Section C — OMAMCharacter · 40 marks · Jun 2024 & Jun 2022
OMAM — Curley
The most frequently examined character. Asked in Jun 2024 (significance) and Jun 2022 (character). Master this module.
—
Best score
—
Last attempt
Best attempt progress
0
XP earned
Watch first — Mrs Rumsey
Mrs Rumsey · Edexcel IGCSEAnalysis of Authority in OMAM
Key analysis
⚡ 40-mark question structure: AO1 (20 marks) — knowledge, argument, personal response, critical style. AO4 (20 marks) — context (1930s Depression, migrant workers, racism, gender). Every paragraph needs BOTH: a point about the text AND a link to context. Closed book — you must know quotes.
Curley — key character points
Son of the ranch boss — his power is inherited, not earned. This makes him resented.
Described as "thin young man with a head of tightly curled hair" — physically small, which Steinbeck connects to his aggression
"Like a lot of little guys, he hates big guys" — Candy's assessment establishes him as a bully motivated by insecurity
He is "calculating and pugnacious" — he seeks fights as a way of asserting dominance
He wears a "glove fulla vaseline" to keep his hand soft for his wife — presented as objectification
"Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy."
Candy
"Curley's glances were calculating and pugnacious. Lennie squirmed under the look and shifted his feet nervously."
Narrator — Curley's immediate hostility
Curley as antagonist
His first appearance: "glanced coldly" at George and Lennie, immediately goes into a "slight crouch" — the stance of a boxer
He attacks Lennie later believing he is laughing at him — his aggression is blind and random
When Lennie crushes his hand, Slim convinces him to say it was caught in a machine — Curley is exposed as a coward concerned only with reputation
When his wife dies, he is more interested in forming a lynching posse than grieving — shows he viewed her as property
Curley and context (AO4)
Curley's secure position (son of the boss) contrasts with the precarious lives of itinerant workers
Workers fear speaking out — they might be "cann'd" by Curley's father
Lynchings were common in 1930s America — Curley's threat to Lennie reflects historical reality
Men visiting brothels ("old Susy's place") was normalised — even newly-married Curley goes
Curley represents the arbitrary power of those born into privilege
Exam questions — 2 questions · 22 marks
1 markCurley motivation
Why does Candy say Curley hates big guys?
A Big men threaten his authority as son of the boss
B Curley is insecure about his own small size and picks fights with big men to prove himself
C Curley was beaten by a large man as a child and has never forgiven big men
D Curley's father told him to keep big men under control on the ranch
20 marksCurley essayEdexcel IGCSE Jun 2024 style
Explore the significance of Curley in the novel Of Mice and Men. You must consider the context of the novel in your answer. (Full 40-mark question — write 4+ paragraphs)
Hint: Plan: intro (symbol of power) → physical introduction/appearance → aggression/fighting → the hand being crushed → wife's death + lynching threat → context (boss's son, itinerant workers' vulnerability) → conclusion. Quote in every paragraph.