Consider the importance of Curley’s Wife Essay

   She seems to believe that the man sent her a letter, and that her mother ripped it up, so she left home and, out of spite, married Curley. Even thought she never received the letter, she still clings on to the tiny bit of hope that one day she will be in the movies. Unfortunately, she dies before she has the chance to fulfill her dream, just as Lennie does. This represents and shows the reader how lives never go to plan. Their dreams are wishes for untarnished happiness and the freedom to fulfill their dreams is non-existant. As well as being important in the story, she also has some distinct unimportance. In the novel, she is never given her own name; she has the title of Curleys Wife and is looked upon as his property. It is as if she has no human rights. Whilst everyone else on the ranch has a name, including Crooks the stable buck, she is just defined as the wife of a man she hates. She tells Lennie that, â€Å"he ain’t a nice fella. † She doesn’t like being locked up in the house, and ends up having to sneak around so Curley doesn’t catch her. She also seems insignificant in comparison to the other characters, as she has no specific job on the ranch. She seems to have a lot of time on her hands, because she is heavily made up, and her hair seems to be perfect each time she appears. She fills her time in this way. She also wanders the ranch constantly claiming that she’s â€Å"looking for Curley. † This is because otherwise she is always in the house or hiding from Curley. For example, in Chapter One, when Lennie and George have first arrived, she is stood at the doorway asking for Curley, and after she has left, Curley arrives and asks if anyone has seen his wife. This proves that she is always hiding from Curley, and he is always keeping a watchful eye on her. When she dies, and is lying in the hay, Curleys intentions seem to be just to get revenge, nobody mourns her death. Only Slim has the decency to â€Å"touch her cheek,† and check her pulse under her â€Å"slightly twisted neck. † Curley jumps up and immediately says, â€Å"I know who done it. † His only thought is to kill Lennie. Ever since Lennie crushed Curleys hand he’s been planning revenge, and now he has the perfect reason. Nobody stops to mourn a young, unfortunate, nai ve girl’s death. Even though she has been at the ranch for only two weeks, she seems to already have gathered a reputation of a tart. George generally seems to regard all women as â€Å"jailbait† but knows that there’s â€Å"gonna be a mess ’bout her. † Of course, he is right. The other men on the ranch also think she’s a tart, and Whit thinks that Curleys wife has â€Å"got the eye goin’ all the time,† and Candy also says that â€Å"She got the eye. † Neither of these comments are factual, but they give you a bad impression of Curleys wife. When Curleys Wife first appears, her â€Å"hair is in curls†, she has â€Å"rouged lips†, and is wearing â€Å"red fluffy mules. † She is wearing a lot of red and this usually represents prostitution. When she has left after flaunting her body, George remarks, â€Å"Jesus! What a tramp! † Whit also says â€Å"she ain’t concealing nothing. † She could be more modest but she just wants male attention and the only way she can do this is by showing off her body. Although the main impression of Curleys Wife is that of a tart, there are many qualities that make you feel pity for her. She isn’t bright, and has an isolated life in her house, trying to hide from Curley. She says, â€Å"I don’ like Curley,† and clearly regrets marrying him. When describing her dream, she uses â€Å"I coulda,† and not â€Å"I will. † The girl has no hope and believes her life will be living on the ranch, doing nothing but hiding from Curley. She is also very nai ve, in the last Chapter, when Lennie kills her, she is led in the hay and is described as â€Å"pretty†, â€Å"sweet†, and â€Å"young†. All of these characteristics are those of an innocent girl, the young woman Curleys Wife really was. Curley only wants revenge for her death, Slim is the only person who checks her pulse, and even tells Curley to stay behind, but revenge is all Curley wants. Even Candy curses over her dead body, he says, â€Å"you god-damn tramp† and claims that she ruined his dream of owning the ranch with George and Lennie. Candy blames Curleys Wife, who was really just a lonely girl, and needed someone to talk too. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.