1. Of Mice and Men
Curley’s Wife
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2. TITLE: Curley’s Wife TEPEE
Learning Objectives
We are learning to...
• Select quotes that can link
character to theme
Skills for Life: Questioning – how and why?
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3. You should now have a
range of quotes for
Curley’s wife.
Including a Top 5...
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4. Now we need to write
about her...
Technique
Evidence
Purpose
Explanation
Extension
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5. How does Steinbeck present
Curley’s wife as a lonely
character?
Skilled work 6 sections – perfect!
• Identify features of Steinbeck’s use of
will language with some explanation of layers
of meaning.
• Have some links between Curley’s wife
and loneliness
Excellent work • Have a detailed explanation, with
will appropriate terminology, of how
language and linguistic features are used
with a develop perceptive identification
of layers of meaning
• Show sophisticated links to language
used about and by Curley’s wife that
show her to be a lonely character
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6. The author’s use of language / words / tone of voice is significant.
T Imagery is significant in this section.
The imagery of .... is especially significant in this section.
The author uses setting to convey ...
The characterisation of ... is developed in this section.
Structurally, this section is significant.
We can see this in the quotation ...
E We hear the character described as ...
The word ... demonstrates this.
Arguably, the most significant words are ... and ...
The image of the ... is crucial to our understanding.
The author seems to be suggesting ...
P The author is, perhaps, exploring the idea of ...
The author is explaining, illustrating, uncovering, hiding, illuminating, developing,
The words suggest / imply / convey ...
E This word / phrase / image / character makes me think of ... because...
This conveys feelings of ... because....
The word / image contains several ideas. For example...
The author seems to be exploring the them / idea of ...
E From one perspective we could say ... From another we might consider...
Developing the interpretation further, we could argue that...
This links with.....
This idea is repeated when......

7. Steinbeck uses language to show Curley’s wife to be
a lonely character. Steinbeck describes the
character talking as ‘her words tumbled out in a
passion of communication, as though she hurried
before her listener could be taken away’ The
author seems to be suggesting that Curley’s wife
is desperate for someone to talk to. The word
‘tumbled’ suggests the desperation of Curley’s
wife to talk to someone as it seems they are
falling out without any clear thought. The author
seems to be exploring the idea that loneliness
makes characters so desperate that this makes
them unable to communicate properly.

8. Steinbeck uses language to show Curley’s wife to be a lonely
character. Steinbeck describes the character talking as ‘her
words tumbled out in a passion of communication, as though
she hurried before her listener could be taken away’ The
author seems to be suggesting that Curley’s wife is desperate
for someone to talk to. The word ‘tumbled’ suggests the
desperation of Curley’s wife to talk to someone as though her
words are falling out. Steinbeck’s addition of the ‘listener
could be taken ways’ also suggests a detachment as Lennie
simply becomes a listener, not someone to share a
conversation with, and that he will be ‘taken away’ seems
inevitable; he forms the function of a listener throughout the
novel and alleviates some of the character’s loneliness, but
this in turn highlights the bleak loneliness of the characters.
The author seems to be exploring the idea that loneliness
makes characters so desperate that this makes them unable
to communicate properly thereby accentuating their
loneliness.

9. How does Steinbeck present
Curley’s wife as a lonely character?
Skilled work will 6• sectionsfeatures of Steinbeck’s use of
Identify – perfect!
language with some explanation of layers of
meaning.
• Have some links between Curley’s wife and
loneliness
Excellent work • Have a detailed explanation, with appropriate
will terminology, of how language and linguistic
features are used with a develop perceptive
identification of layers of meaning
• Show sophisticated links to language used
about and by Curley’s wife that show her to be
a lonely character

10. Peer assess against success criteria
Do not write, ‘yeah, great! Think
you should get an R3!’. It needs
to be linked to the success
criteria.
www.............................................
ebi................................................
Now improve.

11. Curley’s wife
And she continued to struggle and
her eyes were wide with terror. He
shook her then, and he was angry
with her. "Don't you go yellin'," he
said, and he shook her; and her
body flopped like a fish. And then
she was still, for Lennie had broken
her neck.
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12. Speculate
• Why does Steinbeck make it
difficult for the reader to pity
Curley’s Wife?
• What would he have done if he
wanted to the reader to feel
sorry for her?
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