This preview is partially blurred. Sign up to view the complete essay. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck set in the Salinas valley in the 1930’s, many people can hold the blame for Curley’s Wife’s death. There may be only one person who physically killed her but, many others helped to cause the death of Curley’s Wife. The people who had more responsibility than the others are Curley’s Wife’s Mom, Lennie, and Curley’s Wife. Although she wasn’t physically there Curley’s Wife’s Mom, a bitter old woman, had some responsibility in the death of Curley’s Wife’s. In her last minutes alive Curley’s Wife tells Lennie all about the glamorous life she could have and almost had. She explains to Lennie about how she met an actor and once he got back home to Hollywood he would write her a letter telling …show more content…Since nobody on the farm would talk to her she was lonely and went to go talk to Lennie out in the barn. Prior to her coming in Lennie killed a puppy by accident, little did she know that he would kill her minutes later. She told Lennie to grab onto her hair not knowing the power he has. She knew he could kill a puppy but she didn’t think he would kill her. Lennie confesses his love for soft thing such as velvet then, “She took Lennie’s hand and put it on her head”(90) not knowing what would happen next. He started to “muss it up”(90) and she began to freak out. Lennie not wanted anyone to hear her yelling grabbed her neck and head at perfect spot to break her neck and kill her. If she didn’t put Lennie’s hand on her head or freaked out she wouldn’t have died. Curley’s Wife’s mom, Lennie Smalls, and Curley’s wife are the most responsible people for the death of Curley’s wife. Out of the three Curley’s wife is the most guilty, but since she is the one who died she cannot be accused in a court, the next most guilty would have been Lennie but since he also died he couldn’t be accused in a court and because Curley’s Wife’s Mom didn’t directly kill Curley’s Wife she couldn’t be accused. Ultimately no one would be punished since the guiltiest people are
Extracts from this document... 17.3.13 Of Mice and Men How Lennie is responsible for his own actions? Throughout the novel ?of Mice and Men? John Steinbeck presents Lennie as a harmless giant, a huge, bear-like man whose hands are described as ?paws?, strong ,slow witted ,loyal and innocent. Steinbeck presents Lennie physically as a huge character but with a child?s mind in a man?s body. But along with a childish innocence Steinbeck illustrates that Lennie can be devious, manipulative and responsible for his own actions and also shows how many times he is irresponsible due to his child like mind and not being able to understand like an adult would. Steinbeck shows how life was tough for working men in the 1930s especially for migrant workers like Lennie and particularly if they had such a limited ability as he had. The largely unskilled work that they did was seasonal in that they have to move from ranch to ranch as the work becomes available, so they never have a home and can have few possessions. Steinbeck illustrated how working men had to be responsible for their actions to be able to get a job, a house and even to get a family but this was very hard for men in those days. Many men travelled west to California ,thinking like George and Lennie in the novel, that they could pick up a cheap piece of land, start their own farm and live a better life but Steinbeck shows how Lennie was responsible in ...read more. Curley ended up with a broken arm as a result of an altercation with Lennie . Again Lennie was demonstrating that he had no control or understanding of the effect of his physical strength . This demonstrated that Lennie?s irresponsibility stopping was due to his misunderstanding of how he could hurt animals or people due to his learning disability. Lennie is completely oblivious to the dangers of the world and the power of his great physical power always holding on to the dream of someday owning a farm with his best friend George, this was his dream and wa all he could think about. Lennie does not understand his own physical strength and also lacks the understanding of what is socially acceptable behaviour. Lennie was just like a big baby, like a huge gentle giant. He had no ability to defend himself and could not be held responsible for his actions. This irresponsibility, combined with his abnormal size and strength, causes many of the other ranch hands to shy away and fear him. Throughout the early chapters we can see clear evidence of George and Lennie?s friendship. This is initially portrayed in chapter one whereby George is portrayed by Steinbeck as a father like figure to Lennie the child like figure ?Lennie for god?s sakes, don?t drink so much? Lennie was drinking lots of dirty water and could not be responsible for his actions . ...read more. if something bad is going to happen due to his strength but Lennie calmed down and was responsible for his own actions. Steinbeck used a lot of animal imagery throughot the novel towards Lennie. Lennie is often compared to a bear with his huge size and strength. His hands are described as paws, and he is always associated with rabbits and mice. He snorts like a horse at the stream and circles like a terrier when he does not want to bring the dead mouse to George. Steinbeck used these animal images to foreshadow what would happen towards the end of the novel. With his enormous strength and his lack of intelligence, common sense, and responsibility, Steinbeck shows the reader how he wouldn?t be able to cope with life and take responsibility by himself. Overall Steinbeck showed how Lennie can be responsible for his actions by being able to work as a ranch worker due to his strength and was responsible when he did everything that George told him to do But on the other hand Steinbeck illustrated how many times he was irresponsible at first he killed a mouse and broke Curleys hand and became more irresponsible towards the end killing the dog and then Curleys wife this showed how dangerous he was but Steinbeck exemplified how Lennie did not mean for any of this to happen and showed how he didn?t understand his how strong he was due to his disability and his child like mind. Niamh Quinn ...read more.
The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section. It is said that Lennie causes the tragic ending of the book and that it is his own fault for killing the puppy, Curley’s wife, and for getting himself killed. However, you cannot blame someone for something they have no control over. Lennie didn’t do any of those things with the intention of a bad outcome. It is proven that it is not Lennie’s fault because of the effect Curley’s wife’s persistence has on him, the temptation she forced on him, and the fact that Lennie knows the differences between right and wrong. Although Lennie is accused of being the cause of Curley’s wife’s death, the dialogue between these two characters in chapter five shows Curley’s wife is equally to blame. The reader can see in this chapter, Lennie tried very hard to get rid of Curley’s wife because he knew she would cause him trouble. The book states, “Lennie glared at her. ‘George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you-talk to you or nothing.’” (Steinbeck 86). This quote is one of seven attempts Lennie made to try and get Curley’s wife to leave. Had she just left when Lennie asked her to, nothing would have ever happened to her. She is so persistent on staying even though it is clear to her Lennie has a mental illness and…show more content…
George the Culprit |
Why is Lennie responsible for killing Curleys wife?
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