Curley’s wife By Rachel, Alice and Ria

Behaviour Flirtatious- Curley doesn’t give her much attention Dangerous- Likes people looking at her Lonely- only woman on the ranch Attention seeker Desperate

Appearance “ A girl was stood there looking in. She has full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers… her voice had a nasal, brittle quality.” “she wore her bright cotton dress and the mules with the red ostrich feathers. Her face was made up, and the little sausage curls were all in place.”

Key things they say: “Nobody can’t blame a person for lookin’” – in the barn, excuse to flirt. “Well I aint told this to anyone before. Maybe I ought’n to. I don’t like Curley. He aint a nice fella.’ – admitting to Lennie she doesn’t like Curley ‘Baloney’, she said. “I seen too many guys. If you had two bits of the worl’, why you’d be gettin’ two shots of corn with it and suckin’ the bottom of the glass. I know you guys.” – talking about Lennie and George’s dream.

Key things over people say about them Candy: “Jesus Christ, Curley’s wife can’t move quiet. I guess she had a lot of practice, though.”- quite sarcastic. George: “She’s gonna make a mess. There’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger. That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl specially like her’” – she’s a trouble maker and is going to cause harm. Lennie: “she’s purty” – likes the look of her. George: “Listen to me, you crazy bastard. Don’t you even take a look at that bitch. I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.” – warning Lennie to stay away from her.

Their purpose in the book Curley’s wife is an outcast, and is the only woman on the ranch. She is the only woman because ranch life was a very masculine environment which shows sexism. She wants to feel loved and wanted so she tries to get attention from all the men but nobody wants to know her!

How Steinbeck portrays them He portrays her as a flirtatious character seeking attention from the other men on the ranch because she is lonely and wants company and somebody to talk to and to love her. She wants friendship and companionship.

The significance of her name She doesn’t have a name, because she’s not important enough and this also shows sexism in the 1930’s when the book was wrote.

Her dream To be a movie star, and to be in the pitchers and to be noticed. She thrives on attention and wants to be looked at and wants to feel special, loved and wanted.

Key events they are involved in She goes in crooks room and ruins their dream – end of chap. 4 Always goes in the barn to flirt with the men – chap. 2 and onwards She talks to Lennie after he says he can’t speak to her, she tries to be friendly which leads to him stroking her soft hair but then she panics and Lennie wouldn’t let go, which caused him to break her neck until she dies – chap. 5