Preview

examine how John Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
657 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
examine how John Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife
Throughout the course of this essay I am going to examine how Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife in ‘Of mice and men’, through the way she is treated, spoken to and spoken about as well as her own dialogue and actions. Curley’s wife lives with and is married to Curley and is the only women on the ranch; therefore I will be using her as a representation of how women were treated and portrayed in the 1930s.
In of Mice and Men Steinbeck uses language to hint to the reader that Curley’s wife is seen as an item rather than a human. We know this because throughout the course of the book Curley’s wife is referred to as ‘Curley’s wife’ instead of her actual name. This suggests that she has no individualism as she is not presented as her own person but rather an asset of Curley’s just like his money, house and horses. The reference also suggests that the 1930s was a male dominated world, where men were the hierarchy in comparison to women, so the reason for this behaviour could have been due to culture and tradition of the time.
Steinbeck also uses symbolism to represent Curley’s wife as a sexual object, we know this because when George was new to the ranch and wanted to know about Curley, Candy told him “Well, that glove’s fulla Vaseline…Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife.” This quote suggests that Curley’s sexual relationship is very important to him to the point of sacrificing a whole hand and wearing a glove all day, even throughout the scorching summer sun! The first reference to the relationship between Curley and his wife is referred to a ‘physical’ one, which shows that he sees his wife as a sexual object rather than a partner in life. Steinbeck could have used a ring or necklace which would be a token of their love, but rather her uses the glove of Vaseline which is a token of their ‘sexual relationship’.
The author portrays Curley’s wife as an unhappy women, we know this because when Candy’s in a conversation with George before

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “… He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was natural” (Steinbeck 88). That quote explains Curley’s wife’s’ dream of being a movie star that never panned out. Like all of the underdogs in John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, she had a failed dream. Curley’s wife was a social pariah because of many uncontrollable and controllable factors. Her gender was one of the uncontrollable factors that caused her to be an underdog. The period of time in which the novel takes place has a heavy prejudice against women. Curley’s wife however, embraces this stereotype. Steinbeck portrays women as troublemakers who bring ruin to men, which is exactly what Curley’s wife is. She is constantly wandering around the ranch, flaunting her beauty to the ranch hands. She is seen as a “… tart” (Steinbeck 28). Instead, Curley’s wife, should have worked hard to change this stereotype. Curley’s wife should not have been as mean to the ranch hands. Her nastiness is what caused many of the ranch hands to dislike her. “… An’ what am I doin’? 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). In this particular situation, Curley’s wife was taunting Crooks, Candy, and Lennie. She was degrading them. This is one of the many situations in which Curley’s wife preys on…

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Analysis Of Curley's Wife

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Finally even though Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife as quite a complicated, self centred, flirtatious women I don’t personally think she has bad intentions. I think Steinbeck only told the readers the bad points about her. I agree that she is very flirtatious however she wasn’t actually looking for sex. She was just very lonely and bored, she just wanted somebody to speak to and thought that by wearing bright clothes and loads of makeup the men on the ranch would perhaps talk to her but she was…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better 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
  • Powerful Essays

    Initially the character of Curley’s Wife is described to the readers by the men on the ranch that George and Lennie last work on, in their conversations with each other, before Curley’s Wife’s character is fully introduced with speech and description of physical appearance. Expressions, such as the idiom “she got the eye”, are used to describe her, implying that she is promiscuous and flirtatious, something that is later emphasised by her being referred to by the derogatory term of “tart£, implying that she is suggestive and perhaps even similar to a prostitute in terms of the way she portrays herself. The word “tart” could also suggest that she presents herself flamboyantly in front of the men at the ranch, illustrating her desperation for attention. The fact that she is married and is still promiscuous and portrays herself flamboyantly in front of other men could suggest that she is unfaithful and immoral, or alternatively that her sexual needs are not fulfilled by her husband, providing a reasonable explanation to why Curley wears a glove “fulla vasaline”, something that is seen as “dirty” by George. She is described to be “heavily made up” which could add to her being unfaithful and untrue as she almost is disguised and covered up by cosmetics, covering her real natural appearance. Steinbeck purposefully conveys Curley’s Wife negatively through the ranch men in order to create an initial pessimistic and hateful approach toward her character by the readers.…

    • 1953 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife as the only women in the ranch and because she doesn’t have a name it shows that she is not important and she is someone’s belonging. The first time you hear about Curley’s wife is when candy describes her to George. Candy uses expression such as “she got the eye” and goes on to describe her as looking at other man because of this they call her a “tart”. Through Candy’s words, we could develop an initial perception of Curley’s wife as Flirty and even promiscuous. This manipulates us by leading us into having a negative view of her.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley's wife is one of the most significant characters in John Steinbeck's novel "Of mice and men," although we never learn her name. We learn about her through her own words and actions and also through other characters' descriptions and opinions of her. Before Curley's wife makes her first appearance, she is introduced to us through Candy's opinion of her. He tells George that, although she has only been married to Curley for two weeks, she has already "got the eye." He also describes he as "a tart" that has been flirting with both Slim and Carlson. Curley's wife's first appearance is dramatic. She suddenly appears in the open doorway, cutting off the bright sunlight, as if she has brought the darkness with her. The reader is already influenced by Candy's description of her so that when Steinbeck describes her as having "full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up" we see this as confirmation of her being "a tart." Equally, it could simply mean that she takes pride in her appearance and tries to get noticed. However, she does flaunt herself " she smiled archly and twisted her body" and is clearly aware that Lennie is fascinated with her. George's first impression of Curley's wife is that she is "a tramp" and the worst "piece of jail-bait" he has ever seen. Later in the novel, the young ranch hand Whit also tells George that he thinks Curley's wife flaunts her body and has "got the eye goin' all the time on everybody." He agrees with George that she is trouble. Steinbeck gives us a more direct insight into Curley's wife's character in the scene when she meets Candy, Lennie and Crooks in Crooks' room. She sneers at the men, telling them that men are afraid to talk to her when there is more than one of them present, "You're all scared of each other, that's what." When she says, "They left all the weak ones here" she may mean it as an insult, but she also seems to accept that she is one of "the weak ones" who has been left behind, because she knows Curley…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curley’s wife is a character in the novel “Of mice and men” set in California and written in 1937 by John Steinbeck. She is the only woman on a ranch of itinerant working men, and because of this she gets treated by each man in a different manner. Most of the men treat her in a negative way, therefore causing different degrees of sympathy from the reader. Sympathy implies that the reader feels an emotional connection towards the character. Her unhappy marriage to the boss’s son causes her great loneliness and unhappiness as she tries, in vain, to find someone to talk to on the ranch.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the novel Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife in a number of ways. Initially he tells us that she is a beautiful girl who is lonely and she is the only female on the ranch. Steinbeck explains that she is presented as a sexual object for Curly. Even though she is the boss’s son’s wife she is still low in the hierarchy within the ranch.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steinbeck uses candy to forewarn the reader about Curley’s wife in their first meeting, this is significant as it shows that Curley’s wife is interpreted as ‘jail bait’ as George says. The fact that George is pre-warned about this potential danger is ironic as despite the warning she is the problem that ends up getting Lennie killed.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” is set in 1930’s America during the Great Depression and gives the reader a glimpse of the hardships of life back then and the social oppression. The theme running throughout the book is of a friendship between two men amidst dreams that they have, and of dreams being crushed. Curley’s wife is an important character in the book. John Steinbeck presents her in different ways throughout the novel and uses different techniques to manipulate the reader’s opinion, for example through her appearance. For the large part she is described in a negative way as a dangerous, flirtatious character which could be construed as a reflection of the way society viewed the role of women in the novel. However later in the book Steinbeck manipulates the reader into seeing her as complex, and feeling sympathy for Curley’s wife portraying her as a victim, desperate and isolated in a man’s world. This essay will illustrate how Steinbeck cleverly attempts to alter our opinion of Curley’s wife during the book.…

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Before we are presented to Curley’s wife, Candy talks about her, to George and Lennie. She is spoken about in a gossipy manor. “I think Curley’s married a … tart.” Steinbeck is prejudicing or preparing us before we meet Curley’s wife. He does this, so that we have an influenced preliminary impression of Curley’s wife and the way she acts.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Be that as it may, Curley’s wife is the only female character that the reader is properly acknowledged with. As she is the only female in the novel which is set in a mans world, one would come to the conclusion that Curley’s wife is possibly the loneliest character in the novel. Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife as a lonely character by reason of her being introduced through the view point of other characters. In other words she is used as a product of gossip [.…

    • 1951 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Before we meet Curleys wife, Steinbeck deliberately gives us a first impression of her to let us know their honest views on her with Candy and Georges conversation. Candy starts by saying “Wait’ll you see Curleys wife.”, this makes us anticipated of her and gives us an expectation of what is going to be said about her. During the conversation the only positive thing said was that she was “purty”. She is portrayed as being flirty and not satisfied with her husband when Candy claims “Married two weeks and got the eye? Maybe that’s why Curleys pants is full of ants.” This makes the reader think because if they were newlywed they should be on their honeymoon period however one is overly flirtatious and the metaphor “pants is full of ants” shows the others paranoid over her, this gives us the sense something’s not right with their relationship. Steinbeck exaggerates the use of the phrase “the eye” to mirror the fact she…

    • 2332 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    George warns Lennie to stay away from Curleys wife he says ‘You Leave her be’ he also calls her a ‘rat trap’ this is probably because he knows that she is a flirt and will draw him in and it will end up Lennie getting into trouble like a rat trap will use cheese to draw the rat in and end up in the rat being killed. George also knows that Curley is ‘fisty’ and any trouble with him could lead to them getting in a fight with Curley or being ‘canned’ by the boss which would mean they could not earn the money to fulfil their dream of owning their own land. Candy also says that ‘Curley’s married . . . a tart’ this is probably because of the way she acts and dresses. He knows that she is a flirt and thinks that she will get into any mans pants if presented with a chance. This may also be because he is old and his traditional stereotype of women is that in a marriage they should stay home clean and cook for their partners and not be out talking and flirting with other men most of the time as he could think that she has only one man to satisfy which is her…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men does not portray women very respectively. Curley’s wife walks the ranch as a seductress. Bored, lonely and always looking for her husband, Curley. When we first encounter her appearance, Steinbeck describes her as having ‘full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up’ this is a prime example of her superfluous character. She is flirtatious and her body language is provocative. Before Curley’s wife makes her first appearance, her personality is emphasised by Candy who gives us a prejudice description of her. “Purty, but... she got the eye”. This shows us that she is attractive though isn’t very loyal and will flirt with anyone. She wears too much makeup and is proud of her hair, “don’t muss it up” – I believe she uses her looks to get attention. Curley’s wife also seems to be obsessed with the colour red – ‘rouged lips… red mules… little bouquets of red ostrich feathers’. Red is the only colour used to describe her and is associated with sex and danger, but also links her to the girl in Weed with the red dress – Steinbeck’s hint that Lennie might hurt Curley’s wife, too.…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays