The Loneliness of Curley’s Wife
Set in 1930s America Of Mice and Men shows the apparent hardships of an America gripped in a great depression. The Wall Street crash of 1929 was making the American dream become more of a nightmare and over farming had devastated the American countryside leaving workers to migrate across the American mid west to find work. Steinbeck also worked on a ranch as a young man so the story has a personal touch from his own experiences.
With unemployment at a record high and no money available to unemployed men and women, they found themselves having to travel great distances to get work to survive and keep the American dream alive. Thousand's made their way west to California away from their farmland's in the mid west, The reality of working thousands of miles away from home meant the workers would get very lonely and home sick many of them having had to leave families and loved ones behind.
All the characters in the novel have certain things in common, for example working and living on a ranch coupled with dreams of a brighter future. These men actually have jobs which they are thankful for, but suffer loneliness such as being away from home in the cases of Lennie and George. Curley’s wife is subject to 1930s America where a woman’s place is in the home, an object or possession belonging to her husband. Her loneliness stems from the discontent she feels with her abusive marriage and lack of attention from her husband. Focusing on the situation Curley’s wife is in, I will discuss how her loneliness is illustrated. We are first introduced to Curley’s wife through Candy’s description. The derogatory comments leave the reader to have an initial low opinion of the woman as she seems to be a lady who craves the company of many men. ‘I’ve seen her give slim the eye... am’ I’ve seen her give Carlson the eye.’ (pg 29) By labelling Curley's wife as a ‘tart’ she effectively is excluded from the men, thought of