How much sympathy does the reader feel towards Curleys wife?
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.
The reader may feel certain degrees of sympathy for Curleys wife due to the fact that the ranch workers are always talking behind her back. This is shown when Candy is talking about her to George and Lennie in the bunkhouse when they arrive. He states that he thinks “Curley’s married... a tart”. This quotation could cause very strong feelings against Curley’s wife, as she seems to have a reputation amongst the men for being flirtatious. The noun “tart” might infer that Curley’s wife is a promiscuous character who flirts with all of the ranch workers. It could also imply that she is always ‘tarted up’ and making an effort to look attractive in front of the men. Candy’s opinion seems harsh, which could portray the ranch worker’s extremely negative feelings towards Curley’s wife, as they assume she is a flirtatious attention seeker. However, the reader may feel sympathetic towards Curley’s wife because she is labelled as a “tart” and so the ranch workers don’t look past her appearance to get to know her personality. In this quotation, Candy pauses before completing the phrase, which could suggest that he is apprehensive towards voicing his opinion about Curley’s wife. This would be understandable, as most of the ranch workers seem intimidated by Curley and insulting his wife may result in a fight or losing their job. Some might think that this quotation reveals
The reader may feel certain degrees of sympathy for Curleys wife due to the fact that the ranch workers are always talking behind her back. This is shown when Candy is talking about her to George and Lennie in the bunkhouse when they arrive. He states that he thinks “Curley’s married... a tart”. This quotation could cause very strong feelings against Curley’s wife, as she seems to have a reputation amongst the men for being flirtatious. The noun “tart” might infer that Curley’s wife is a promiscuous character who flirts with all of the ranch workers. It could also imply that she is always ‘tarted up’ and making an effort to look attractive in front of the men. Candy’s opinion seems harsh, which could portray the ranch worker’s extremely negative feelings towards Curley’s wife, as they assume she is a flirtatious attention seeker. However, the reader may feel sympathetic towards Curley’s wife because she is labelled as a “tart” and so the ranch workers don’t look past her appearance to get to know her personality. In this quotation, Candy pauses before completing the phrase, which could suggest that he is apprehensive towards voicing his opinion about Curley’s wife. This would be understandable, as most of the ranch workers seem intimidated by Curley and insulting his wife may result in a fight or losing their job. Some might think that this quotation reveals