How Does Steinbeck Present Curley's Wife

In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife having an amazing look. Steinbeck writes that, ‘she had full, rouged lips,her fingernails were red,she wore red mules. The repetition of the colour red here maybe symbolizes the fact that Curley’s Wife is confident about her appearance. The thing which stands out about her is when he refers to her as ‘good looking’. This might show that Curley’s Wife is confident about her looks and femininity because her dream is to be a film star. This might also show she wants to get attention from the men because she is regularly on her own and lonely.
Steinbeck also shows that Curley’s Wife is a danger on the farm. When she enters the room , ‘both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off’. This imagery could symbolise the dark and danger that Curley’s Wife brings with her. Some of that danger is, she could commit adultery with men on the farm. As the book is set during the 1930s where
the Great Depression took place, This is when work was hard to find and migrant farmers would have travelled many thousands of miles looking for a job, where the impact of losing their job would be huge. Also foreshadows the danger that Curley’s Wife is to Lennie, ultimately costing him his life.
In 1930s America, women were not seen as equal to men. There was still an expectation that a woman should get married, look after the home and raise the children. This is seen in the fact that Curley’s Wife’s name is never given. Steinbeck refers to her as a ‘girl’ or as possession of her husband. By not giving her, her own name, despite the fact that she is a vibrant character with personal dreams, Steinbeck is showing how Curley’s Wife is not equal to her husband. Her lack of independence is also shown by the fact that Curley keeps a tight watch over her: ‘”any you guys seen my wife?” he demanded. ‘This indicates he feels he has a right to know where she is, because she is his property.
Other women in the book are also marginalised.
Women are seen in two roles. Firstly, as prostitutes in ‘cat houses’. The women in the cat houses are not named by their name but named by sexuality to the service they can provide men.

In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses symbolism to present the character of Crooks. His character shows us how black people were treated in the 1930's. It tells us that they were treated as outsiders and weren't worthy to share anything with white people, we know this due to Crook's having "his bunk in the harness room", I think that it is because his boss doesn't think it's right for Crook's to share a bunkhouse with the other men on the ranch, so Crook's is forced to sleep in the barn. This suggests that he isn’t treated like a human but as an animal.
Steinbeck also presents as intelligent Crooks is said to be intelligent due to the ‘Tattered Dictionary’ This suggests that he reads a lot and that he is serious about learning. This also shows that he wants to excel in his
intelligence.

Steinbeck is trying to show that power in the novel is decided by what race you are. Steinbeck creates these characters to show how people in the 1930s were treated. For example Curley was old and disabled. This suggests that he is useless and has no power but besides that his only power is race. Also in the 1930s Curley’s wife was shown to be unintelligent but her only power is race and he sexuality.
In conclusion, I think that Steinbeck is trying to show that