English Lit Section A (curley) Flashcards
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 1 chronologically)
“Hair”
‘(…)A head of tightly curled hair. He wore a work glove on his left hand’
Adverb - tightly:
- Curley is uptight and easily provoked
- this volatility makes him dangerous
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 2 chronologically)
“Let”
“Let the big guy talk.”
“By Christ, he’s gotta talk when he’s spoke to.”
“Well nex’ time you answer when your spoke to.”
Imperatives:
- Curley is constantly aggressive/provocative
- Curley asserts his authority at every opportunity
- he is dangerous due to his authority which he keeps apparent
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 3 chronologically)
“Glance”
‘His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious’
Etymology of ‘pugnacious:
- Curley is ready to fight (resort to violence when slightly provoked)
- also to assert authority
- the ease with which he resorts to violence make him dangerous to challenge
Adverb ‘calculating’:
- Curley is constantly sizing up potential fights in an attempt to assert dominance
- this makes him dangerous as these fights can destroy the authority of others i.e. he attacks big guys as he will win either way. This is calculated and thought through.
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 4 chronologically)
“Stepped”
‘Curley stepped gingerly close to him’
‘Curley lashed his body around’
Adverb ‘gingerly’:
- indicates Curley’s immediate aggression through body language and invasion of personal space - attempting to assert dominance
- he makes social interactions dangerous for newcomers and if the person says anything he doesn’t like, he can get them fired or hurt them - he is dangerous
- indicates Curley is further ‘calculating’ Lennie as a target
Verb ‘lashed’:
- Curley, once he senses a weakness in Lennie, quickly moves to make him more uncomfortable - aggressive and attempted authoritative behaviour
- his violent movement only emphasises his danger physically and societally
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 5 chronologically)
“Flopping”
‘Curley was flopping like a fish on a line’
‘His (Lennie’s) huge paws’
Animal imagery through the noun ‘fish’
- Curley lacks authority in terms of stature, being compared to a flopping fish when vulnerable
- he is proven to not be dangerous physically and is coerced to not tell anyone, so he is socially weak and easily pushed over
Animal imagery through the adjective and noun ‘huge paws’
- Curley is hunted by the more dominant and physically authoritative Lennie who is compared to a bear
- bears hunt fish
- Lennie is shown to be far more physically dangerous
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 6 chronologically)
“Followed”
‘Slim came in, followed by Curley and Carlson and Whit.”
Physical description
- suggests that Curley is aware of Slim’s status and is willing to show him respect.
- shows that slim is in a position of danger to Curley and Curley must act in a way that stops him from telling the boss
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 7 chronologically)
“Fists”
“handy” with his fists
“He wore a work glove on his left hand”
“Keeps his hand soft for his wife”
“His closed fist was lost”
Metaphor
- his right hand is where his strength lies, he is a strong, dominant fighter who is also cunning
- he is dangerous
On the other hand
- he keeps his other hand soft for his wife, indicating physical weakness as well as social weakness - not dangerous
- Lennie crushes his hand and his power is gone, both physically and socially - no longer dangerous
Etymology of left
- of Germanic origin meaning weak - he lacks authority broadly and is insecure as a result
- he is not dangerous
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 8 chronologically)
“Didn’t mean”
“Well I didn’t mean nothing, Slim. I just ast you.”
Colloquial diction ‘ast’:
- Curley attempts to calm the situation down - non aggressive and preventing violent confrontation
- Curley has the authority to stop the situation from damaging him
- he is dangerous as he feels he can get away with it
On the other hand
Double negative
- Curley is most likely guilty
- Curley is not dangerous as slim now has the power to damage Curley
Speaks in deferential tone:
- attempts to diffuse situation as he understands slim’s authority and how he could damage him and his authority
- slim is more dangerous to Curley than Curley is to slim
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 9 chronologically)
“Vaseline”
‘Glove fulla Vaseline.’
‘Keeps soft for his wife.’
Compound noun ‘glove fulla Vaseline’
- Curley keeps it peculiarly obvious and is not insecure about how strange it is
- particularly given how he ‘keeps it soft for his wife’
- he is ultimately not shown to be dangerous due to his weird ways
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 10 chronologically)
“Hell”
“What the hell you getting into it for”
“Where the hell’s Slim”
“Well what the hell was she doin’ ”
Repetition of religious imagery “hell”
- Curley, in a metaphorical sense makes others lives a misery in an attempt to assert dominance
- this also shows his fragile ego
- this also shows his danger in terms of affecting other people’s lives and shows his influence on others
Recall the following quote(s) and devices used:
Curley
(Quote(s) 11 chronologically)
“Like”
“Like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots”
Direct comparison “like the boss”
- shows the danger Curley poses due to holding a similar position to the boss and having the ability to influence high up decisions on the ranch
Compound adjective “high-heeled”
- shows the danger Curley poses as he feels he is untouchable and too high to fall
