Preview

Of Mice and Men

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1182 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Q- “I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her” what is the reader supposed to think about Curley’s wife? * How is she described by the other characters?

* How the author describes her

* How she speaks/behaves

* Her dreams

* Is she the cause of all the trouble

Written By Ruqayyah Draey Curley’s wife is not well described and respected by the other characters. She is often looked down upon and discriminated against; partly due to her being a woman but also due to her behaviour towards the other men.
“I think Curley’s married... a tart, I seen her give Slim the eye”.
From what Candy describes, Curley’s wife as, I can sense he isn’t too fond of her and has observed she’s a bit of flirt with Slim. Candy is old and is probably a bit traditional; I don’t think he’s used to seeing married women act in this way. He might be quick in judging her.
Candy’s not the only character that judges Curley’s wife, George also disapproves of her. “Jesus what a tramp... so that’s what Curley picks for a wife”. George has only just arrived to the ranch and has already sussed Curley’s wife out, calling her a ‘tramp’. I think this may be harsh, as he’s only just met her but I guess with men, first impressions are everything. George probably thinks this, due to her flirtatious body language she sends off. He’s used to being around men and in the novel has confessed to not having a girlfriend. Therefore, he doesn’t have an understanding of women; this may be why he dislikes her.
Curley’s wife on two occasions is described as being a ‘bitch’ by the other characters. “That bitch didn’t ought to of said that to you... Don’t even look at that bitch”. I can understand that the men on the ranch disliked her but I do not agree with the type of language they used in which to describe her. This is an indication of how men lacked education in those days.
The author describes Curley’s wife as having

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Candy tells George and Lennie, “Know what I think... Well I think Curley’s married a Tart.” Candy has this opinion because of how she looks. Just because she wears make-up and dresses nice doesn’t mean she deserves to be called names. George tells Lennie after they meet Curley’s wife, “don’t you even take a look at that bitch. I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.” George is talking about her behind her back and calling her names like “Bitch” without even knowing her. Curley’s wife doesn’t have a chance to make friends if everybody is hearing rumors about her. Curley’s wife is a victim but not totally…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's Wife in the book would be compared to a whore and a mean cold…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley’s Wife is portrayed as a “tart” and “tramp” according to the male characters in Of Mice and Men. She frequently flirts with the ranch hands on her father-in-laws’ farm. Even though she’s a trouble maker, Curley’s Wife experiences extreme loneliness and the hurt of her own broken dream. She explains on page 97 that she had a chance at an acting career but instead she was trapped into living an unhappy life with Curley. This proves that Curley’s wife is not a heartless “bitch” but actually a human being that has aspirations and…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As the only woman on a ranch surrounded by men that view her as a temptress, Curley’s wife faces little to no chance of friendship. Despite Steinbeck’s portrayal, Curley’s wife emerges as a complex character through the quotation, “‘I get lonely’” (82). This declaration to Lennie shows Curley’s wife as more than the stereotypical enchantress, but as an actual person who possesses feelings, particularly loneliness. The line becomes noteworthy as the reader begins to notice the character of Curley’s wife developing more depth and feeling.…

    • 85 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    DISLIKE: The first time we hear about Curley’s wife is from an unfavourable insight of her when Candy is in conversation with George and Lennie, which Steinbeck portrays through dialogue. We begin to perceive that Curley’s wife is a mean and seductive temptress as “she got they eye” and it has only been the period of two short weeks that she has been forced into a marital relationship with Curley, and is already beginning to commit signs of deceit. Due to Curley’s wife’s lack of power, she aims to attract the rancher’s attention through her physical appearance as this is the only method of gaining any form of communication with a person on the ranch. This quotation could also suggest that Curley’s wife is a ‘whore’ and has a wondering eye therefore proclaiming that she is a flirtatious, self obsessed and an egotistical woman who has the power to trap men in her very own spiraled web. However, during this time, women were seen as an object which held no power or dignity. They were degraded in their society and were…

    • 2273 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's Wife Analysis

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Married to Curley, she lives on a ranch with only men with whom to talk. However the men degrade and insult her, and Curley makes sure no one thinks of talking to his wife on fear of losing their jobs. Curley is very possessive of his wife, and wants the men on the ranch to know that he has something valuable that they are not allowed to have. Her gender secludes her on the ranch, and her attempts to get the other men to talk to her only pushes them further away. Her extravagant appearance illustrates her desperate need for attention. “I get lonely. You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?” (Steinbeck 87). She seeks out the men on the ranch for company, however this is seen as a promiscuous act in their eyes. She settled for Curley after being unable to pursue her own dreams, but she now lives on a ranch with men who avoid her because they are too afraid of her…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley’s wife is a character in the novel “Of mice and men” set in California and written in 1937 by John Steinbeck. She is the only woman on a ranch of itinerant working men, and because of this she gets treated by each man in a different manner. Most of the men treat her in a negative way, therefore causing different degrees of sympathy from the reader. Sympathy implies that the reader feels an emotional connection towards the character. Her unhappy marriage to the boss’s son causes her great loneliness and unhappiness as she tries, in vain, to find someone to talk to on the ranch.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's wife is one of the most significant characters in John Steinbeck's novel "Of mice and men," although we never learn her name. We learn about her through her own words and actions and also through other characters' descriptions and opinions of her. Before Curley's wife makes her first appearance, she is introduced to us through Candy's opinion of her. He tells George that, although she has only been married to Curley for two weeks, she has already "got the eye." He also describes he as "a tart" that has been flirting with both Slim and Carlson. Curley's wife's first appearance is dramatic. She suddenly appears in the open doorway, cutting off the bright sunlight, as if she has brought the darkness with her. The reader is already influenced by Candy's description of her so that when Steinbeck describes her as having "full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up" we see this as confirmation of her being "a tart." Equally, it could simply mean that she takes pride in her appearance and tries to get noticed. However, she does flaunt herself " she smiled archly and twisted her body" and is clearly aware that Lennie is fascinated with her. George's first impression of Curley's wife is that she is "a tramp" and the worst "piece of jail-bait" he has ever seen. Later in the novel, the young ranch hand Whit also tells George that he thinks Curley's wife flaunts her body and has "got the eye goin' all the time on everybody." He agrees with George that she is trouble. Steinbeck gives us a more direct insight into Curley's wife's character in the scene when she meets Candy, Lennie and Crooks in Crooks' room. She sneers at the men, telling them that men are afraid to talk to her when there is more than one of them present, "You're all scared of each other, that's what." When she says, "They left all the weak ones here" she may mean it as an insult, but she also seems to accept that she is one of "the weak ones" who has been left behind, because she knows Curley…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men and Slim

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Curley tries to prove his masculinity by picking fights. Another way to prove himself is by marrying a physically attractive woman. His wife is never given a name, but by calling her "Curley's wife," Steinbeck indicates she is his possession. Curley refuses to let her talk to anyone on the ranch, isolating her from everyone and setting the stage for trouble. He makes a big show of keeping his hand soft to caress her, yet patronizes the local whorehouse on Saturday night. While he may strut around the ranch because of his position as the boss' son, he obviously cannot satisfy his wife and is mean to her. Curley beats up any man who dares to talk to her; the only one he listens to and seems to respect is Slim.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife as the only women in the ranch and because she doesn’t have a name it shows that she is not important and she is someone’s belonging. The first time you hear about Curley’s wife is when candy describes her to George. Candy uses expression such as “she got the eye” and goes on to describe her as looking at other man because of this they call her a “tart”. Through Candy’s words, we could develop an initial perception of Curley’s wife as Flirty and even promiscuous. This manipulates us by leading us into having a negative view of her.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's Wife Sexism

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her. You leave her be.” (32) The reason George talks about Curley’s wife like that is because that’s what he judged Curley’s wife to be from how she acted when they first met, to the rumors he heard from the men on the ranch. Early in the story, Curley’s wife is marginalized due to her being a female on a ranch full of men. Later in the story, Curley’s wife tries to move into the core sphere by telling Crooks, “... I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” (81) Curley’s wife says this to show off her power over Crooks and “to put him in his place”. This isn’t very effective simply because Crooks is African-American, so everyone on the ranch had more power than him. Another thing Curley’s wife always does is go to the bunkhouse where the men sleep. Though she isn’t aloud, nor wanted, she does it anyway. I believe what Curley’s wife is trying to say is that, I’m not like those other women who just stay in their house and wait for their husband to come back. I’m going to go out and have fun, because i'm my own…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is curley's wife a victim

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is shown as a very unpleasant character. For example, while Lennie, Candy and Crookes were in Crooks’ room discussing their ranch, she walks in and says “Listen, Nigger...” “...You keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” (Pg 88 and 89). This shows she is taking advantage of the fact she’s the boss’s son’s wife, and uses her position of power against Crooks, when all he ever did is ask for some privacy. She went off on a racist tangent when Crooks asked for privacy from his room because he wants no trouble with Curley. Another example of her unpleasantness is not about what she does, but what she unintentionally does, Curley is often upset with someone else on the range because he thinks they were being “friendly” with his wife, one example of this is when George, Candy, and Lennie are thinking of their house they want to one day own, Curley and Slim walk through the door “Curley said ‘Well I didn’t mean nothing, Slim. I just ast you.’ Slim said “Well you been askin’ me too often. after your own God damn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me.” (pg 68) It shows Curley’s wife causes unpleasantness even when she doesn’t mean to. It also shows that even she isn’t directly involved she can cause unpleasantness in others through Curley, whether it’s intentional or not the foulness still takes place. Curley’s wife starts out the book on the wrong foot, but she turns up a new leaf in later chapters, by explaining her true self and life story.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many men on the farm used to tell themselves that “Curley's married… a tart” (31) and that she was just a woman who tried to get people into trouble.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    curleys wife

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Not only is Curley's wife described as being a floozy but she is also described as being threatening. Upon entering Crooks's room, it is apparent that…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays