Their enticing sexuality, he believes, tempts men to behave in ways they would otherwise not. A visit to the “flophouse” (a cheap hotel, or brothel) is enough of women for George, and he has no desire for a female companion or wife. Curley’s wife, the only woman to appear in Of Mice and Men, seems initially to support George’s view of marriage. Dissatisfied with her marriage to a brutish man and bored with life on the ranch, she is constantly looking for excitement or trouble. In one of her more revealing moments, she threatens to have the black stable-hand lynched if he complains about her to the boss.
The only reason she is always lonely is for the way her husband Curly treats her and how he really doesn’t satisfy her for things and is never really around. Curley’s wife although she is married to Curly it is very rare you see them together on the ranch this could be a reason also. Steinbeck
a) In this passage, what methods does Steinbeck use to present Curley's Wife and the attitudes of others to her? Refer closely to the passage in your answer. Steinbeck uses colour imagery to portray and foreshadow the dangerous nature of Curley's Wife. Steinbeck describes Curley's Wife's 'fingernails', 'mules' and the 'ostrich' feathers on the shoes as 'red', classically symbolising danger. This also foreshadows the death that is to come, shown further by Lennie's fascination with her; he 'watched her, fascinated'.
Because she is so lonely she is always seeking attention and putting great effort into her looks. Her over-the top appearance portrays her desperation to be noticed. She is unable to make any connections with the men on the ranch, the only people she ever comes in contact with, because they see her as
This is seen when Steinbeck repeats red colour ‘Her fingernails were red’ and ‘red ostrich feathers’. Red colour has the connotation of love, passion and danger. The use of red colour with curley’s wife enforce the reader to think about her life as she have no love in her life, her passion, being an actress, died and she can be dangerous for Lennie because he is only one who is attracted towards her. Moreover, Steinbeck has also used simple short sentence ‘Her figure nails were red’ to put emphasis on the colour red and to keep the readers engaged by portraying his
(Steinbeck 75). As for Curly’s wife, she’s just striving to talk to someone, as she states "If I catch any one man, and he's alone, I get along fine with him. But just let two of the guys get together an' you won't talk. Jus' nothing but mad. You're all
Another line, “[…] the dress yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe” may be reflective of her personality – tarnished by years of neglect just like the dress. The yellowing may also be representative of the character’s decaying sanity. Colour is used once more in the text to express the effect misfortune had on Havisham. “A red balloon bursting in my face” is metaphorically referring to her love (red being a colour associated with passion) effectively being tore apart
This woman uses mental and emotional harassment to attempt at getting what she desires. Curley’s wife is repeatedly displayed as a tart. Her overly flirtatious personality leads to her inevitable peril. Steinbeck uses this character to represent a different type of person who attacks emotionally and physically in unique ways. One example of her harassment is displayed when she meets George and Lennie on the first day of their arrival.
Isolated, clothes, match, description, sarcasm, no one to confide in, Childish behaviour, dreams over, dreams don’t match present time, powerful graphic language, women’s sphere, women no power, more than men, men’s will, Curley’s wife trapped, red, danger, Curley wife, trouble, attention seeker, few public role models, wishes for glamour, stuck on ranch, dream, nonsense, never was going to happen, American dream, foreshadowing, appearance sign of conflict, the way she was treated, foreshadowing device, Steinbeck uses, casts dark shadow, over events and people, death ends as victim, describes her terror powerless- like on ranch, Amelia Earhart, aviator, film stars, Gretta Garbo, Jean Harlow, stuck in women’s sphere, doesn’t love and obey husband, 1930s strict on women appearance, women stereotyped, Aunt clara, floozies ( Curley’s Wife), no friendship with males and females, in 1930s California, married for a couple of weeks, symbol of sex, flirt, reason why no one likes Curley, convinces her mother stole letter, obsession leads to death, wants attention from Lennie causes death, final event sums up Curley’s wife, has power over crooks, death made her not achieve dream, sympathy, compare to adam and eve, tempted Lennie, in a result it shattered her dreams, Curley's wife have been tinged with sex, and her offer to let Lennie touch her hair may be construed as a sexual
At her funeral she had a “putty” nose the perfect one most would say and pink and white “nightie” to heighten her sex appeal. “Consummation at last”. Her diction shows negative peer pressure at its best. The negative peer pressure consumed the girl. Every where around her was pressure to either be “coy” or just simply fit in with the boys.