Preview

Curley's Wife Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
165 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Curley's Wife Analysis
Curley’s wife is the loneliest character in this book. In this book Steinbeck writes how Curley’s wife is the loneliest many times. Curley’s wife is the only girl on the ranch and she can't talk to anyone but Curley because if she talks to one of the other men on the ranch Curley will get mad. Steinbeck points out that Curley’s wife can't talk to anyone on the ranch besides Curley. “ I can’t talk to nobody but Curley.Else he gets mad.How’d you like not to talk to nobody (Steinbeck 87). In the previous quote Curley’s wife acknowledges one of the men on the ranch named Lenny how she never gets to talk to anybody. She knows she isn't supposed to talk to anyone but curley but she tries to talk to Lenny fast to emphasize what and how she feels living

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Curleys wife is portrayed as an attention seeker as she tries to distract the men.this is shown when she says "if he aint, i guess i better look some place else' she said playfully.' this coild be because of the great depression; nobody had any money, nor did she have anybody to talk to which could have possibly lead her to seek attention from others. on thother hand curley doesnt let his wife talk to anybody on the ranch so she could be lonely which could also lead her to be flirtatious and seek attention. As she says "if he aint" she knows curley isnt around so she's being childish trying to get the mens attention. Threfore in this quote Stinbeck represents Curleys wife as a villain because she talks to the men playfully and acts childish around them.…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curleys Wife Analysis

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Curly’s Wife Curlys Wife is a very powerful and yet powerless character within the novel Of Mice and Men as Steinbeck uses her to reflect the prejudice against women in the 1930s since they had very little rights. Just from her title “Curlys Wife” she has no actual name, this shows that she is just Curlys property and powerless in the sense that she hasn’t got her own individual identity, only an identity through her husband, also she doesn’t have enough power to be called a ‘woman’ instead she is discriminated against and is called derogatory terms such as a “tart” when Slim first speaks of her to George by saying “I think Curly married a tart” showing no respect for her…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Curleys wife

    • 933 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Curley’s wife is the only female lives on the farm. Throughout the novella, the men that work on the ranch always refer to her as ‘Curley’s wife’. Her lack of identity could imply that she is more of a possession of her husband than a woman with rights. That is why she has no name; her identity is being someone’s wife. As this character develops, we find that she is not in fact the nameless, unimportant character as we first perceive her as, but she is a complex an interesting character which much more to her than we first think of. The lack of identity could also be referring to how womens rights were treated less equally than men. The lack of name demotes Curley’s wife to an insignificant status. Steinbeck says in a letter about the role of Curley’s wife “She (Curley’s wife) was told over and over again that she must remain a virgin… She had only that one thing to sell and she knew it.” This further enforces that women were only used for sex. Steinbeck may have portrayed woman in this way to allows readers to recognise the inferior role of women during the Great Depression.…

    • 933 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife as dangerous as she has the power as she is married to the owner’s son and she is not afraid to exercise that power. But also she is a victim of loneliness as Curley is not that interested in her and she has to stay on the ranch doing nothing but wondering around looking for company. This makes Curley’s wife both guilty and innocent.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife as lonely, through dialogue: "Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever' once in a while?"(page 110), "I get lonely"(page 122), "I get awful lonely" (page 122). The repetition throughout chapter 5 of Curley's wife's loneliness emphasises her isolation and frustration at her not being able to speak to "nobody but Curley" (page 123). This links to the sub-theme of feminism in the novel. Curley's wife is not allowed to talk to anyone but Curley and in the opinion of Carlson, one of the ranch workers, she belongs in the house: "Why'n't you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?" (page 90).…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Steinbeck uses characterization to show that loneliness causes people to reveal their feelings through dialogue. When Curley’s wife walks into the farm, she sees Lennie and begins to talk to him. He tries to avoid her and she says “‘I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely’” (86). Curley’s wife has no one to talk to, and even Lennie tries to avoid her. Her words reveal that she is very lonely and even though there are so many people around her, nobody wants to talk to her. These words are significant because it shows how lonely she really is and how everyone tries to keep away from her because they know she causes drama and that she is married to Curley. George and Lennie also experience loneliness that they show through dialogue. As George and Lennie walk to the ranch together, George says, ‘“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliness guys in the world. They got no family and…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What does it mean to be a victim of loneliness? Merriam-Webster defines it as “being without company; cut off from others”. In the novel Of Mice and Men we see one character experiencing true loneliness, Curley’s wife. Set in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression, on a ranch in California, Of Mice and Men follows the journey of two men. When these two men, George and Lennie, come to work on the ranch, it sends the whole ranch in a new direction. Curley’s wife just hopes that she can find a companion, and who better than new people. But one thing always stands in her way, her loneliness. Curley’s wife is a major victim of loneliness because of her failed dreams, her struggle to be someone’s friend, and her lack of love.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley’s Wife: Floozy or Innocent Girl? Curley’s wife is a young, pretty woman, who is mistrusted by her husband, Curley. The other characters refer to her only as ‘Curley's wife,’ which is significant as she is the only character in the novel without a name. She is a simple object or possession belonging to her husband and this shows the severity of the sexual discrimination in America in 1930s. I believe Steinbeck would have thought of her not as a person but a symbol. Almost everyone on the ranch is lonely and she symbolises this. The audience would come to believe she is a weak isolated character however, the men are fearful of her. She is the wife of their boss. She has power and this power creates fear among the ranch workers. She is both in charge and screaming for attention.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley’s wife is one of the characters in the book that is immensely unwanted and unloved. In the Of Mice and Men novel, she states, “ Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely;” (Pg. 86) This illustrates how Curley’s wife desperately needs someone to…

    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Outline For Curley's Wife

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Curley’s Wife In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates characters that play important roles throughout the story that contribute to themes and connect readers to an overall focus. Curley’s wife, a minor, but significant character in the story, contributes to the theme and is partly responsible for Lennie’s death. Her sinful actions and petty personality make her a character that isn’t respected by others and is known for being trouble around the ranch. Disregarding her flirtations ways and overall self-absorbance, her dreams of a promising future are destroyed. Her gaudy appearance and constant search for Curley makes the men on the ranch view her as a cheater and inappropriate woman. However, after hearing her story, some of…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel of “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck invented an extremely ambiguous character known as Curely’s Wife. Readers would ether like or dislike the personality of Curley’s Wife. Her dream was to be in the movies as she quotes “Nother time I met a guy an’ he was in pitchers. Went out to the Riverside Dance Palace with him. He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural” In the novel she was massively disliked by the other characters for her attracting the attention of other men when she was married. She does this by the way she dresses. This makes her sexually provocative and attractive to men.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In ‘Of Mice and Men’, Steinbeck presents uses some of the characters in order to show the effects that race, sex and disability had on status within communities of this particular time period i.e 1930’s. However, some would argue that it still holds value for modern day situations. These are all exploited as weaknesses by Steinbeck throughout the novel.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sitting alone at lunch has always been a personal fear. Uncomfortably shifting from side to side, while everyone else chats away with their friends. Like an island in the middle the sea, being alone in a crowd of teenagers is social suicide. In Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, there are many characters who have been alienated. Whether it is because of their gender, race, or personality, this novel is full of lonely individuals. Through these characters, Steinbeck suggests that without close friendships, individuals will become desperate for any type of attention.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A victim; someone who is harmed by an event or action. Curley’s wife, a character often perceived as cruel, is really misunderstood. Throughout the story, her name is never mentioned, and while she tries to interact with the other characters, she is always pushed away and rejected. Her imitation of the cruelty she experiences is just a reflection of how she is treated by the people she tries to communicate with. The impulsiveness she exhibits while decision-making is a result of her need for attention, which only strengthens the more she is rejected and isolated. Communication is crucial to the survival and well-being of a human, and because of civilization, acknowledging somebody’s name is just basic respect. As a result of failing to acknowledge…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The character of Curley, a “thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair”, according to Candy is an amateur boxer and is always picking fights, especially with those men who are bigger than he is. The boss’ son in the ranch, Curley is depicted as malicious and threatening by Steinbeck, but yet also possesses some of the traits associated with an outsider- continually trying to prove his worth to those around him. He tries to reflect and ascertain his masculinity shown in his marriage to his physically attractive wife and by picking fights with the ranch workers.…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays