“Let the big guy talk.” (Steinbeck, 25) This is how the character Curley is first introduced in John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel Of Mice and Men. The statement is spoken by Curley to the two main characters, George and Lennie. The line poses a challenge towards Lennie, and by using this sentence only, we can tell what kind of character Curley will be and what he will represent. In this society Steinbeck has created, Curley will ultimately symbolize oppression and the encumbrances many people faced at the time the story was written. By creating Curley, Steinbeck demonstrates the impossibility of reaching goals and dreams at that point by having Lennie and George meet someone who has a predisposition towards Lennie. Curley having this prejudice, being aggressive, and insecure as well as being abusive overall creates
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The first time Curley meets Lennie and George, Candy tells them, “He’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys.” (Steinbeck, 26) This is where we begin to understand Curley’s hate towards Lennie, it stems from a insecurity in himself, which he violently twisted into hatred. Another illustration of this quality would be the way he deals with his wife; he’s always looking for her, always needs to know where she is. This substantiates his need to always be in control of things, especially things involving his personal life, for example “Any of you guys seen my wife?” (Steinbeck, 53) Now while this seems like a normal sentence, Curley’s reaction to not knowing where his wife is is extreme. And maybe the cause of this intense reaction is more fear into anger, just anger itself. He’s scared of losing his wife, if he doesn’t have her, he won’t have anyone to control and take his anger out on. He needs the people he oppresses in order to keep being oppressive, exactly paralleling larger governing
The first time Curley meets Lennie and George, Candy tells them, “He’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys.” (Steinbeck, 26) This is where we begin to understand Curley’s hate towards Lennie, it stems from a insecurity in himself, which he violently twisted into hatred. Another illustration of this quality would be the way he deals with his wife; he’s always looking for her, always needs to know where she is. This substantiates his need to always be in control of things, especially things involving his personal life, for example “Any of you guys seen my wife?” (Steinbeck, 53) Now while this seems like a normal sentence, Curley’s reaction to not knowing where his wife is is extreme. And maybe the cause of this intense reaction is more fear into anger, just anger itself. He’s scared of losing his wife, if he doesn’t have her, he won’t have anyone to control and take his anger out on. He needs the people he oppresses in order to keep being oppressive, exactly paralleling larger governing