Of Mice And Men

"Of Mice and Men" is a skillful novel, which deals with the theme of `outsiders', that is, individuals who do not fit into the mainstream of society. The novel portrays this idea of loneliness throughout John Steinbeck's stimulating and exciting novel.

When Lennie kills Curley's Wife, Steinbeck describes Curley's wife as a prettier figure. He writes, "The meanness and the planning's of the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face." (p.128) This shows that now Curley's wife is dead, she now looks happy and has escaped from her loneliness.

Even though Curley's wife is mentioned frequently, we never know what her name is. This just shows how people do not care for others, leading to loneliness. I think all the men do not consider her as a normal human being, but and object, this object refers to the picture since in the picture there stands one tree in the middle of no where thus representing loneliness.

All of the men are to scared to talk to her in case Curley becomes jealous and wants to start a fight. She has no female friends on the ranch, so the men are her only option, but they do not want to become friends with her.

She spots out Lennie and wants to start a friendship with him as all of the others fear Curley and will have nothing to do with her. She says to Lennie "Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever once in a while?" This shows that she is trying to tell Lennie that she desperately needs to talk to somebody as she hardly does ever talk to anyone because they do not listen to her.

The dreams that so many of Steinbeck's characters have are ultimately covering pains and difficulties that they may be enduring. Curley's wife is the only main character that Steinbeck did not provide a name for. This could be for the reason that the men at the ranch saw her as a nobody and a tramp;