Curley's Wife

Description

English Literature (Of Mice And Men) Mind Map on Curley's Wife, created by KittyG-S on 04/02/2014.
KittyG-S
Mind Map by KittyG-S, updated more than 1 year ago
KittyG-S
Created by KittyG-S almost 10 years ago
216
2

Resource summary

Curley's Wife
  1. Naive/ innocent/ child-like
    1. She believes she "coulda been in the movies" when she describes meeting a man who claims to be from Hollywood; the reader can see that this was a lie to get close to her
      1. Thinks her mother was the reason she never got to be an actress: "I always thought my ol' lady stole [the letter]"
      2. Clings to her dream of fame and fortune as if it is possible in the Great Depression; doesn't really think about the future or the likelihood of something she wants
        1. Only in death can we see she wasn't a mean girl, her hardness and flirtatiousness were a defence, but it comes too late. Steinbeck stops time for her in an apologetic way, we feel sorry for the way she was treated. All the and"s in the description of her in death show list of bad things she felt everyday, so Steinbeck makes the reader empathise with her, but what's mod tragic is that it is too late to see her nice qualities again.

          Annotations:

          • "And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young."
          1. Has a disappointed dream, like Lennie and George, and chats with Lennie who is child-like too, so they are similar in that they are both like young children
          2. A 'tart'
            1. Wears red clothing and make-up that are impractical on a ranch; red has connotations with sexuality, love but also danger, and this danger comes from her flirtatiousness as the men are scared she'll lose them a job
              1. However, red is also a primary, colour that little children like to wear because it is bright, so this also hints at her child-like innocence
              2. Seems to be looking for Curley all the time, but is an excuse to talk to the ranch-hands
                1. The men describe her as a 'tart' and 'jail-bait', so they view her in a negative, dangerous way
                  1. She is danger because she is a 'tart' and can get the men locked up. The first time she is introduced she is described as 'cutting out the light'. Light has connotations with hope and happiness, and she has replaced it with darkness, like danger, so the reader is cautious of her already

                    Annotations:

                    • "The rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off."
                    1. Little indication of natural features, suggests she is all make-up and is fake
                    2. Defensive/ hard/ bullying
                      1. She targets Crooks, Candy and Lennie with their respective weaknesses to feel power over them in the only way she can, by bullying when the more powerful men aren't around to stop her

                        Annotations:

                        • "Sat'iday night!" Ever'body out doin' som'pin! Ever'body! An' what am I doin'? Standin' here talking to a bunch of bindle stiffs - a nigger an' a dum-dum and a lousy ol' sheep- an' likin' it because they ain't nobody else!"
                        1. Gets angry, insulting and racist when provoked, so explodes in a defensive rage
                          1. A rant with lots of "and"s which suggest her anger is flowing and she can't control it
                            1. She feels power over Crooks by being cruel to him even though he has a name and she is just a possession of Curley's, but reminds him he is a possession of his skin.
                          2. Lonely/ isolated
                            1. "I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella." She married him so she could leave home, so she feels he has separated her from the rest of the ranch, and he doesn't care about her
                              1. Only woman on the ranch, men avoid her because she's "jail-bait"
                                1. Her cruel defensiveness and 'tart'-like manners are what make the men avoid her
                                  1. She has no name, is Curley's wife and is his object, and is unhappy and lonely in her marriage and in the ranch society
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