Curley's Wife: Of Mice and Men

Curly’s wife, a tart with an eye or a lonely, depressed woman. According the male characters in the book Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is seen as a woman who cheats and wants to sleep around with everyone. However, I think there is another side to the story. One reason is that from the book Of Mice and Men the character Candy says, “An’ Curley’s pants is just crawlin’ with ants,” (page 51). Another reason is Curley’s wife says Crooks, “Think I like to stick in that house all the time?” (page 77). Finally, my last reason a worker on the ranch, George says, “Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her.” With these reasons this is why I think Curley’s wife’s personality is misinterpreted.

The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck took place in California during the Great Depression. The Great Depression started because the stock markets crashed all around the world. The United States didn’t recover until 12 years later, the end 1939. Most people had poor living conditions and women didn’t have many rights during that time period. Many of the children had to leave school to help support their families on the farm doing farm work. Many women had to give up their jobs to become stay at home moms. Lots of people became homeless because they couldn’t pay rent. During this time, many people became discriminate because they were in competition for jobs. Many people died from starvation and from illness. In most cases, people didn’t

Imagine that you have a dream or goal that you’d like to pursue, but you’re denied the opportunity to even begin. This is a dilemma that most women faced on a daily basis in the 1930’s. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, this sort of discrimination is frequently demonstrated by all the characters, as this was an accepted “trend” in society. Although Curley’s wife is given a major part in the plot, she is often dismissed and overlooked. The male character’s disregard of Curley’s wife’s goals and dreams represents a broader discrimination of women in society.

The novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, contains many characters that would significantly change the plot if they were not there to be in it. One of these characters is Curley. Curley is a minor character who plays a large role. He is like the bully of the story and is the cause of many of the events that take place on the ranch. There are multiple ways that the story would change if Curley was non-existent.

Curley’s wife speaks with Lennie and says how she dreamt of being an actress. Because she never received a letter from a man who promised her that he would make her an actress, she assumed her mother took the letter. Curley’s wife then ran away from home due to the belief that by staying there, she would never be able to accomplish her dreams. Curley’s wife met Curley and married him that same night she left home (88). Going nowhere with her dreams made her frustrated and so Curley’s wife ended up marrying someone she does not even love. Not only does she not love him, Curley’s wife does not even like him which was evident when she states, “I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella” (89). The fact that she complains about her own husband to an acquaintance shows how unhappy she is with the marriage. That is all due to her crushed dreams leaving her in an emotional state. In her conversation with Lennie, she also says, “I get lonely. You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad” (87). In addition to being unsatisfied with her marriage, it is also causing her feelings of loneliness. She feels isolated because her overprotective husband does not want her to talk with anyone else. Not only does her crushed dreams lead to a discontented marriage with loneliness, but the thought of what she could have had still runs through her mind, causing feelings of wanting and longing. In other words, her unfinished dreams causes her to feel regret, obvious when she rambles on and says, “ ‘Coulda been in the movies [...] I coulda sat in them big hotels [...] When they had them previews I coulda went to them” (89). Her nostalgia for what could have been most likely resulted in her inability to ever truly be content with life until she accepts that some dreams die unfulfilled. Her lack of success in accomplishing her

Candy, the only black man working on the farm, is a symbol of all the black people. Referring to his expression, his has the miserable experience that he is always treated unfairly. This forces him to get used to the racial discrimination. Similarly, both representing as a weak character, Curley’s wife is also discriminated for her gender that is her own weakness. Thus, Curley’s wife represents as the symbol of women back in the 1930s. John Steinbeck did not introduce her name in the whole book. Besides, she is fond of luxurious dressing, such as the red dress and exaggerated make up. This is because the women are only considered as the temptation for men. In this way, the gender discrimination is gradually revealed till Curley’s wife’s final

In John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice And Men”, loneliness is made apparent in this book through characterization. Steinbeck illustrates it through Candy’s speech, Crooks lifestyle and Curley’s wife’s actions.

The story of mice and men, by John Steinbeck, is a story about two friends, George along with Lennie, going through hard times during the great depression. They plan to have a farm one day with rabbits. For them to gather the money they would go to work on a ranch also while working they make friends.The characters of mice and men are called Slim, Candy, Carlson, Crooks, George, Lennie, Curley, The Boss, and Curley's Wife. They meet Candy who one day told them he would help them raise the money if they let him work on the farm they own. Crooks said that he would work on the farm with George and Lennie. Preferably he wanted to work in return he could get companionship. Slim’s Dog had puppies and Lennie wanted at least one, Lennie would stay inside the barn to look at

The worst physical wounds are temporary, and will heal given time. However, deep emotional or mental wounds last for a whole life. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the two most wounded people are Curley’s wife and Crooks. Everyone avoids Curley’s wife because of her dominating husband, and she eventually gets brutally murdered when Lennie breaks her neck. Judging between her and Crooks, however, Crooks is more wounded; he is physically disabled, emotionally abused, alienated from other people, and doomed to a lifetime of suffering because of his ethnicity. A close look at Curley’s wife shows that she is significantly more wounded than the other main characters.

A woman isn’t a whore for wanting pleasure. If it were unnatural, we would not be born with such drives.” - Nenia Campbell. You’re not a slut if you’re just wanting company or of you just want something to do to pass time. In the book, Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is considered a slut because she has the eye and flirts with other men on the ranch. Curley’s wife should not be considered a slut, she is lonely and she just wants someone to talk to.