In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates a complex character in Curley’s wife. She is initially presented as a flirty, flirtatious woman who seems to enjoy the attention of the men on the ranch. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that she is a lonely, isolated figure who is desperately seeking companionship and attention. While some readers may dislike her for her manipulative behavior, others may feel sympathy for her due to her tragic circumstances. Ultimately, whether or not readers sympathize with Curley’s wife is up to interpretation.
Every character in the book Of Mice and Men deserves our sympathy, but there are three characters that stand out as particularly pitiful. Even though Curley’s wife and Crooks are also deserving of pity, Lennie is the most sympathetic character because he isn’t like everyone else.
Curley’s wife is a young woman who is not given a name throughout the novel. Because she isn’t given a name, Steinbeck is trying to show that she isn’t important and doesn’t deserve sympathy. All the characters in Of Mice and Men refer to her as ‘Curley’s wife’ which makes her feel unimportant. Steinbeck uses this lack of identity to make the reader feel sympathy for her.
Although Curley’s wife deserves pity, Crooks is another character who also deserves it. Crooks is an old, black man who works on the ranch. He lives by himself in the barn because he isn’t allowed in the bunkhouse with the white men. The other workers on the ranch don’t like him because he is black and they think he is stupid. However, Crooks is one of the smartest men on the ranch and he is only in the barn because he is black. Steinbeck uses this to make the reader feel sympathy for Crooks.
Lennie is the most sympathetic character in Of Mice and Men. Lennie is a big, strong man who has the mind of a child. He doesn’t understand what he is doing half of the time and he gets into trouble a lot because of it. However, despite all of his troubles, Lennie is a kind-hearted man who just wants to be loved. Steinbeck uses this to make the reader feel sympathy for Lennie.
Although Lennie is often made fun of and yelled at, he doesn’t do much to change the way people see him because that’s just who he is. He isn’t very bright and tends to forget things quite easily, making him the most sympathetic character in Of Mice and Men.
He gets into a lot of trouble because he doesn’t know his own strength and ends up hurting people or things without meaning to.
Even though Curley’s wife isn’t the nicest person in Of Mice and Men, I still think she deserves some sympathy. She’s married to a man who doesn’t really seem to care about her, she’s stuck on a ranch where she has no friends, and she’s constantly being ignored or treated poorly by the men around her. Of course, she brings some of this on herself with the way she acts, but I still feel bad for her. She seems pretty lonely and unhappy, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her.
Curley’s wife, who appears nameless to the reader as Steinbeck deliberately never provides her with a name throughout the text, wanders into the bunkhouse where Crooks, Lennie, and Candy are sitting. This lack of caring for her by not giving her a name could be interpreted as how unimportant she is in comparison to everyone else (77).
Curley’s wife is significant to the novel Of Mice and Men, but Steinbeck uses her to create dislike and sympathy. He creates dislike of Curley’s wife by making her seem like a tart, she is always talked about negatively and is never given a name. He also creates sympathy for her because she is stuck in a loveless marriage with a man who doesn’t care about her, she has dreams and aspirations that will never be met, and she is constantly misunderstood.
Although Curley’s wife is not given a name, she is still significant to the novel Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck uses her to create dislike and sympathy. He creates dislike of Curley’s wife by making her seem like a tart, she is always talked about negatively and is never given a name. He also creates sympathy for her because she is stuck in a loveless marriage with a man who doesn’t care about her, she has dreams and aspirations that will never be met, and she is constantly misunderstood.
One way Steinbeck creates dislike of Curley’s wife is by making her seem like a tart. A “tart” is defined as “a woman whose sexually attractive qualities are used to exploit men” (Urban Dictionary). Curley’s wife is always talked about negatively, and it seems like everyone is afraid of her. For example, when Lennie and Crooks were talking, Lennie said, “I didn’ know what I’d do if I got married. I couldn’t like to hurt her feelings none” (Steinbeck 77).
This shows that even Lennie, who is not the brightest character, is afraid of her. Another example is when Candy was talking to George about Curley’s wife, he said “She gets lonely, I guess- all women like that get lonely. And then she ain’t no good no more… She’s a nice girl before she gets took up wrong” (Steinbeck 86). This quote shows that even Candy, who doesn’t really know her, can see that she is a “nice girl” who has been “took up wrong.”
A second way Steinbeck creates dislike of Curley’s wife is by never giving her a name. In the novel, everyone always refers to her as “Curley’s wife.” For example, when Lennie, Crooks, and Candy were in the bunkhouse, Candy said “S’pose Curley’s wife was in here an’ you was alone… I bet she’d make a mess outa you” (Steinbeck 77). This quote shows that even Candy doesn’t know her name, he just refers to her as “Curley’s wife.”
Another example is when Lennie was talking to George about Curley’s wife, he said “I wanta talk to her… I don’t want no trouble. I ain’t done nothing, but I can’t seem to keep away from her” (Steinbeck 80). Even though Lennie has talked to her multiple times, he still doesn’t know her name. The fact that everyone refers to her as “Curley’s wife” makes her seem less important than everyone else, which creates dislike.