Every Person Is Afraid of Being Rejected

Last Updated: 12 Feb 2023
Pages: 5 Views: 120

Nowaday, in this merciless world, people tend to wear a mask to cover their true self because they fear of rejection and how people will judge what they believe in. However, in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, where the setting is the ranch during the 1930’s, it tells a story about a group of worker that share the same dream which is to own their own land but unfortunately, there is an “obstacle” that threatened everyone every time it “appears”.

Or in another word, the men on the ranch were all disgusted by the presence of this “obstacle”. That “obstacle” is a character called Curley's wife, like no other, she does not have a name and is the only woman in the plot. Despite not having any major purposes in the story, she still happens to leave a lot of impressions for the readers by her distinct characteristics that is shown through her actions, words, appearance, etc. Therefore, through the way John Steinbeck characterized Curley's wife, he teaches us the damage of not being true to oneself through her action to get attention, the way men on the ranch perceived her, and finally through her death.

Known as a young, beautiful woman, Curley's wife spends her time in the novella trying to find company by several flirtatious actions that ironically highlight her danger and make the men avoid her more. She is married to Curley, the son of the boss, but unfortunately, there was no real connection between the two individuals in this marriage. Another point that makes Curley's wife so desperate for attention is because she has no female companions. In which the loneliness turns her into a flirt and damages her dignity in others eyes. In chapter 2, Steinbeck describes her as “She puts her hand behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward' (Steinbeck 34).

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According to the quote, Curley's wife naturally showcases her body without any shame. Additionally, that is the first time she met George and Lennie and the fact that she feels normal doing that reflects on how desperate she is just to get some attention even from the people she does not know. She displays herself as a flirt and makes she seems so desperate but no one realizes that, instead, they only feel more uncomfortable when she is around and want to avoid her more. The loneliness blinds her mind and changes a sweet, young girl into a flirtatious woman that is perceived so annoying and useless by the men on the ranch.

As a result of the way she acts in order to get people to notice, the men on the ranch see Curley's wife as potential trouble because all she wants is attention from the men. Curley's wife is the most misinterpreted by the men on the ranch. Her effort of flirting did not work since it only makes the ranchers afraid of her more. Also, because she is the boss’s son's wife, and no one would want to lose their job during the depression by relating to a women. George, in which when he met Curley's wife for the first time, said, “I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her.” (Steinbeck 36).

George, at the time never really talked to Curley's wife, he only heard of her from Candy. That explains how much hate the men have for her because compared to the other ranchers, Candy is an old and kind person. Right after George made those harsh comments about Curley's wife, he didn't forget to warn Lennie about the woman that they first met. He said, “Well, you keep away from her because she is a rattrap…” (Steinbeck 36). Curley's wife turns out to be the most dangerous person on the ranch because she is also the loneliest. As George has warned Lennie about this woman, Curley's wife not surprising is the one who destroy their dream of having their own ranch.

Looking closely to every impression toward Curley’s wife of the men on the ranch, there is a pattern of how they, one by one, paint a poor images of Curley's wife in others without knowing what she really is behind those actions. The harmfulness effect of her inappropriate acts is all on her but no one else. She wants to get acquaintance with the men since she is slowing drowning in the feeling of loneliness, but all she gets back is the hatred and the absolute avoidance from all of the ranchers. That shows the failure of this woman because she is a victim of her tarty behaviour.

Curley's wife’s death is not unexpected, but it is definitely an eye-opening event for the readers to ponder about. The abstract image of Curley's wife before and after death, or after she put down her mask and revealed herself, leaves many concerns for the readers because it was a total different side of Curley's wife that no one has ever expected to see. It is all about the idea of showcasing the downside of not being true to ourselves, as well as to mark the ending of a dream that hasn't started.

In the end of the novella, when Lennie “accidentally” ended Curley's wife's life, the readers first have the chance to see part of this young girl who had been hidden under the mask of a lonely, desperate woman all the time. Curley's wife usually associates with the color red because of her makeup and her dress, which gives other an older vibes compare to her real age. In addition, another connotation of the colour red is danger. A reason for Steinbeck to portray her as an association to the colour red may seems to foreshadowing her death in the end. Contradictional, when she lied down, she seems to turn into another person. All of the worries and the desperate feelings are no longer present on her face, she looks young and calm as Steinbeck describes, “And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.” (105).

Lennie, a slow mentally, innocently killed her without realizing the afterward consequence of it. Her life seems so easy to other people as when the ranchers don't really care about her, even when she passed away. The youth shown on her face when she died makes she looks more lively than when she was alive. And sadly, her death is still not worth anyone attention, even her husband. Curley's wife's death marks an end to the journey of a young girl who has a dream like everybody else that ended with a lot of regrets and misunderstandings which ironically, created by her.

Being true to yourself creates not only long lasting happiness but valuable relationships that benefit your life. Through characterization, Steinbeck shows the importance of being true to ourselves by displaying the downside of it, which is Curley's wife's toxic lifestyle. He shows that although Curley's wife is just a normal woman like everyone else, but the pressure of the society and the harsh perception of the people around her shaped her into another person that no one wants to associate with. In addition, Curley's wife is so stubborn to think that she is at a dead-end and step by step destroyed her reputation. The image of Curley's wife symbolizes the drawback of misbehaving and proving that there is no need of turning ourselves into another person just to satisfy other people, and how harmful it is to not be true about ourselves.

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Every Person Is Afraid of Being Rejected. (2023, Feb 12). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/every-person-is-afraid-of-being-rejected/

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