Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men Essay

Curley's Wife Essay

Throughout the story Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley's wife plays an important role to conclude the ending resolution of the novel, even though she is only presented in-person three times. Each time she shows her expressions both physical and mentally. During the course of the story you see Curley's wife is a tramp and she uses her body to get attention from the men on the ranch. At the beginning of the story, George and Lennie meet Curley's wife at the bunk house; both have their own impression about her. Then the next two times she is involved in the story, Lennie gets to spend time with her in Crook's room and in the barn.

After Lennie and George get settled in form their long trip to the ranch they both meet Candy. Candy tells the men, "well-she got the eye." I think that Candy is trying to say that Curley's wife has been showing more of an interest to the other men on the ranch than her husband of two weeks. Candy also said, "well, I think Curley's married…. a tart." I think what Candy is trying to say is that she is a bit of a slut and is having an affair, and she gets around without Curley even knowing it. The other characters refer to Curley's wife as promiscuous. Even before George and Lennie meet Curley's wife, they've already formed an opinion and judged her.

Curley's wife appears for the first time at the bunk house. She came in the room saying she is looking for Curley, but I think that she really just wanted to see the new men on the ranch. Her actions leave an impression on Lennie and George. She stood in the doorway with her body thrown forward and twitching her body and posed as if trying to show her body off to the men, trying to gather their attention. The narrator described her with big lips and nice red fingernails and everything else a young beautiful lady looks like. Lennie admires her looks, but on the other hand, George knows that she is trouble. George told Lennie "don't you even take a look at that bitch." George really emphasized what trouble she was and made sure Lennie understood him.

The second appearance is in Crook's room, which is separated from the other bunk houses. Lennie, Crooks, and Candy are all in Crooks room. Curley's wife appears in the doorway, claiming that she is looking for Curley and complaining that she just wants someone to talk to because she is very lonely. Candy tells her that she has a husband and she should not be fooling around with other men. Once again Candy is talking about his feelings about Curley's wife, stating in a discreet way that she is a tramp. She asks what happened to Curley's hand because she noticed that it was broken. Candy tells her that Curley had an accident with a machine, but she doesn't believe him. As she was leaving, she asks Lennie why he has the bruises on his face, and he said that Curley got his hand hurt in a machine. Again, she is told to get out of the room by Crooks because all the men know that she is trouble. As Curley's wife was leaving she tells Lennie she is glad he busted up Curley a bit.

Lennie is alone in the barn petting his dead puppy thinking that he's going to get into trouble if George finds out he killed another animal. Meanwhile, Curley's wife enters and asks him what he has but Lennie's response is that George told him he can't speak to her one bit. Again she asks him what he is covering up and Lennie shows her the dead puppy. Curley's wife tells Lennie not to worry about it though. Curley's wife starts to tell Lennie about her missed opportunity of being in the films and being an actress. Also she tells Lennie that she doesn't even like Curley and that she doesn't like being his wife. She is telling Lennie all of her emotions and what is on her mind. Later she asks why he is always petting things. He tells her that he loves to pet things that are soft like silk and velvet. She tells Lennie that she loves the felling of soft things too and she says that she love to touch her soft and fine hair. Curley's wife invites for Lennie to part her hair, and he does. Before she knew it, Lennie had a tight grasp on her hair and he eventually shook her to her death. Despite the fact that Lennie killed Curley's wife, I think that she was starting to flirt with Lennie because she had no one to talk to and Lennie was the only one on the ranch that would listen to her feelings on life.

Curley's wife is a tramp throughout this story and she uses her body to get attention from the men on the ranch. Curley's wife has a hard time talking to Curley which is why she wants to flirt with Lennie for attention. Her attention seeking behavior gets her killed. Curley's wife is a complex character who plays an important role in the plot even though she appears only three times.