Color Red In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Steinbeck uses the colour red to show the desperation and passion of Curley’s wife. This is shown in her description, ‘rouged lips’, ‘fingernails were red’, ‘red mules’ and ‘red ostrich feathers’. Steinbeck uses the colour red as a colour of passion to show the desperation of Curley’s wife, and how she openly flirts with other men on the ranch. This however can also be interpreted as a link to bull fighting. In bull fighting, a man will wave a red cloth or flag in front of the bull to attract its attention. This could show that Curley’s wife is vying for the attention of the men on the ranch, no matter the risk of death (or in this case being scolded by Curley), but it could alternatively be interpreted, as those men are simply beasts to be tempted and teased, and that Curley’s wife is purposefully trying to tease the animalistic men into flirting or even having sexual contact with her.
On a different note, the colour red is seen as a warning colour, and so the fact that Curley’s wife is introduced to the novel entirely covered in red could foreshadow her future danger in the plot line, obviously linking to the murder of her by Lennie. She both talks and acts playfully and flirtatiously in front of the other ranch workers. In my opinion she behaves in this manner because her sexuality is her only weapon to gain attention. Red is also a colour symbolising an impure woman suggesting she is immoral. On the other hand, Curley’s Wife’s appearance could be seen as naivety and simply youthful desire to be found attractive. Red is a primary colour therefore children are attracted to it, it is a colour children want to wear because it is bright and has an element of happiness in