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In Mice and Men John Steinbeck (the writer) deliberately does not give Curley’s wife a name – he structures it this way to show
how women were looked at in the nineteen-twenties and nineteen-thirties (United States of America)
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Steinbeck also structures the novel in this way
to show what a minor character she is in this society
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Most societies in them times viewed
upon women as second class citizens and their opinions were not valid
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Furthermore John Steinbeck allows us to understand
in his novel that society in those times was racist, ageist and sexist
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John Steinbeck
structures his novel so that it seems like he is criticising the American Dream
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Another thing John Steinbeck does with the structure of the novel is he makes most
of the lonely characters have a scene where they express themselves – this includes Curley’s wife
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The author of “Of Mice and Men” (John Steinbeck) purposely uses the term “they” when Curley’s wife discharges, dumps and
expresses her feelings: “Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live”
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When the writer uses
the terminology “they” it stands out because it targets and accuses all the men from the ranch or maybe even all men in general –
this is her retaliation
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Some critics may argue that her usage of informal language shows her
lack of acquaintance, comprehension and intelligence - this could also indicate that Curley’s wife is wrong about her possibility of a
successful life as an actress
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Curley’s wife lost it because of
her loneliness
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Domestic violence from Curley is a possibility because of the character and personality Steinbeck
gives him – he’s a strong guy and he is physically violent
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He also treats his wife badly… this could mean that he hits her
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When the writer employs the words “heavily made up” this could
mean two things: she is either got a lot of makeup, trying to look her best as a normal actress would… or on the other hand she
could be wearing makeup to cover up evidence of domestic violence (bruises, scars and blemishes)
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If she is in
fact covering her face with makeup to attract men Steinbeck exaggerates it
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“And her eyes travelled one face to another…”
Curley’s wife uses her eyes to manipulate people – she uses them to make them look down or look back at her
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Lennie
gazed into her eyes and ended up dying in the end whereas George and Candy were aware and alerted of her ability to manipulate
with her glances – they were scared of her superpower
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In the end they ended up surviving
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Curley’s wife’s eyeballing can be
linked, related and intersected with witchcraft, the occult and mindreading
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Curley’s wife expresses her feelings, she loses it and makes
racist comments to people
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because of her rage
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John Steinbeck intentionally structures Curley’s wife’s scene where she expresses herself towards the end – right before she dies
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If Steinbeck made her have her scene at the start of the
novel the readers would’ve felt less sympathetic for her when she dies later on in the novel
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The words
“Passion of communication” tell me that Curley’s wife is looking for someone to talk to, she doesn’t care who, it can be anyone – it
could possibly be people she normally wouldn’t communicate with - this shows her desperation
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However the men are banned from talking back to Curley’s wife because they know the minute
Curley finds out they are going to be in trouble! They might even get kicked out of the ranch! Curley’s wife can’t help her lack of
self-control - she’s naturally flirtatious and the fact that Curley doesn’t wanting to talk to her doesn’t help the situation
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On the other hand some people may believe that when John Steinbeck uses the term: “Passion of communication” it may mean
something else – maybe Curley’s wife actually has a passion for communicating
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Actresses talk, and they have to talk fluently – significantly she may enjoy talking
because it makes her appear more comprehensive than the men on the ranch
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The word “Passion” in “Passion
of communication” starts from the front of the mouth which makes it more dramatic – this is blatantly used in the structure
because it makes the reader want to continue reading due to its emphasis of drama
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Curley’s wife is hypocritical – she abuses her position rapidly – she thinks she can be rude to men on the ranch because her
husband owns the ranch
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