, George and Candy.

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(91). At this point, Curley’s wife is clearly dead, along with her dream of what she could have been. Unlike the other themes, women do not necessarily die from men. What does die, is their dream. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to show that women will never be able to reach The American Dream.

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721 Words | 3 Pages

The Dream isn’t black or white, it’s all the colors, and how they blend together. Therefore, Curley’s wife’s dream is interpreted entirely differently than George and Lennie’s dream. She, ‘“coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes,”’ (Steinbeck 97). Equally important the two men,“‘…could[‘ve] [gotten] a little place,”’

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364 Words | 2 Pages

After reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, one would agree that the story contains a series of unfortunate events that experienced by some of the characters such as Lennie, Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy. Moreover, one will classify this masterpiece as a tragedy. However, should it be considered as a tragedy? Or does it meet the criteria of a tragedy?

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877 Words | 4 Pages

Curley’s wife has lost her dream and she lives an unhappy life. Curley’s wife had a dream but that dream turned out as hopeless as her fate in the end of the book. She could have made something of herself but she quickly gave up on her dream as soon as something discouraging happened. Now she has to live regretting giving up so quickly. " ’I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this.

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Loss can relate to many things, a friend, a pet,or a family member, or really anything that can be take away from you. Candy a swamper at the ranch, he’s an old man with one hand. The reason he works there is because the other people at the ranch felt bad because he only has one hand, he cleans up and organizes stuff. Candy had a dog and he was his best friend, the dog was starting to get pretty old and it was hard for the dog do anything. Late at night all of the workers got together and discussed candy’s dog, Slim was saying the dog was way too old,saying it smelt bad and it was useless.

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621 Words | 3 Pages

(87) More specifically, the other men on the ranch refuse to talk to her because Curley’s position of power on the ranch portrays him as having the ability to have any man on the ranch lose their job. Furthermore, when Curley’s wife was conversing with Lennie in the barn and confided in him, she said: “Well, I ain’t

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573 Words | 3 Pages

The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley only caring about his social appearance. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has given you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. Steinbeck shows the human condition of men while they survive in the American depression.

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