In "Of mice and men," many of the characters are itinerant workers; they travel alone and have a very lonely existence. They compete against each other for leader ship and respect. Each worker has a dream for the future, which is impossible to achieve. "Every damn one of" em's got a little piece of land in his head.".
On George and Lennie's arrival they are shown the living quarters. They meet Candy, a old crippled swamper, within their first meeting they are informed of Curley's wife, "tart.".
We first encounter Curley's wife when she comes into the bunkhouse, George pre-judges her by her appearance. On their meeting she is described in much detail, "full, rouged lips," and " her hair hung in rolled clusters.".
We see she is provocative by the way she stands at the doorway and by her actions towards the workers. "So that her body was thrown forward." The reader gets the idea she is a pretty girl flirting with the workers for attention. We see later in the book that this is a routine. .
Lennie takes a shine to Curley's wife, which could be a potential threat to their jobs. George instantly takes a dislike to her, "bitch," and " poison, but never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her.".
When George talks about the girl from weed, we see why Curley's wife poses a possible threat to their well being. We can see George wants to avoid trouble. .
I think Curley's wife is the loneliest character in the book. She has no friends, future or respect: In the book, she does not have a name. To gain attention from the men on the ranch she flirts with the workers. The men on the ranch perceive her as a, "floosy." The men obviously do not sense her loneliness. "I don't know what the hell she wants.".
The image the men have of her is partly her fault. This may stop them from approaching her and talking to her. The men do not care about her.
We see her frustration when she realises her cruelty on crooks. In this conversation her true feelings about her husband pours out.
