Of Mice and Men Essay

Of Mice and Men is about loneliness where some of the characters constantly complain about being lonely. John Steinbeck uses different techniques to display the theme of isolation in the character of Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is portrayed as a flirtatious tramp which makes the reader feel that she is lonely and needs extra attention. She is always looking for attention throughout the novel which also helps portray the idea of loneliness. Another way the novel represented the idea of loneliness is through Curley’s wife’s character being depressed with her own life. Hence John Steinbeck successfully displays the theme of loneliness and isolation throughout Of Mice and Men by using Curley’s wife’s character.
The idea of loneliness is conveyed most effectively through the use of Curley’s wife’s character in the way she is portrayed as a flirtatious tramp. Curley’s wife in the novel is displayed as a beautiful woman who constantly shows off her beauty to the men on the ranch. She dresses inappropriately for a woman who is married to the boss’ son which immediately indicates to the reader what type of person she is.   The way Curley’s wife is first described in the novel is, “She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her finger nails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.   She uses her appearance and good looks to try and get attention from the ranchmen. This is seen in the novel when it mentions, “she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”. She acts this way as she is the only female on the ranch and needs to use her appearance to try and communicate with the men. Thus, John Steinbeck has effectively explored the idea of loneliness through the use of Curley’s wife flirtatious behavior.  
John Steinbeck continues to explore the idea of loneliness by portraying Curley’s wife as an attention seeker. As she is a very lonely character, she often goes to the...