What does curley symbolize in of mice and men

Click to see full answer. Also know, what does Curley symbolize? They are workers, not men. Lennie's hands, or paws, are symbols of trouble. Curley's hands are mean and cruel and one, of course, is crushed in the machine that is Lennie; Curley's hand that he keeps soft for his wife is a symbol of his impotence and inability to satisfy his wife sexually.

In addition, Candy saying that Curley is good at boxing gives support to the fact that Curley suffers from "Napoleon Complex" a. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck mainly presents Curley as a mean person who wants authority on the ranch. Although Curley is married, Steinbeck makes it clear to the reader that Curley has no emotions towards his wife. After the death of Curley's wife, Curley does not touch his wife nor does he stay with her. He is forced to live apart from the migrant workers and live a lonely life, simply because he is African- American.

Curley's wife: Dreams of fame and fortune. She wished to be a movie star, but had to settle for marriage to Curley. Curley : Curley just wants to be respected by the workers, like Slim. Curley represents an obstacle to George and Lennie because he abuses the power he possesses on the ranch. Curley's first appearance with George and Lennie shows how much of an obstacle he will be for them.

He confronts and hassles both me. He is immediately threatened with Lennie's size. Why does Curley marry his wife? He chooses to fight Lennie instead of the other characters because he knows that Lennie is vulnerable, whereas the other men would fight back. Candy says this about Curley when he talks to George. He is an aggressive character who manipulates situations so that he comes out on top.

Curley quickly behaves aggressively when meeting George and Lennie for the first time, even though they have not done anything to threaten him. He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. Steinbeck tries to show that man cannot understand everything that happens, nor can he control the world around him. For this reason, events often appear to be random.

George's Solitaire game in the bunkhouse is exactly that. It symbolizes the random appearance of events just as cards are drawn out at random from the deck. All is a matter of chance in Solitaire, and the same is true of the events in the book that Steinbeck thought about titling "Something That Happened.

The world is unpredictable, and in this setting, plans often "go awry. Hands are also used symbolically throughout the novel. The men on the ranch are called "hands," indicating that each has a job to do to make the ranch work as a whole. This takes away their humanity and individual personalities. They are workers, not men. Lennie's hands, or paws, are symbols of trouble. Whenever he uses them — as he does on Curley — trouble ensues.

Candy's missing hand is a symbol of his helplessness in the face of advancing old age and his fear that he will be deemed useless and fired when only one hand is not enough.

Lennie is symbolic of the archetypal "wise fool," who is mentally inferior but able to reveal the best and the worst of others. Lennie is also symbolic of people who are mistreated and discriminated against because of their mental handicaps.

She is also symbolic of women everywhere who are repressed by male-centered societies. Curley is symbolic of "small" people who may feel inferior and overcompensate by inflating or flaunting their power and status. Crooks is symbolic of people who are discriminated against because of their race.

Candy is symbolic of people who are undervalued and discriminated against because of their age. Carlson is symbolic of people who are oblivious to the feelings of others, and who can only be concerned about something if it affects them personally.

Slim is symbolic of the archetype of the hero, king, or leader. He represents those few who, in their wisdom and strength, seem larger than life. George is symbolic of "the everyman" — the type of normal, average person who is found everywhere and whose feelings and actions are neither exceptional nor terrible.