Literary Analysis: Curley and George in Of Mice and Men

In the novel Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck presents many characters who have a wide range of personalities. They extend from quiet and reserved to outgoing and aggressive. Among the group of men on the ranch, two characters, Curley and George, have similar characteristics but find themselves in conflict.
Curley is the son of the owner of the farm and often likes to take advantage of the other men by picking fights with them. He lives in the main house with his pretty new wife. George is a migrant worker who travels with his mentally disabled friend Lenny. Both George and Lenny have a dream of buying their own piece of land where George could make some money and Lenny would be out of trouble.

Even though George and Curley are both physically small, their natural intelligence and leadership make up for their lack of size. When George and Curley meet for the first time, they each recognize the potential threat the other one poses. The last thing Curley says to Lenny when they meet is, "The nex' time you answer when you're spoke to," showing that Curley considers Lenny as another strong aggressive guy who might push him around. When Curley is gone George tells Lenny, "Just don't have nothing to do with him." Both George and Curley are smart enough to see the potential trouble between them but the difference is George wants to do everything to avoid trouble and Curley encourages it.

The two men react completely differently to their suspicions, however. When George is skeptical about someone he tries to smooth out the issue or avoid any problems before they get worse. George sees Curley as a threat to Lenny. He worries that if Curley pushes Lenny around, Lenny will be forced to hurt Curley and they could possibly lose their jobs. In contrast, Curley goes out of his way to try to provoke a fight. When a fight is unavoidable, Curley becomes nervous and backs out, and acts "yella as a frog belly". George, however, finally tells Lenny to stand up for himself, "I said get him." When Lenny is targeted by a threat, George takes charge and tells him to fight.

Curley and George have similar physical characteristics but their personalities are significantly different. Both small and intelligent, George and Curley possess strong leadership and confidence. Their differences however are the way they act towards other people. Curley looks to start fights with the other men while George tries to prevent them. Curley is only concerned about his control over others, including his wife, because he has very weak confidence. George on the other hand, is always self-assured and goes out of his way to protect Lenny and the other men.