Curley's Wife Stood Still In The Doorway Analysis

Moreover, another reason as to why Curley’s wife may be viewed as ‘bad’ and a ‘villain’ is because of the fact that she obstructs George and Lennie from accomplishing their dream. Steinbeck uses pathetic fallacy to use light symbolically to show that she can be imposing when he writes, "The rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off.’’ Steinbeck uses symbolism to describe how Curley’s wife is dangerous to the men. The ‘sunshine’ symbolises a sense of hope, positivity and happiness, however, due to the fact that Curley’s wife cuts off this sunshine, and therefore hope, it indicates that she is a dangerous woman who comes in the way of George and Lennie’s ultimate dream and happiness. She acts as a barrier to the dreams of the itinerant …show more content…
On the other hand, an additional alternative interpretation could be that as Curley’s wife is standing in the doorway, Steinbeck is outlining a defining barrier between the men and Curley’s wife as she is ‘stood still in the doorway’ without being invited in and implies that she is a foreigner and outsider who is not welcome into a man’s world or a world where men are at the top of the social ladder. There is an untangible, invisible metaphorical barrier between the ranch hands and Curley’s …show more content…
Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as being ‘heavily made up’. An interpretation of this could be that the fact that Curley’s wife is always ‘heavily made up’, it links to her aspiring dream of becoming an actress. The adverb ‘heavily’ may refer to the idea that as actresses often wear excessive makeup Curley’s wife also wears makeup ‘heavily’ to entail that she is still hopeful of her ambitious dream of becoming an actress and this may further imply how she is like a little girl who is naive and ingenuous of still being buoyant for this unattainable dream. Due to this, readers would empathise with Curley’s wife as they may perceive her as innocent and susceptible, illuminating the ‘good’ in the character of Curley’s wife. On the contrary, an alternative interpretation of this could be that the sole reason as to why Curley’s wife wears excessive makeup is because she wants to hide her insecurities beneath her exterior. Her makeup may be used as a sense of concealment of her feelings, emotions, insecurities and the real her. Referring back to the letter that Steinbeck, himself sent to his actress, Miss Luce, he writes that ‘if you could ever break down a thousand little defences she has built up, you would find a nice person, an honest person, and you would end up by loving her.’ Steinbeck himself tells us that Curley’s wife deep down, underneath her mask is a very ‘nice’ and