Curley's Wife Character Analysis in Of Mice and Men Essay Sample

The novel Of Mice and Men creates an unusual group of characters who all end up on the same ranch despite their differences. Amongst the mix is the character of Curley’s wife. John Steinbeck establishes the character of Curley’s wife through her interactions with other characters throughout the novel. Curley's wife is a lonely character, who is silenced by the people around her, she has naive thoughts about her past and very little optimism for her future. John Steinbeck creates a captivating character that is vastly deserving of the reader's sympathy.

John Steinbeck conjures up sympathy for Curley’s wife by creating a silenced, unheard and lonely character. Curley’s wife, lonely and unheard isn’t even known as her own person but rather an extension of her husband. Surrounded by people with preformed opinions of her she struggles to be heard. As the only female character, she faces a difficult situation with sexism. Her character expresses her loneliness to various character, but they respond to her with a lack of interest or care for her. We also see Curley’s wife struggle to be heard during her conversation with Lennie. “And then her words tumbled out in a passion of communication, as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away,” (88). Steinbeck effectively creates this feeling of receiving something long-awaited by describing her words as tumbling out in a passion of communication.  

As well as making Curley’s wife unheard, Steinbeck also prompts sympathy for the character by giving her naive perceptions about her past, and limited optimism for her future. During her conversation with Lennie, Curley’s wife opens up about her past. She expresses her enthusiasm about what she could’ve been. “He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural. Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write me about it,” Steinbeck creates this naiveness in her that is similar a child (Pg. 88). This feeling that Steinbeck creates is an innocent feeling, like listening to a child say they will grow up to be a princess or prince which evokes sympathy for her. Further, along in her conversation with Lennie, she reveals the little optimism she has about what she could still become. “I coulda made somethin’ of myself.” She said darkly, “Maybe I will yet.” She shows her hope, which develops her character as she realizes that she doesn’t have to settle for her current situation. This hope that Steinbeck for her characters gives readers something to root for, which is another reason why her character is deserving of our sympathy.

John Steinbeck creates a rounded character who is deep and layered, although not always considerate she still perseveres through her difficult situation. Through her short-lived relationship with Lennie, we see this unheard, silenced, and naive character persevere to be heard. She is a robust character and without a doubt deserves our sympathy.