Curley's Wife- Of Mice and Men
Mackenzie Taylor
Mrs. Hart-Garcia
Gifted Literature
17 December 2013
Curley’s Wife: A Deeper Insight Curley’s wife is stuck living on a ranch with no other women during the Great Depression. She is called many names such as “tart”, but she is never given a formal name besides Curley’s wife. Although Curley’s wife acts promiscuous and mean, she is actually suffering from loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is defined as Curley’s wife and nothing more than that. Living on a ranch with all men, her husband rarely even acknowledges her; they spend all their time looking for each other. Curley does not allow her to speak with the other men, and they reject her every time. When she attempts to talk or flirt with them, she is quickly rejected. None of the men want any trouble with Curley. Having no one else, the men on the ranch are the only people she can confide in. She even says,”Standin’ here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs- a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep- an’ likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else.’(Steinbeck 78) This quote explains how lonely and desperate she is for company. She is disgusted by the three men, but likes them much better than being by herself. She is also quick to shoot down the men when they reject her, pointing out their biggest flaws in order to make herself feel better again. When she finally gets Lennie alone, she knows it is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of him. She begins talking on and on about how she could have been a movie star instead of living on the ranch. “Curley’s wife convinces herself that her mother stole the letter, rather than realize that the guys weren’t interested in her talents.” (Shmoop) One of her biggest flaws is not seeing things for how they really are. She does not realize the men just generally do not want anything to do with her, and she continues to make advances to them and be a flirt. Like most people during this time, she had a dream, and no chance of ever making it
Mrs. Hart-Garcia
Gifted Literature
17 December 2013
Curley’s Wife: A Deeper Insight Curley’s wife is stuck living on a ranch with no other women during the Great Depression. She is called many names such as “tart”, but she is never given a formal name besides Curley’s wife. Although Curley’s wife acts promiscuous and mean, she is actually suffering from loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is defined as Curley’s wife and nothing more than that. Living on a ranch with all men, her husband rarely even acknowledges her; they spend all their time looking for each other. Curley does not allow her to speak with the other men, and they reject her every time. When she attempts to talk or flirt with them, she is quickly rejected. None of the men want any trouble with Curley. Having no one else, the men on the ranch are the only people she can confide in. She even says,”Standin’ here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs- a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep- an’ likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else.’(Steinbeck 78) This quote explains how lonely and desperate she is for company. She is disgusted by the three men, but likes them much better than being by herself. She is also quick to shoot down the men when they reject her, pointing out their biggest flaws in order to make herself feel better again. When she finally gets Lennie alone, she knows it is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of him. She begins talking on and on about how she could have been a movie star instead of living on the ranch. “Curley’s wife convinces herself that her mother stole the letter, rather than realize that the guys weren’t interested in her talents.” (Shmoop) One of her biggest flaws is not seeing things for how they really are. She does not realize the men just generally do not want anything to do with her, and she continues to make advances to them and be a flirt. Like most people during this time, she had a dream, and no chance of ever making it