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I never seen no piece of jail-bait worse than her (George) what is the reader supposed to think about Curley's wife? In the Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men, he introduces us to the character of Curley's wife. She could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel, as no one relaters to her. This essay will go on to examine the character of Curley's wife and how characters perceive her and how this influences the readers interpretation of her. The social setting of the novel is also important, as it could later explain characters attitudes towards other people.
It is set in the U. S. in the 1930 s; this is the time of the Great Depression. This was a result of the First World War. It affected the rich and poor alike, factory workers and farmers, bankers and stockbrokers. In short, it affected everyone; no one was left untouched.
But of all the people hurt, farmers were the worst off. John Steinbeck chose to write about farmers hoping that Americans would recognize their troubles and correct the situation. The great depression is known to be the worst economic disaster in the U. S history. For this reason the depression caused many people to change their ideas about the government and economy. Curley's wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch.
The way she looks and acts leads other characters in the novel to see her as a tart. George makes his opinions clear just after he first met her Jesus, what a tramp, and So thats what Curley picks for a wife. She just wants some one to talk to. Males on the ranch dont like her because they think she will get them into trouble. They make judgments without getting to know her first. They judge a book by its cover.
Curley, her husband doesnt trust her with the other ranch hands. She was just out of place on the ranch, and because of that, must have been a really lonely person with lonely feelings. Curley's wife is given a reputation of causing trouble between other characters from different characters in the novel. There is no evidence of her living up to all of the reputation in the novel. Candy says Well she got the eye which could have many meanings and then he backs that up with I seen her give Slim the eye and finally he says Well I think Curley's married tart. This explains his views on Curley's wife.
And when she dies he calls her a tramp and Candy blames her for ruining his dream of living with George and Lennie. There are no other females on the Ranch that we know about. Half of the men rarely see females and the ones they see are when they go into town to a whore-house. This shows the mens stereotypical view on women as that of a whore. Curley's wife says I never get to talk to anyone.
I get awful lonely. This shows that being the only apparent female leaves her with a lack of companionship, especially with the other characters attitudes towards her. But when Lennie hears that he takes no notice of it. Just like she takes no notice of what Lennie says to her. Curley's wife is racist towards other people. She calls Crooks a nigger on numerous occasions but isnt the only person to do that.
It is not just ethnic racism but physical. They left all the weak ones here. These racist comments could be to do with her upbringing. Curley's wife may not think it is wrong. Racism was not considered a big thing at the time this novel was set, so people didnt know any better. No one trusts any one on the ranch.
Not even Curley and his wife. They are always looking for each other. He started a fight when he thought that there was something going on between his wife and Slim. This shows very little trust, if he is going around making accusations. When it comes to dreams of other people, Curley's wife always puts them down.
I seen to many you guys. Curley's wife said that after Lennie told her his and Georges dream. Dreams are a major reoccurring theme in the novel Of Mice and Men. When Lennie tell Curley's wife of his and Georges dream she just says Baloney. But she has a dream of her own and she proceeds to talk to Lennie about it. Curley's wife dreamt of being a movie star and regrets marrying Curley.
Having encountered an actor when she was fifteen, she was told that she was a natural in acting but her mother forbade her to pursue her dream. On the same night as meeting the actor, she met Curley. When no letter came from the actor, she married Curley. However she has always wanted to make some achievements and loved attention. She constantly wandered around looking for trouble. When she was killed by Lennie, this was the end of her dream.
Lennie, Candy and Curley's wife were not capable of having their dreams come true, but were full of hope. A problem got into each of their way, which they did not have the power to solve. The have shown how big dreams often cause tragedies, and are sometimes unrealistic. All through the novel the men make out that Curley's wife is trouble. But yet there was never any proof that Curley's wife has ever caused any of the trouble or conflicts. The only trouble she caused was when she died.
She triggered a mass of emotions between the men, the conflict of killing Lennie. And Curley finally showed some caring emotion I know who done it. That big son-of-a-bitch done it Is when he begins to show the love for his wife. Curley talks about going to kill Lennie, which shows that his wife may have been a big part of his life a nothing is going to replace her. Curley's wife is a difficult character to understand. Steinbeck hasnt named her; this could be for a number of reasons.
He may have wanted her to be seen as lonely therefore not naming her shows no one gets close enough to her to call her by her first name. He may have done it to show the other characters only see her as the wife of Curley rather than an individual. He may also have done it to show the male attitudes towards females. Curley's wife also helps to provoke mixed emotions in the reader. We often feel sorry for her such as when she talks of her loneliness, but on other occasions the reader can find her cold hearted. This is seen when she is racist towards the other characters.
Most of Steinbeck's characters are stereotypical, or have some form of a stereotypical view towards them and Curley's wife is no exception.
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