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   ms-mcgregor Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

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   Although Curley's wife is the lone female in the novel, she is still typical of most of the main characters. She is misunderstood, lonely girls whose dreams have been shattered. She doesn't even deserve a name or identity; she's simply known as Curley's wife.
   Even though she has just married, she is forced to wander around the ranch looking for human companionship because her new husband ignores her. Like Crooks, Curley's wife is treated as an outcast. She is stereotyped as a "tart" from the beginning of the novel. Like Lennie and George, she has a dream. Her dream is to be a movie star but her dreams were shattered by a man who told her he could fulfill those dreams, took advantage of her, and then left her. Unfortunately, she also shatters Lennie and George's dream when she allows Lennie to feel her soft hair. She panics when Lennie musses her hair and Lennie kills her. Once George discovers what Lennie did, he knows his dream is over, too. So, despite being the only woman, she has many similarities with others on the ranch.

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   Posted by ms-mcgregor on Saturday November 29, 2008 at 11:46 PM