Curley’s Strive for Superiority

Tenacity has its downfalls. Curley, in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, should know this better than anyone. It becomes clear in the story that he acts the way he does for underlying reasons. Curley is small in stature, but sees himself larger in his own eyes. He wants to show power over others by using his wife as a possession. He strives for self respect from the one person that makes him feel so small and insecure, his father. Curley’s pugnacious character tends to make him strive for superiority.

Curly is short and uses snarky comments to hide his weakness. Sadly, Curley is “like a lot of little guys.” Curly uses his height as an excuse to get back at everyone that is bigger than him. He continually acts superior by mocking bigger guys such as Lennie. He is always trying to “[pick] scraps with big guys,” and he “hates big guys.” When Curly heard Lennie laughing at him, he began to pick a fight and put on a show to get the other guys to see him take on the big man. His short height makes him feel angry, as if he is a lower rank than others and not as good as anyone else.

Curley sees his wife as his toy and uses her as a trophy over other men. One example is how he tells everyone about his “glove full of Vaseline,” which he boasts keeps his hand soft for his wife. He doesn’t really love her but wants others to be jealous of his possession. Curley uses his beautiful wife to show others that he is better than them. She doesn’t “like Curley” though. She flirts with other men. This makes Curley feel very angry and threatens his sense of stature.

All Curley wants from his father is respect and for his father to be proud of him. Curley wears “high-heeled boots” just like his father wears. He wants to mirror his father’s image, and the respect the other men have for his father is intimidating to Curley. By mimicking his father, though, he fails and gets less respect than what he demands. In an attempt to be stern like his father, he yells at Lennie, “you answer when you’re spoken to.” He doesn’t want anyone to know that he is weak so he turns on Lennie and demands respect from the new guy. He uses his father’s position to gain power over the men and in turn gain his father’s respect.

Curley was intended to be a flat character without any depth, but at a closer look, he begins to emerge as a round character. He uses his height as an excuse to fight others and gain greater status. He thinks that he also needs valuable possessions, like his wife, in order to feel powerful and in command. Even after losing his wife, he spends his energy getting revenge on Lennie for taking away his property. Curley is a man that is struggling to please his father while still trying to satisfy his craving for superiority. Curley exhibits the little-man syndrome who tenaciously over-exaggerates himself to make up for his weaknesses.