curley Flashcards
summary
Curley is a very aggressive and violent character
- He is the Boss’s son and takes advantage of the power that he has over the other men on the ranch to treat them cruelly and pick fights.
- He is physically small and so is resentful of bigger men and picks a fight with Lennie because of this.
- He chooses to fight Lennie instead of the other characters because he knows that Lennie is vulnerable, whereas the other men would fight back.
- He neglects his wife, and controls her, and then proceeds to have sex with prostitutes while she stays alone at home
“[Curley’s] eyes passed over the……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“[Curley’s] eyes passed over the new men and he stopped. He glanced coldly at George and then… at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch.”
- Upon his first interaction, Candy is looking for a fight with the new workers
- Pugnacious and aggressive: always has his guard up
- Curley’s body language is aggressive as he immediately moves into a fighting pose.
- The way he behaves suggests that he is always on the alert and ready to fight, which is linked to him being a boxer. This comes across as being unreasonable because he has only just met George and Lennie and they have not even had a chance to speak to him.
‘He’s alla t…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
‘He’s alla time picking scraps… with the big guys. Kind of like he’s mad because he ain’t a big guy.’
- Insecure about his size, and:
- Feels the way to combat this is through fighting, showing his pugnacious nature
- Foreshadows something may happen with Lennie
‘Curley stepped o……………..
‘Curley was f………….
‘Curley stepped over to Lennie like a terrier’
‘Curley was flopping like a fish on a line’
- Animalistic imagery (small, but aggressive dog)
- Shows Candy’s pugnacious and violent nature, as he is instigating a fight for no reason
- The result of the fight shows Candy’s vulnerability to Lennie’s strength
‘Curley came suddenly to life. “I’ll…………………………………………..
‘Curley came suddenly to life. “I’ll kill that big son-of-a-bitch myself”’
- No empathy towards or sadness of his wife and the fact she has just been killed
- His only emotion is anger, once again showing his pugnacious and violent nature
- His reaction details his relationship with his wife and the way in which he treated her. He viewed her as an object and had no true emotional attachment towards her
- He just used his wife’s death as an excuse to kill Lennie
‘Maybe you better stay here……………………………………………………….
‘Maybe you better stay here with your wife’ (-Slim). Curley’s face… reddened.
- He shows no sadness about the loss of his wife, and only a thirst for revenge
- Shows the vigilantes in the 1930s and how people took the law into their own hands
