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Violence In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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A threatened person reacts like a rattlesnake, as in both will rattle and then attack. John Steinbeck knew this was true, and portrays rattlesnake-like violence in his writing. One specific work of Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, is abundant in examples of animosity. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck examines how feeling threatened engenders violence through his portrayal of the violent outbursts of Curley, Lennie, and Curley’s Wife.
Curley’s inner doubt leads him to lash out in violence. To start, Curley feels threatened by big people. Candy described that Curley was “alla time picking scraps with big guys” because he’s mad “he ain’t a big guy” (Steinbeck 26). When Curley is after Lennie, Steinbeck develops the threat of bigger people to Curley. In addition, Curley assaults people who his wife eyes. Because Curley’s Wife is promiscuous, Curley …show more content…
Notably, Curley’s Wife attacks people who insult her. After Crooks and Candy deny Curley and Lennie fighting, Curley’s wife said “You bindle bums think you’re so damn good. Whatta ya think I am, a kid?” (Steinbeck 78). Steinbeck hints that she is threatened through the way she speaks. The question at the end shows how she thinks that Crooks and Lennie are discounting her deduction skills. Also, Curley’s Wife terrorizes Crooks because he challenged her authority. Crooks addresses Curley’s wife saying “You got no right comin in here” (Steinbeck 80). This quote obviously puts a dominance over Curley’s Wife. Curley’s Wife replies by illustrating how fast she could have him lynched because she did not like Crooks’s control (Steinbeck 80-81). Finally, Curley’s Wife will torment anyone who gets in the way of her dream. She flirts with other men and encourages Lennie to “bust up Curley a little bit” (Steinbeck 81). She does this because Curley is getting in the way of her dream of being an actress. Curley’s Wife intimidates anyone who gets in her

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