Bare white walls, hungry for a tint, tone or shade. The soft, fluffy carpet caressed her toes as her feet sunk down into the floor. A twin bed sat in the back corner with loud, aquamarine blue sheets tightly wrapped around the old mattress. Two feathery pillows, in matching cases, leaned lazily against the stark white headboard. Accompanying the bed was a blue and green polka dot nightstand, music bursting through the speakers of the iHome. Across from the bed, with little room in between, was the tall dresser with six drawers and circular knobs. Next to the dresser, was the disorderly desk, textbooks, folders, and papers lying in a heap. A royal purple gooseneck lamp on the left corner of the desk provided extra light, since the two twin windows did not attract the sun’s rays. Every now and then the deep purple paper lanterns dangling from the window would catch the sun and light up the room. The double sliding door closet was pressed into the wall in the left corner, close to the desk. The smiles of friends served as decoration, on corkboards hanging on the walls, and in frames standing on the desk and dresser. Memories secured in a trunk plastered with bumper stickers lies adjacent to the closet. Abruptly, the lightweight door flies open, slamming against the wall, the bronze handle scratching the paint, and the forceful wind shuffling some papers on the desk. She rushes in, heaves her bag onto her back, and sprints out of the door.
Chapter 5 Prompt
Through the characterization of Curley’s wife in the short novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates that malicious people, in the end, get what they deserve. At first, the reader can sense that Curley’s wife is alone, and isolated in the ranch house, however she does leave the house and lingers around the bunkhouse to flirt with the other workers on the ranch. “ ‘Well – she got the eye.’ ‘Yeah? Married two weeks and got the eye?’ ”(28) She admits that she does not even like Curley but only married him to get out of her mother’s sight. She is just using Curley, thinking she could advance and get ahead in life by doing so.
The short conversation between Curley’s wife and Crooks reveals another, unpleasant side of her. Crooks is trying to stand up for Lennie and protect his own space, but she treats him very poorly even though she was the one who was wrong to begin with. “ ‘Listen, nigger,’ ‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?’…‘Well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’ ” (80-81) She does not have any respect for anyone and this gets her into trouble again later, but with a more unfortunate outcome.
When Curley’s wife meets Lennie, everyone tells her to leave him alone. “ ‘You let this guy alone. Don’t you do no messing aroun’ with him.’ ” (80) George also tells Lennie to stay as far away from Curley’s wife as he can and Lennie remembers this. “ ‘George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you –talk to you or nothing.’ ” (86) Curley’s wife knows that Lennie does not understand many things said to him, but this still does not stop her from trying to flirt with him. Lennie tells her that he likes to touch soft things, and she sees what Lennie did to the harmless puppy, but offers her hair to him anyway. “ ‘When I’m doin’ my hair sometimes I jus’ set an’ stroke it ‘cause it’s so soft…‘Here – feel right here.’…‘Oh! That’s nice,’ and he stroked harder.” (90-91) She knew what she was she was doing by flirting with Lennie, but she kept doing it anyways.
Curley’s wife dies because she scares Lennie and he unintentionally strangles her, however she could have avoided her own death by not talking to Lennie. Curley’s wife is not the nicest person, and therefore, got herself into trouble, getting what she deserved in the end.
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