Summary Curley: Of Mice and Men- sample essay plan and EXEMPLAR SAMPLE ESSAY included
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
This document includes an essay plan on the character Curley as a danger to others in the novella 'Of Mice and Men', this and other essays I wrote formed the basis of my GCSE study notes that helped me to achieve an A* in English Literature. The document includes detailed essay plan including quot...
Themes- strength vs. weakness and violence show Curley as a danger to others.
Hierarchy on the ranch (in a station of power), unhappiness in marriage and violent
tendencies as an ex-fighter.
Refer to techniques such as cyclical structure, pathetic fallacy and light and dark motif.
Callous nature is emblematic of Great Depression when life was cruel and miserable whilst
Curley’s power on the ranch gives him a sense of entitlement.
Agree Disagree
Curley is over protective of his wife- “Curley’s Simply highly insecure in his marriage and
wife” or “Curley’s girl”- isolates her. station on the ranch. Thus uses the “glove fulla’
Possessive and adapts accusatory tone when Vaseline” in order to prove his authority.
speaking about her “demanded” and Only wants to gain a sense of stability in his life.
“threateningly.” Petty and jealous- threatened by Slim’s
Uses his wife as a tool in order to exact his authority, “Where the hell’s Slim?”- jealousy
anger upon the other men on the ranch- not extended to the point at which he poses as
“excitedly.” a danger to others.
Adapts a fighter’s stance when threatened,
“shoulders dropped and squared.”
Fight between Curley and Lennie- juxtaposition Curley’s description as a terrior suggests his
in stances- Curley- “poised” and “balanced” and bark is worse than his bite- only uses violence
Lennie’s actions described by “helplessly,” and to express dominance and superiority.
is “too frightened to defend himself.” Animal imagery, Curley: “flopping like a fish on
Animal imagery- Curley is aggressive- “Curley a line,” & is “white and shrunken.”- Curley is
stepped over to Lennie like a terrier.” physically weak. Lennie: “Lennie’s paw”- bear
imagery- larger threat than Curley
Curley’s dominance & sense of hierarchy- Emotionally weak as he feels the need to
“high-heeled boots,” “tightly curled” hair.” symbolically express power and dominance
Introduced to Lennie, calls him “big guy” is which derives from his sheer insecurity.
threatened and “levelly” & “gingerly” interacts Guarded personality
with him.
States he will try to “catch” the boss – implies
violent and predatory nature.
Callous nature – “coldly,”
Highly ambitious in terms of achieving Humiliated after the fight, “white and
status/power shrunken” and states, “I won’t tell.”- juxtaposes
Sense of pride and cyclical structure suggests aggressive nature & sense of pride.
that C will instigate another fight, shows
courage of conviction of his anger, “Curley
suddenly came to life...shoot for his guts.”-
dominant/violent- will seek revenge if
challenged
, Conclusion:
Steinbeck condemns Curley’s character to be of an aggressive and violent
nature
This rage and anger is Curley’s personal way of dealing with his
insecurity and the pressure he feels is placed upon him to fulfil his
position of authority upon the ranch.
Great Depression- all members of society and to prove him as a constant
threat to those around him upon the ranch.
Danger is most evident through the brutality he shows in his fight with
Lennie in order to prove his supremacy.
Lennie is a greater threat and prove with the use of appropriate evidence
and argument
Steinbeck utilises various themes such as strength vs. weakness and violence in
order to portray the fact that Curley poses as a danger to those who are around
him as expressed by his sense of dominance and hierarchy held when in the
presence of the other men upon the ranch, as well as his callous nature. Due to
the fact that Curley holds himself in such a high regard and his violence
tendencies, as well as through the use of cyclical structure, animal imagery,
general unhappiness in marriage and his lack of status upon the ranch he may
allow this violent tendencies as a fighter to control him and thus foreshadows
that Curley may use his station of power to bring about the end of those upon
the ranch who attempts to challenge him and thus supports the idea that he will
bring about the end of the dream. Additionally Curley’s callous nature is
emblematic of the era of the Great Depression, when life was cruel and vicious.
The misery within the lives of those living in America left many poverty-
stricken, thus leading many to work in ranches and giving Curley a sense of
entitlement, which has lead to Curley’s chauvinistic and aggressive attitude
towards others, his nature thus results in him being isolated from the other men
and leads to him acting out with cruelty and indicates that this could potentially
cause him to react with violence and anger to those upon the ranch, thus posing
him as a danger to others. However, his insecurity of his stature may be the
main factor that causes his violence tendencies which would mean that his
violence is a call for attention and wouldn’t be used in order to seriously hurt
another, in which case he could be simply considered as a nuisance as opposed
to a serious danger to the lives of the people upon the ranch.
Throughout the novel, we never find out her name but by calling her ‘Curley’s
wife’ or ‘Curley’s girl’, Steinbeck indicates that she is his possession. Curley is
overprotective of her and refuses to let her talk with anyone on the ranch,
isolating her from everyone. We can observe this jealous and at times even
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