Of Mice And Men - Curleys Wife Essay -- English Literature Essays

Of Mice And Men - Curleys WifeI never seen no piece of jail-bait worse than her (George) what is the lector supposed to think about Curleys wife? In the Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men, he introduces us to the character of Curleys 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 Curleys wife and how characters comprehend 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 otherwise people. It is set in the U.S. in the 1930s this is the time of the not bad(p) 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 any the people hurt, farmers were the worst off. John Steinbeck chose to write about farmers hoping th at 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. Curleys 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 rootage 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 get 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 perk up been a really lonely person with lonely feelings. Curleys wife is given a reputation of causing trouble between other chara cters 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 receive many meanings and then he backs that up with I seen her give Slim the eye and finally he says Well I think Curleys marrieda tart. This explains his views on Curleys wife. And when she dies he calls her 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 stupendous 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 whitethorn have been a big part of his keep a nothing is going to replace her. Curleys 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. Curleys 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 Steinbecks characters are stereotypical, or have some form of a stereotypical view towards them and Curleys wife is no exception.