Curley’s Wife OMAM Quotes

CW is not a good persomn

Flirtatious and licentious character

“tart”, “she got the eye.”

Again flirtatious, the colour red helps to symbolize passion and lust, danger that she will bring since she’s in a patriarchal society. She is also displaying her curves which is seduction.

“rouged lips”/”her body was thrown forward”

Her beauty can get men into trouble through the creation of complicated and disastrous situations.

“jail bait”

Since she grew in a patriarchal society, she was taught that the only value women brought was her beauty.

“purty”

Loneliness because she is a woman. Their relationship in the marriage is very distant which can demonstrate how she is presented as a sexual object and never been taken to account of her personality, traits etc. Patriarchal society.

“I’m lookin for Curley”

Curley’s wife reveals her loneliness. Men have each other. She was the only female in the ranch. Again, patriarchal society.

“I never get to talk to nobody. I get awfully lonely.”

Nameless, demonstrates the woman was trapped in a misogynistic world and the little rights she had. Lack of identity.

Curley’s Wife

Men were fixated on dominating the females. Every action women did was interpreted as a flirtatious act which can be viewed wrongly. Patriarchal.

“Why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?”

Demonstration of the outcasts of society. She knows she is also weak.

“they left all the weak ones here.”

Demonstrates how she exploited her small amount of power to someone who is lower than her. Black < Female. This shows how they have a created a society where power matters and in order to obtain power, it grows from weakness.

“I could get you strung upon a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.”

Normalized violence against women. Curley blames her for her own death even though it was obvious Lennie caused it.

“you goddamn tramp… you done it, di’nt you?”

American dream. She relied on a man to make her dream come true which shows the limitations of women in 1930 patriarchal society.

“He says how I could go with with that show.” “He says he was gonna put me in the movies.”