Curley, the boss's son, first appears on page 25 in chapter 2 of the Penguin Books release (1993 edition) of Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. He comes into the bunk house just as George and Lennie are settling into their bunks. Curley is looking for his wife and seems to be in a hurry to see her. He is almost immediately belligerent toward the "new guys." Steinbeck seems to set up Curley as the antagonist against George and Lennie. Because of this, the scene provides foreshadowing for the fight between Curley and Lennie in chapter 3.
Physically, Curley is a "thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair." He is wearing a work glove only on his left hand. Later, Candy, the old swamper, tells George and Lennie that the glove is full of vaseline so Curly can keep the hand soft for his wife. Unfortunately, as we learn later, Curley turns out to be a terrible bully, goading Lennie into a fight and apparently treating his wife badly. In her confession to Lennie in chapter 5, Curley's wife complains bitterly of loneliness.
On page 12 of the Viking Penguin Digitial Edition of the novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck gives a description of Curley. Curley is described as a thin young man with a brown face. Curley also has brown eyes and coarse, tightly curled hair. He wears a work glove on his left hand, which is filled with Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his wife, and high-heeled boots like a boss. Curley's eyes are also described as being "calculating" and "pugnacious." He is a smaller man who boxes in the lightweight division and is the antagonist throughout the novella. Curley presents himself as an arrogant, belligerent man who goes out his way to intimidate Lennie. Steinbeck likens Curley to a terrier throughout the story. Curley's wife gives an additional description of her husband by mentioning to Lennie that Curley's hair resembles wire because it is so tough.
No comments:
Post a Comment