AP English
September 15th, 2016
Of Mice and Men Analysis
In the novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife dreams of going to Hollywood to be an actress were shattered after her marriage to Curley. She was forced onto the ranch and became the only female present. She was expected to only please Curley and if she were to seek companionship it would be considered wrong. In the novel, women are subjected to unfair standards and seen as property to men; however in order to combat that oppression, Curley’s wife utilizes her sexuality to gain a sense of empowerment.
Curley’s wife suffers through substantial degrading through the entire novel, causing her to feel a sense of loss power. In order to gain a sort of worthiness, she uses her sexuality as leverage against the ranch hands. As the swamper says when George and Lennie first arrived, ““ Know what I think?” George did not answer. “Well, I think Curley’s married a tart.”” (Steinbeck 28) While they see it as an output for her unholy sexual desires, it is really an act of empowerment and desire for companionship. She is simply a woman trying to make a place for herself but she continually gets shamed into silence. She is treated as if her value as a person is simply just swept under the rug, not important enough to be seen as anything else than what she is meant to be according to societal views.
Due to the pressure of the disesteem gender roles, Curley’s wife is seen to have little to no importance throughout the novel. “...You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else gets mad..”(Steinbeck 87). During the time period it is set in women were seen as a sense of property to men; only set on the earth for man’s pleasure. She is not even given the comfort of conversation without the fear of her husband’s displeasure so she must sneak behind his back as if she were a rat in an alley. Another factor that proves her sorrow importance is her lack of name; she is simply known as “Curley’s...