Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Character Analysis

The novela Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck focuses on the lives of several itinerant farmhand workers during the Great Depression on a ranch in Soledad, California. During this time period, there was still segregation between races, as well as very few support systems for people who were too old or who had a disability and could no longer work. Also, because of the Depression, many people were traveling across the country, looking for work. George and Lennie are two such people who work on ranches temporarily before setting off to look for work again, usually because Lennie gets in some kind of trouble as an effect of his intellectual disability and lower comprehension of events. Thier lives are less lonely as some of the others on the farm, because, as George says, “‘[George
The loneliness of these people dictate their interactions with the other workers on the farm and their actions towards others. Perhaps the most lonely person on the ranch is Curley’s Wife. She is isolated due to her gender and her marital status to Curley. Though she is married, she dislikes her husband and often looks toward the other men on the farm for attention and company, though her efforts are often ignored by the men because they did not want to get into any trouble with Curley, as he is the boss’s son and could get them fired. Also, the other men think of her as a “tart” for giving the workers “the eye” (28). This leaves Curley’s Wife alone, “never get[ting] to talk to nobody. [she] get[s] awfully lonely.” (86). Of course, she would not be so isolated if her dream of becoming an actress had come true. When talking to Lennie in the barn, she tells him, “when I was a kid. well, a show coun through, an’ I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show.” and, “If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet” (88). However, it is clear there is no way that Curley’s