How Is Curley Presented by Steinbeck in of Mice and Men

Curley is unrivaled of Of Mice and Mens major characters. Although he does non appear to turn come in a central role, he is very important in other(a) respects. The first of these is the way in which he treats George and Lennie, and the ranch workers in command on the ranch. Curley is the honcho son. Therefore he acts like he is the boss himself. He states the others virtu every(prenominal)y, and, although it is true that he does hold some power on the ranch, he does non hold some(prenominal) respect from the workers.He is nasty towards them, treating as though they are them below him, and often laborious to pick crusades. Curley is disliked by pretty much everyone on the ranch, and with good reason. George immediately dislikes his hostility, and shows the uniform attitude in return. He himself says I hate that kind of a guy as soon as he has and warns Lennie to have nil to do with him. Even Curleys own married woman dislikes him, sarcastically maxim swell guy, ain t he when told to talk to him by Candy. Furthermore, Candy, although not directly airing his dislike mentions the he is handy.God damn handy. The way in which Candy says this hints towards his dislike for Candy being on account of his aggressive nature and hostility, or else than simply being due to his nastiness. His desire to fight with people all the age shows two things. Firstly, it shows inferiority complex Curley is short, and on that pointfore is constantly trying to be better than bragging(a) guys. Secondly, it shows his aggression. Curley holds a engagement stance when he first encounters George and Lennie his arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists.He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. According to Candy, Curley is an amateur boxer and is invariably filling fights, especially with guys who are bigger than he is. Ultimately, Curley is trying to prove his masculinity. Another way in which Curley can be seen as trying to prove himse lf is by marrying a physically attractive woman. His wife is never given a name, but by calling her Curleys wife, Steinbeck indicates she is his obstinacy. Curley refuses to permit her talk to anyone on the ranch, isolating her from everyone and setting the stage for trouble.This trouble happens in Section 3, where he accuses Slim of being with his wife and is completely improper. He is ganged up on by the ranch workers, and picks on Lennie in order to vent his anger at being picked on. This turns out to be a mistake. Lennie quickly crushes his hand, and Curley has to be taken to the hospital. Luckily for George and Lennie, Slim comes to there aid, coitus Curley your hand got caught in a machine. He makes a big show of keeping his hand soft to caress her, yet to a fault visits the local whorehouse on Saturday night.While he may strut around the ranch because of his position as the boss son, he obviously cannot satisfy his wife and is mean, or perhaps simply detached from her. Cu rley beats up any man who dares to talk to her, but ironically, he rarely talks to her himself, and they decease the majority of the book looking for each other. When Curleys wife dies, Curley, rather than showing the reaction that would be expected of a man whose wife has just been killed. He does not appear to grieve at all in any way, barely looking at the body, or regarding the her finis into his immediate future plans.Instead, his first thought is towards seeking revenge and track down down Lennie. It is perhaps this moment in the novel which epitomises the way in which Curley is aggressive, nasty, and shows no concern for anyone else apart from himself. All of this seems to be negative however. sure Steinbeck didnt present Curley in a poor light? Well, there may some positive aspects to Curley, or perhaps those which are not entirely bad. Firstly, he does appear to show some care for his wife. He is constantly looking for her, and appears to try and protect her.Although sh e is more of a possession to him than a person, he is conductly proud of her, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Also, Curley is a good worker. He is one of the best on the ranch, having self-aggrandising up there, and this shows in his care for his work. Unlike most of the other characters, Curley doesnt develop much over the course of the book, but he stands out as a character with whom Steinbeck does not sympathise. Whilst everyone else is struggling, Curleys busy picking fights and trying to throw his weight around on his dads ranch. He seems to be outside of the economic struggle and even the personal struggle of the Depression.Curleys the kind of person that is needed in origin to the mild peacefulness of the other characters. Also, someone is needed to be the generator of trouble among the men of the ranch who mostly want to get along. In conclusion, if Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men as being a microcosm of American society, then Curley represents one clear type of perso n. This is all the men in the country at the time who are petty and embittered, who wish to appear better than all of the others. He acts as a sort of control variable, whose actions and reactions can almost always be predicted, because he is such a simple shallow person.