User:WTL 973/sandbox

Curley's wife is one of the recurring side characters from the 1937 novella, Of Mice and Men.

Story Context
Written by American writer, John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men centers around the life of migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In this duo, George is the small, but tactical person that Lennie, the big, but mentally disabled person tags along with. This forces George to act as his caretaker in many ways, which is where many problems in the story stem.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the two are forced to move out of town from Weed to Soledad, California to find work on a ranch to make ends meet during the economic depression. George and Lennie end up being hired by the boss of the ranch to work alongside Slim, a jerk line skinner; Candy, an old swamper; Crooks, a stable buck; Carlson, a ranch-hand (cowboy); and Curley, who's the boss's son that "supervises" the ranch whilst having an extreme power complex.

Curley's wife later makes her appearance, but she has no occupational role on the ranch like the others besides the tempting wife of Curley, making her an outlier in the book's character line-up.

Introduction
Curley's wife is first mentioned in the middle of chapter 2(pg. 27) of the book in a conversation between Candy and George; the conversation begins with the topic of Curley's bad attitude, they contribute one of the reasons being his recent marriage to his wife and his need to impress her. The conversation eventually shifts to Candy saying she "has the eye" for other ranch members.

George: "Married two weeks and got the eye? Maybe that's why Curley's pants is full of ants"(pg. 28).

Towards the end of chapter 2(pg. 31), Curley's wife is formally introduced when she enters the room where only George and Lennie are, claiming to look for Curley, her husband. The book is very descriptive of her physical traits(more insight in the Description section), something unique Steinbeck does with all the characters, but hers gives an insight into who she is as a person.

First Impressions(Based on Introductions)
The way Candy talks about Curley's wife gives Curley's wife a bad first impression to not only George but also readers who are beginning to form an opinion about her that she's unloyal and overly friendly when she is married.

Formally meeting Curley's wife on page 31 allows her to be judged in person without the bias of another person relaying that information; however, what Candy says to George earlier affects the way he views her from the get go(he gives her the cold shoulder and short replies whenever she asks a question). Because George is one of the protagonists in the book, it encourages the readers to base some of their opinions off of what he thinks.

Description
The adjectives and descriptors Steinbeck uses for Curley's wife are one of the most important aspects of her character. In her introduction on page 31, there's a big section that's dedicated to her physical traits.

"A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, rogued lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the steps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers...Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality"(excerpt from Of Mice and Men).

George
George gets his opinions of Curley's wife mostly through other men in the bunkhouse, mainly Candy, because he wants to fit in and no good comes out of him defending the ranch's "tramp." Because he believes the other men, she's nothing more than a "tart" or a seductress that is overly friendly with other men because Curley isn't enough for her. Many times she's tried to engage in a conversation with George, but was turned away because he views her negatively.

Lennie
When he first sees her, he thinks she's pretty but she's kind of ignoring him. In chapter 4, Curley's wife visits Crooks' room where Lennie and Candy are also in at the moment to poke fun at them for being the weird ones in the house, showing she views Lennie as an outcast. In chapter 5 when they have a deep conversation, it's revealed she herself feels like an outcast as well and doesn't hold the negative views towards Lennie she portrayed earlier in the story where she looked down on him.

Curley
Even though they're a married couple, Curley's wife tells Lennie in chapter 5 that she doesn't like him because he's not a nice guy, something you wouldn't typically say of someone you have a good relationship with. Curley's also rarely at home shown with how often Curley's wife wanders around the bunkhouse claiming to look for him, but is actually looking to make friends. Curley going to a brothel is also another aspect of a loveless marriage between the two.

Slim
Curley's wife is deemed flirtatious towards Slim because he's one of the more attractive men on the ranch. Because Slim's a generally kind person to everyone, he doesn't treat her in a bad way like other men on the farm, which could be a reason why she flirts with him more.

"Hi Slim,' she said. Slim's voice came through the door. 'Hi, Good-lookin'"(pg. 31).

Candy
Candy views Curley's wife negatively. He gossips about Curley's wife to George and Lennie when they first arrive on the farm in chapter 2 and it's all negative things like how she's got the eye and is a tart/tramp.

Crooks
Curley's wife and Crooks have a bad relationship due to the power struggle between African Americans and white people in positions of power present during the 1930s. In chapter 4 when she's in Crooks' room, he tells her to leave her room and she threatens to have him lynched.

Carlson
Curley's wife and Carlson don't directly interact in the book, but Candy reveals she often flirts with him.

Candy: "An' I seen her give Carlson the eye"(Pg. 28).

Mother
Curley's wife and her mother have a bad relationship. Although the mother's physical person isn't in the book, the idea of her was presented when Curley's wife talked about her past and the "ol' lady" in it.

Curley's Wife: "I always thought my ol' lady stole it[letters to Hollywood]. Well, I wasn't gonna stay no place where I couldn't get nowhere or make something of myself, an' where they stole your letters...so I married Curley"(pg. 88).

Although she doesn't directly say anything bad about her mother, it's implied she moved out and married Curley because she couldn't bear her mother stealing her letters, or holding her back from her dreams.

Early Life
Curley's wife grew up in Salinas, California, less than 30 minutes away from where she lives now, in Soledad. Her acting aspirations stemmed from when she was fifteen and a show came to her town. When she went to the show, she met one of the actors who told her she had potential and offered a role on the show; however, her mother wouldn't let her because she was too young. This led to Curley's wife viewing her mother as the biggest root of her failed dreams of being an actress.

Dating History
She dated a famous person(probably an actor: "he was in the pitchers" pg. 88) who took her to the Riverside Dance Palace. She seemed to trust him a lot when she trusts his opinion she'd make it big in Hollywood and he'd send her a letter from Hollywood; she even put his word above her mother's to accuse her of stealing the letter.

She met Curley outside the Riverside Dance Palace the same night. She probably started dating him not too long after and eventually married him. She moved in with him to the bunkhouse and lives on the ranch.

The Color Red
Curley's wife is heavily associated with the color red intentionally because it symbolizes confidence, but also love, lust, and seduction. We see these traits in Curley's wife's character because she's not meek by any means by actively going around the bunkhouse to talk to people. From her red nails to her red shoes and lips, it's to display her as a bold and sexy woman.

The American Dream
For Curley's Wife, her American Dream was to be an actress. Ever since she was a kid, she wanted to "make something of herself"(pg. 88), so she saw herself in a rags-to-riches scenario. Even in the current timeline of the book, Curley's wife tells Lennie she, "Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes...sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers took of me."

Although it's not clear what type of life she grew up in financially, her ongoing daydreaming of a life of fame and wealth prove she didn't grow up with that type of background. Her marriage to Curley displays her desperation to become decently well-off due to his dad owning a ranch; it is the only plausible reason for the marriage as she states on page 89 that she doesn't like Curley.

Failed Dreams
For Curley's Wife, her dream was to be an actress. Although acting or success and fame have been something she's wanted to pursue since she was young, she knows the chances in her reality are she'll never leave Soledad and have to stay with Curley due to the societal norms of women during the 1930s. It was the norm at the time that the career of a woman ended or was complete with marriage or children and you were where your husband was; Curley is likely to take over the ranch and run it for the rest of his life.

She blames most of these failures on her mother; first when she wouldn't let her act at fifteen years old when an actor gave her the opportunity to and second, when she met a man at the Riverside Dance Palace who promised to send her a letter to get her to Hollywood, but she never received the letter. She blames the fact she never got the letter on her mom taking it and she's the reason why her aspirations failed(pg. 88).

No Name
Curley's wife not having a name even while being a recurring and important character to the story displays the unimportance of her personality in the eyes of Steinbeck. It can be assumed Steinbeck shared the conservative belief towards women American men shared in the 30s because it was just the norm of the time. Her name being "Curley's wife" displays her as just that, his wife who's supposed to have no other role than that. When she does more than that by trying to become friends with the other bunkhouse men, she's met with criticism and being a tramp. The men expect her to stay at home and wait for Curley all the time; they think she can't be lonely or want friends because she's already married(a topic of loneliness).

Description
In the 1930s, the US was conservative towards women. The description for Curley's wife showcases a promiscuous and seductive woman; for a woman to be these things at the time was offensive. Her association of her with the color red, heavy makeup, and a nasally-forced voice are supposed to have a negative connotation for her time. A woman from the 30s typically wore little to no makeup and white or neutral colors on the ranch. This thought process is something carried out through out the book for Curley's wife, which should be kept in mind to understand the perspectives of the men in the book(Curley's wife v. stereotypical housewife). Conservatism in the book symbolize misogyny because these things weren't outrightly said, but things that would be known taking into account the 1930s.

Death
In chapter 5 of the book, Curley's wife snaps her neck and dies by the hands of Lennie Smalls. The events leading up to her death were a conversation between the two where Curley's wife details her background and aspirations. They reach the topic of Lennie liking to touch soft things and a side of Curley's wife that's surprisingly kind. She goes from calling him nuts to understanding by saying everyone likes soft things. She shows her pride in her hair by telling him to touch it because it's soft to which Lennie does because he fixates on soft objects(mice, velvet, bunnies, puppies, dresses); however, when she tells him to let go he doesn't and they panic. Forgetting his own strength, he tugs and breaks her neck, instantly killing her.