Mice and Men (Motifs)

Have you ever met a woman so misjudged to deceive people into thinking she was flirting with them when all she really wanted was a friend? If you did, you could find similarities in that person with Curly's wife. Curly's wife, who the men seem to see as a promiscuous individual, really is only looking for a companionship with someone she could talk to and confide in.

To begin with her corrupting powers, Curly's wife had a seductive appearance. Unlike any other women who would be working on a barn, Curly's wife wears short dresses and skirts the compliment her body enough to show her rear end. Along with her dress, she assets it with accessories such as gleaming jewelry and high heals. Most of the men that work with Curly think of this as a way to attract their attention.

Curly's wife seems as if she's not trying to attract all of the men, she's mostly flirting with george (or maybe she's just friendly!) Curly notices his wife's corruption tearing into George, who hasn't been with a woman in years, and immediately prohibits the men from being alone with his wife. Curly who acts violently towards people who are "littler" then him, picks on Lennie on George's behalf.

After not talking to anyone or being around the workers, Curly's wife is desperate and seeking anybody who would talk to her. One day, alone in the barn, she saw Lennie walking close and knew he could be her target. When Lennie entered she began speaking with him and conniving him into holding a conversation. Knowing the risks, Lennie isn't too fond of the conversation but continues it anyway. After a while, Curly's wife begins to tick Lennie off and he violently grabs her, not aware of the harm he is doing. As she began to scream, he shaked her by her neck, killing her instantly.

As you can tell the motif of the story is the corrupting powers of women during this time. Sometimes a women can throw people off and send several different messages through her body language. Curly's wife is a good example of this.