In John Steinbeck’s historical fiction novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Curley is the typical “boss’s son.” His character is arrogant and feels entitled because of who his dad is. He is made out to be a rude over protective husband; although Curley seems tough and independent, he is really just insecure about his relationship, and himself. Ultimately Curley wants to be one of the guys.
Newcomers get the vibe that, “Curley ain’t givin nobody a chance,” including his wife. Curley has an issue with demanding to know where his wife is. He never gives her “a chance” to be her own person, and limits her to doing only certain things. Curley doesn’t let her hang around the guys because he feels that she is going to fool around with them. He is so insecure about his relationship that he doesn’t trust his own wife. Due to his insecurity in his relationship, he is always wondering if “any of [the] guys [has] seen a girl around.” This leads Curley into believing he can’t have a normal life style, because “he has married a tart”, unlike the other guys on the farm.
Curley’s exudes arrogance even when he is desperately trying to fit in with the farm hands. He tries to play in their horseshoe games, and also jokes around with them. It seems though that every time he opens his mouth it comes out haughty and overconfident. The workers don’t see Curley for the man HE sees himself as. To them, he will always be the brash, “son-of-a-b****,” “boss’s son.”
Curley is a short, stalky guy who is “always pickin scraps.” And it seems like he is always picking on “the big guys.” Curley was trying to talk to Lennie, a mentally challenged GIANT, and George, Lennie’s friend, answered for him. This made Curley mad, which made him reply in a harsh tone with the comment “let the big guy talk.” Curley seems to try to make himself seem tougher then he actually is, by pushing people around. He wants the guys to know he is tough, and it doesn’t help that he is well, undersized.
In this story Curley is just trying to find away to fit in with all the guys. He ultimately just wants to be recognized as the masculine man he thinks he is. Curley is a insecure, misunderstood, “boss’s son.” Who thinks it’s okay to boss around his wife, and pick on men taller than him. One day, Curley will understand that if he wants to be one of the guys he is going to have to be a better human being.
