In Chapter Two of Of Mice and Men,
George becomes angry with his disillusionment about his and Lennie's new jobs: "Looks
like we was gonna have fun." Already alienated by the antagonism of Curley, George
realizes from what Candy has told him that Lennie will have trouble with Curley, who
views him as an adversary. So, he warns Lennie to avoid Curley by not speaking to him
and by moving away from him if necessary, telling Lennie, "Don't let him pull you
in."
Then, after Curley's wife appears in the doorway,
looking like the "tart" that Candy has described her as, George becomes even more
irritated and frustrated with his and Lennie's situations. He warns Lennie about not
looking at her or having anything to do with her:
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"Don't you even take a look at that b---. I
don't care what she says and what she does. I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen
no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her
be."
Lennie protests that he
has done nothing, but George scolds him for looking at her legs. When Lennie says that
he meant no harm, George again cautions him, telling Lennie she
is
"a rat-trap
if I ever seen one. You let Curley take the rap. He let himself in for
it...."
Curley's wife is like
a rat-trap as she is one who will snare a man and he will not escape without serious
injury or death. There is no good that can come from being around Curley's wife, so
George tells Lennie to just let her bring about her own trouble with her husband: "let
Curley take the rap."
This naturalistic portrayal of the
characters depicts Lennie and George immediately being alienated, and it is this
alienation that angers George. The symbolism of the sunshine being cut off when
Curley's wife appears in the doorway, also, cannot be missed. The forces of
evil--Curley as a pugnacious man and his wife as an Eve, a temptress--conflicts with the
forces of good.
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