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Character Analysis: Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men

 

             Every person desires to fulfill their dream, however not many achieve it, or at least it's what we can see in the novel Of Mice and Men. The author, Steinbeck, shows us how every person can dream, and how every person has the right to dream. Curley's wife's dream is to be in the movies, however Steinbeck shows us her twist of fate. Throughout the novel, Curley's wife changes during the scenes and has different motivations that affect her.
             The first time we encounter Curley's wife, she is portrayed with a bad image from the dialogue that is shared between George and Candy. She's called a tart for giving 'the look' on other men of the ranch: "I think Curley's married a tart." (28). The first impression the reader gets from Curley's wife is that she's a tease, however the description we receive by Candy about her indicates that she is also 'purty': "Yeah. Purty" It is also suggested she is flirtatious because after only being two weeks married, she gives looks to other men. We could also argue that Curley's wife in a way is a possession of Curley, since Curley carries a glove of vaseline to make his hand soft to only touch her, however it is visible that he isn't in total control of her by how angry and insecure Curley's wife makes him feel, which I will also explain further on in this essay.
             Steinbeck also induces a sense of danger from this character because we know from our previous knowledge that Lennie tends to get into trouble, and has already had problems with a lady in Weed which also had a red dress; just like Curly's wife, thus when George says "Looks like we was gonna have fun" the reader thinks of the problems Curley's wife may have on Lennie or George, or how she might be trouble for any of them, specially Lennie who isn't always able to control himself and is also the character who most problems has with Curley. In the passage of page 31, when Curley's wife makes her first appearance in a scene, she is described as wearing a dress that reveal her legs, red lipstick and nail polish: ".


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