Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about two displaced migrant workers, George and Lennie, who begin working on a ranch only to realize that their personal issues would become detrimental to their work life. Curley’s wife, an overlooked character, has a negative relationship with her past that affects the way she conducts herself. As a child, she married Curley because she was unable to support herself. Being so young, it was adverse for Curley’s wife to be thrown into a diseased relationship; it continues to drive her ache for attention. To begin, despite the marriage vows that bond her and Curley, Curley’s wife finds herself lonely. She admits to Lennie that her marriage lacks emotional intimacy, an important component of a relationship,
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She compares her current life with Curley to the one she could have had if she pursued her dreams of being an actress. This is seen when she says, “‘When they had them previews I coulda went to them, an’ spoke in the radio, an’ it wouldn’ta cost me a cent because I was in the pitcher. An’ all them nice clothes like they wear. Because this guy says I was a natural’” (Steinbeck 89). Curley prevents his wife from living a life in which all the attention is on her. Curley does not respect her in the way she wants to be nor does he care what she wants in general. Crooks attempts to get rid of Curley’s wife by threatening to tell the boss to never let her in the barn again. After feeling this sense of rejection, Curley’s wife wants to belittle others to make herself feel better like when she tells Crooks, “‘I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny’” (Steinbeck 81). She acts like this because she wants to have a sense of power and control over an inferior man like him. Since Curley objectifies his wife and treats her as property, she attempts to compensate for that ill-treatment by making others feel her …show more content…
Previously, Curley’s wife had decided that she would rather go into an unhealthy relationship than have no husband at all because she wanted to escape the control of her parents and venture off. The teenager says, “‘Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself… So I married Curley. Met him out to the Riverside Dance Palace that same night’” (Steinbeck 88). Curley and his wife immediately got married which contributes to the couple’s unstable relationship. The quick marriage demonstrates that the relationship between Curley and his wife is ultimately not about love. Curley does not feel an obligation to emotionally satisfy his spouse; therefore, she is eager to be accepted by other men on the ranch. Even though Curley’s wife knows about Lennie killing the mouse and puppy, she still says to him, “‘Some people got kinda coarse hair… But mine is soft and fine. ’Course I brush it a lot. That makes it fine. Here—feel right here’” (Steinbeck 90). Despite the horrific deaths of animals caused by Lennie’s attraction to smooth textures, the girl puts her life at risk by influencing him to stroke her hair which leads to her death. Curley’s wife reaches a point when she feels so useless that she solicits appreciation from
She compares her current life with Curley to the one she could have had if she pursued her dreams of being an actress. This is seen when she says, “‘When they had them previews I coulda went to them, an’ spoke in the radio, an’ it wouldn’ta cost me a cent because I was in the pitcher. An’ all them nice clothes like they wear. Because this guy says I was a natural’” (Steinbeck 89). Curley prevents his wife from living a life in which all the attention is on her. Curley does not respect her in the way she wants to be nor does he care what she wants in general. Crooks attempts to get rid of Curley’s wife by threatening to tell the boss to never let her in the barn again. After feeling this sense of rejection, Curley’s wife wants to belittle others to make herself feel better like when she tells Crooks, “‘I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny’” (Steinbeck 81). She acts like this because she wants to have a sense of power and control over an inferior man like him. Since Curley objectifies his wife and treats her as property, she attempts to compensate for that ill-treatment by making others feel her …show more content…
Previously, Curley’s wife had decided that she would rather go into an unhealthy relationship than have no husband at all because she wanted to escape the control of her parents and venture off. The teenager says, “‘Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself… So I married Curley. Met him out to the Riverside Dance Palace that same night’” (Steinbeck 88). Curley and his wife immediately got married which contributes to the couple’s unstable relationship. The quick marriage demonstrates that the relationship between Curley and his wife is ultimately not about love. Curley does not feel an obligation to emotionally satisfy his spouse; therefore, she is eager to be accepted by other men on the ranch. Even though Curley’s wife knows about Lennie killing the mouse and puppy, she still says to him, “‘Some people got kinda coarse hair… But mine is soft and fine. ’Course I brush it a lot. That makes it fine. Here—feel right here’” (Steinbeck 90). Despite the horrific deaths of animals caused by Lennie’s attraction to smooth textures, the girl puts her life at risk by influencing him to stroke her hair which leads to her death. Curley’s wife reaches a point when she feels so useless that she solicits appreciation from