1 Steinbeck s characterisation Learning Objective: To find out how Steinbeck lets us know which characters are the good, the bad, the good looking and the ugly Curley s wife Read from Seems to me like he s worse lately to You see if she ain t a tart (pages 49-50). In this section, we hear about Curley s wife for the first time, before we actually meet her. 1. Whose opinion of Curley s wife does Steinbeck give us first? 2. What impression does he give us? Draw these impressions around this character s eye view on the image below: 3. Now match each impression with a quotation from the text. The first one has been done for you. Flirtatious and unfaithful. Well - she got the eye p. 49.
2 Steinbeck never uses his narrative voice to tell us what to think. Just like in real life we are given the other characters opinions, and images of how Curely s wife looks physically. We are shown how she treats others, what she actually says and how she says it. We are then left to form our own opinions. Might taking the first character s ideas about Curley s wife be unfair? Why? In pairs, think of any reasons there might be that this character might be prejudiced against Curley s wife. What might influence his opinions? Now read from A brake screeched outside. A call came, Stable Buck. Oh! Sta-able buck to An I bet he s eatin raw eggs and writin to the patent medicine houses (page 50-55). In this section, we meet Curley s wife for the first time. Below and on the next page, there are some quotations relating to Curley s wife. Cut out these quotations and then glue them under the relevant headings. These are the techniques used by Steinbeck to create character. Glue the quotations in the space under the most relevant heading. A girl was standing there, looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.
3 She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward. She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward. If he ain t, I guess I better look some place else, she said playfully. She smiled archly and twitched her body. Nobody can t blame a person for lookin, she said. I m tryin to find Curley, Slim. Well, you ain t tryin very hard. I seen him goin into your house. She was suddenly apprehensive. Bye, boys she called into the bunk house, and she hurried away. Jesus, what a tramp, he said. So that s what Curley picks for a wife. She s purty, said Lennie, defensively. I seen em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be. Well, you keep away from her, cause she s a rattrap if I ever seen one.
4 The character s dialogue - including sentence length, use of slang, repetition, questioning and accent. Physical images Association: who or what do they associate with that might tell us about the type of person they are?
5 Their reactions: how do they relate to others? Other characters opinions: what do others say about them? Their actions: what they do.
6 Arrange these five ways we first get to know Curley s wife in order of importance to your own opinion of her: Rank order Point (1-5) She is never given a name she s referred to only as Curley s wife Her dress and appearance she is out of place on a working ranch. Her image suggests that the way she is living is not the way she would like to live Her provocative body language Her reaction when Slim tells her where Curley is. Why do you think she is here in the men s bunkhouse? Look carefully! George s feelings about her and his warnings to Lennie after she leaves and after Curley has been looking for her.