“‘Don’t you go yellin,’ he said, and he shook her and her; body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (Steinbeck 91). The 1937 novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck follows the friendship of two men George Milton and Lennie Small and their struggle during the 1930s Great Depression. George is a small man intelligent man with sharp features while Lennie is a large but very childlike man with wide shoulders and dull features. The two men wind up on a farm working alongside other men. The men face a few different challenges while working on this farm. People who are lonely cope with it by acting differently. In the novel multiple characters struggle with loneliness such as Crooks, Lennie and Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife feels lonely for a few different reasons.
Curley's wife is one character in the novel who is described as lonely, she is also the only woman in the story. Curley's wife or possession. George and Candy call her by other names such as "jailbait" or "tart.". Lennie is fascinated by her and cannot take his eyes off her. He constantly is saying, “She’s purty… ‘Gosh, she was purty.’ He smiled admiringly.”
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(Steinbeck 32). George, realizing Lennie's fascination, warns him to stay away from her. Curley's wife knows her beauty is her power, and she uses it to flirt with the ranch hands and make her husband jealous. She is utterly alone on the ranch, and her husband has made sure that no one will talk to her without fearing being beaten by Curley or possibly losing their job. Later in the novel Curley’s wife admits that she doesn’t actually like her husband, “Well, I ain't told nobody this before… I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.” (Steinbeck 89). Curley’s wife feels lonely due to the fact that no one on the farm will talk to her and it’s her husband's fault because he has intimidated all of the other men so that they won’t talk to her. Just like Curley’s wife there are other characters in Steinbeck's novel that are also lonely. Another character in Steinbeck's novel who deals with loneliness is Crooks. Crooks is the only African American in the story and because of this he isn’t allowed to hang out with the other men since they are white. “ … I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room… ‘Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink to me.” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks is made an outcast because of the fact that he is black and this has caused him to become bitter towards the other men. He doesn’t have anyone to talk to or play cards with and the other men do all of those things together. “ … I didn’t mean to scare you… I was talkin’ about myself. A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’ or stuff like that…” (Steinbeck 73). Crooks is basically saying how lonely he gets since he is not allowed to be with the other men. He can only do independent activities like reading, but he longs for a friendship with someone where he won’t be made an outcast because he is black. Crooks is bitter towards the other men on the farm because they made him an outcast because of the fact that he is black but at the same time he is also just longing for a companion that he can be with and not be so lonely. He is tired of never being able to partake in the card games and horseshoe tournaments that the other men play, he is really just a lonely man. Just like Crooks Lennie is also a lonely character in Steinbeck's novel. Lennie Small is another important character in the story who also deals with loneliness.
George is always telling Lennis that he is not allowed to talk to anyone besides him because if he does talk he always seems to get them into trouble. When Lennie gains an admiration for Curley’s wife George immediately tells him, “Well you keep away from her, ‘cause she’s a rat trap if I ever seen one…” (Steinbeck 32). Because Lennie isn’t allowed to talk at all on the farm he isn’t able to make any friends, “ … Now look- I’ll give him the work tickets , but you ain’t gonna say a word. You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing…” (Steinbeck 6). Lennie is a lonely character due to the fact that he is not allowed to talk to anyone on the farm. Lennie is one of multiple characters in Steinbeck's novel who are
lonely. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, loneliness is a very clear motif throughout the story. Loneliness causes people to behave differently. Many of the characters in the novel deal with loneliness, do you think that this had to do with the time period and various inequalities (gender, race, mental disability)?
Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a book that can be analyzed and broken down into a vast majority of themes. One of the predominant themes found in this book is loneliness. Many characters in this book are affected by loneliness and they all demonstrate it in one way or another throughout the book. Examples of these characters are Curley’s Wife, Crooks, and Candy.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about loneliness and the American Dream. This book takes place during the Great Depression. It was very difficult for people to survive during this time period. A lot of people hardly survived let alone had the necessities they needed to keep relationships healthy. Of Mice of Men has a common theme of disappointment. All the characters struggle with their unaccomplished dreams. The migrant workers, stable buck, swamper, and the other men on the ranch had an unsettled disappointment of where they were at in their lives. George and Lennie, two newcomers to the ranch, aren’t like the other guys. They have each other and they are the not loneliest people in the world. Lennie has a dream though he wants to own a farm with plenty of crops and animals one day. The only problem is his blind curiosity of people and things around him. George wasn’t justified for killing Lennie because Lennie was innocent and never got the chance to find out what he did wrong.
Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy are three characters who are constantly alone and feeling worthless. “Think I’m gonna stay in that two-by-four house and listen how Curley’s gonna lead” (78) Curley’s wife exclaims to Lennie, Crooks, and Candy. Constantly ignored by men, Curley’s wife acts overly nice and comes off as a flirty “rat-trap” (32). She
Shortly before her death, Curley’s wife shares her life story with Lennie and reveals how she is forced to marry a man she dislikes and give up all hope of achieving her dreams. This is all because she was conned by a boyfriend in the past and now must marry in order to survive. Throughout the novella, she is only known as Curley’s wife and we never learn what her own name is since she is referre...
The character of Curley’s Wife is very hard to unravel, as throughout the book, Steinbeck’s representation of women through characters such as George and Candy, is very harsh. This is because the sociological opinion at that time was that they were either, mothers, sisters, or prostitutes, as the audience soon see, George and other ranch workers refer to her as “bitch” “loo loo” and “tramp”. There were also a growing number of prostitutes during the Great Depression period, as they would offload their services to those whom were able to pay and have some decent income during the Depression. Other aspects that may make Curley’s Wife seem like a tart, is Curley’s “Glove Fulla’ Vaseline”. Curley literally keeps a glove full of Vaseline, in order to keep his hand soft, possibly for a sexual act. Curley boasts to Candy that the hand is for his wife, which tells us that she gives him consent to do these acts to her, and also, Curley’s nerve to inform fellow workers about his glove shows that he believes that his own wife is a tart, which is very controversial today, but back then, women were seen as nothing more than possessions, yours to do what you will. George informs Lennie to avoid Curley’s Wife at all costs, and not to talk to her, because of her promiscuous behaviour, he believes t...
Curley's wife is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her.
In the novel, Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck used George and Lennie's relationship and the theme of hope to point out the loneliness in the novel. The novel starts off and is set in Soledad which means lonely. At the beginning they get a job working on a farm together. Lennie is a little retarded and has great physical strength that isn't too controllable. As they work from ranch to ranch, Lennie relies on George for guidance and help. Rather than wasting their earnings, they try to save it in the hope of buying a place of their own. While working at one ranch they meet a worker named Candy who tries to help them financially. Before their dream can be fulfilled, Lennie kills the wife of the boss's son. As the novel concludes George must kill Lennie for his own benefit. Later Lennie goes into town and abandons his dream by spending his money.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about the friendship between George Milton and Lennie Small, who travel together due to the fact that Lennie suffered a childlike mental illness and someone needed to take care of him. Lennie only listens to his friend George, no matter what George may say. This novel shows characteristics of their true friendship and George's compassion towards his companion. George shows acts of love and kindness out of sympathy for Lennie, yet he also seems to show an unconscious effort to make up for Lennie’s mental impairment.
Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men (by John Steinbeck), loneliness is the major underlying theme of the novel. You could almost say that the book has hormonal' up's and down's. Most of the characters are very lonely because they have no family. However, George and Lennie are the contradiction to this. George and Lennie's bond towards each other are so- strong that you can almost see it as you are reading the book. Candy the old crippled man wants to be part of George and Lennie's dream to own a farm and "live off the fatta the land". Curley and his dog are like the metaphor in the book for George and Lennie. Candy has to take care of his dog and George of Lennie. The other two characters in the novel that are apart of the overall theme of loneliness are crooks the crippled stable buck and Curley's wife the flirtatious city girl. Crook's fits in to the loneliness theme because he is black. During this time in history, there was very little racial empathy. So being black means that he is isolated from everyone else at the ranch. Speaking of isolation, curley's wife feels very isolated because her husband, Curley, doesn't trust her at all, however, because Curley is so strict and concerned about her flirting with other guys it almost fuels her desire to cause trouble.
When the reader first meets Curley’s wife, she gives off the wrong impression. She came into the bunk house “intentionally” and noticed the new boys, George and Lennie. The reader notices that she is just looking for attention, either because she is lonely or just a “tart.” Stated from the
Curley's wife, comparable to most other characters in the novel, is a type of character with little discrepancy, moreover being the only woman in novel. Curley’s wife is demonstrated by her position and part. This part is however, being a possession of Curley or a wife. She is heavily insulted and looked upon as inferior: George and Candy call her "jailbait" and "tart", which supports the fact that he has no voice and as a matter of fact, no name – simply being referred to as Curley’s wife. Due to her lack of power, she attempts to gain it by leeching off those with power. This leeching is portrayed as her seducing the other men on the ranch who have large presence like Slim: “Hi Slim” supports a casual and somewhat flirtatious approach to the other men. She seduces other by wearing far too much makeup and dressing like a "whore" with “red fingernails” and red shoes with ostrich feathers.
Curley’s wife is given a reputation of causing trouble between other characters from different characters in the novel. There is no evidence of her living up to all of the reputation in the novel. Candy says “Well she got the eye” which could have many meanings and then he backs that up with “I seen her give Slim the eye” and finally he says “Well I think Curley’s married…a tart.” This explains his views on Curley’s wife. And when she dies he calls her a ...
Curley's wife states how the weak characters Lennie, Crooks, and herself are excluded from the trip into town because of their disabilities or social standing. Steinbeck also portrays her lack of importance by not giving her a name. He refers to her as Curley's wife throughout the book this shows that she is seen as an object owned by Curly. She is so attention seeking because she urins for an
Loneliness and Companionship are one of the many themes that are conveyed in the novel Of Mice and Men, By John Steinbeck. Many of the characters admit to suffering from loneliness within the texts. George sets the tone for these confessions early in the novel when he reminds Lennie that the life of living on a ranch is among the loneliest of lives. However Lennie, who is mentally disabled holds the idea that living on a farm very high. "Tending the rabbits" is what Lennie calls it. Often when Lennie is seaking encouragement he askes George to tell him how its going to be. Men like George who migrate from farm to farm rarely have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. George obviously cares a lot for lennie, but is too stubborn to admit to it. The feeling of being shipped from place to place leaves George feeling alone and abandoned.
“Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck is a novel about the hardships of life and the importance of having other people around. The story is of two men trying to survive with one another in a world full of loneliness; their relationship is quite rare and strange. Lennie, a large bear, has a mental disability which causes him to be in a childlike state. George, a much smaller and more competent man takes care of both of them. Although they work for others on ranches, their dream is to get by on their own and live off the land. However, Lennie’s state causes conflict as they travel from job to job. Steinbeck uses clever ways in his novel to develop his theme and characters as the story progresses; both of these elements also help create a large