“Old Candy watched him go. He looked helplessly back at Curley’s wife, and gradually his sorrow and his anger turned into words. ‘You God damn tramp,’ he said viciously. You done it di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad.’”
Curley’s wife is a key character to ‘Of Mice and Men’ because she plays such a vital role in the story. She is the only woman on the ranch, and it is her presence and her behaviour that bring about Lennie’s final downfall. Although her behaviour may be partly because she is lonely, the men dislike her because she is both malicious and flirtatious. Even when she is dead, Candy talks about her disrespectfully and blames her for spoiling the dream.
“... he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen. He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch.
Slim is also a key character to the novel. Slim, however, is in many ways the exact opposite of Curley’s wife. He is very kind, skilled and doesn’t demand attention or respect, but he earns it. He is ‘the prince of the ranch’. Technically, this should be the role of Curley, as the boss’ son, but Slim takes over this role. He has been appointed the role by the ranch workers, who all look up to …show more content…
He is always kind and generous and sees the good in people. He says of Lennie; “Guys don’t need no sense to be a nice fella.” Curley’s wife however doesn’t care about anyone else. She is mean and racist to Crooks and abuses her power, “‘Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’” I think that she discriminates everyone else because she also is discriminated against. She is objectified throughout and is only referred to through physical descriptions of her looks and is only referred to as “Curley’s wife”. Slim on the other hand is compassionate, like when Candy’s dog is killed and he offers Candy one of his newborn