How Does Steinbeck Present Curley's Wife In Of Mice And Men

In life, people may appear different than they really are. They may be looking for something, but feel unable to reach it. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men Curley’s wife is a vital character to the story’s plot. She is treated as if she is unimportant by everyone; they don’t even give her a name. She is seen as just a woman who is making trouble. None of of the other characters seem to notice the real motives of the actions she takes, and that she has a deeper side than they would have ever imagined. Curley’s wife feels lost. She craves attention, and the ideas of love, success, and happiness, but she can’t seem to be able to reach them. Curley’s wife is unsuccessful in reaching these ideas that she craves most because of the way she is looked at, and how she has had to settle for less than that. …show more content…
They all just assume that she loves to flirt and cheat. They got this view of her because of her appearance and actions. In the book, Candy says “Yeah, Purty… But she got the eye.” (Steinbeck, 28) when he is describing Curley’s wife to George and Lennie. When she showed up looking for Curley, as she often did, “She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red”(Steinbeck, 31) She was dressed up, and as she entered she posed against the doorframe as she talked to George and Lennie. “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the doorframe so that her body was thrown forward.” (Steinbeck, 31) She also “bridled a little” (Steinbeck, 31) and “Smiled archly and twitched her body”(Steinbeck, 31) as she poses against the doorframe. These actions and others, have shown the all of the men at the farm that Curley’s wife is flirtatious and troublesome. The reason for these actions is more immense than the predicted thought of lust and wrong