Curley's Wife
Living in a Man’s World
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men takes place in Soledad, California sometime during the 1930’s. The financial struggles during the Great Depression serve as a core to which this story revolves around. The struggle to make ends meet kept the story’s main characters, George and Lennie, looking for a job in order to reach their dream of owning a home. This story’s main characters are all men, with the exception of one important woman. This woman is referred to as ‘Curley’s Wife.’ While she is the only woman, Curley’s wife is one of the most significant characters in this novel. In a world full of hard working men, she was misunderstood and was not given the chance to show her full potential.
This novel almost never refers to female characters by name. Curley’s wife is referred to as ‘Curley’s wife’ throughout the entire book. The simple fact that she is never given a name shows that she women at the time were seen as objects. Her husband, Curley, was constantly being made fun of for his ‘vaseline hands’ because he was “keepin’ that hand soft for is wife” (Steinbeck 27). Curley’s wife’s appearance as a sexual object was displayed throughout the novel. Other exhibits of this impression are when she is referred to as a “tart” and a “tramp” when she was simply speaking to them for the first time …show more content…
At a young age, she was given the opportunity to move to Hollywood to pursue her dreams of acting in movies and starring in shows. Her mother did not permit her to go because she was only fifteen (Steinbeck 88). Years later, she married Curley only to live in isolation with no one to talk to. The men of the ranch were often scared to talk with her as they feared the consequences made by her jealous husband (Steinbeck 79). The fifth chapter of this novel reveals Curley’s wife’s true feelings and shows the reader that she longed someone to communicate
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men takes place in Soledad, California sometime during the 1930’s. The financial struggles during the Great Depression serve as a core to which this story revolves around. The struggle to make ends meet kept the story’s main characters, George and Lennie, looking for a job in order to reach their dream of owning a home. This story’s main characters are all men, with the exception of one important woman. This woman is referred to as ‘Curley’s Wife.’ While she is the only woman, Curley’s wife is one of the most significant characters in this novel. In a world full of hard working men, she was misunderstood and was not given the chance to show her full potential.
This novel almost never refers to female characters by name. Curley’s wife is referred to as ‘Curley’s wife’ throughout the entire book. The simple fact that she is never given a name shows that she women at the time were seen as objects. Her husband, Curley, was constantly being made fun of for his ‘vaseline hands’ because he was “keepin’ that hand soft for is wife” (Steinbeck 27). Curley’s wife’s appearance as a sexual object was displayed throughout the novel. Other exhibits of this impression are when she is referred to as a “tart” and a “tramp” when she was simply speaking to them for the first time …show more content…
At a young age, she was given the opportunity to move to Hollywood to pursue her dreams of acting in movies and starring in shows. Her mother did not permit her to go because she was only fifteen (Steinbeck 88). Years later, she married Curley only to live in isolation with no one to talk to. The men of the ranch were often scared to talk with her as they feared the consequences made by her jealous husband (Steinbeck 79). The fifth chapter of this novel reveals Curley’s wife’s true feelings and shows the reader that she longed someone to communicate