Compare and contrast the characters Curley’s Wife from ‘Of Mice and Men’ and Mally from ‘Malachi’s Cove’ Essay

There are lots of contrasts and comparisons between Curley’s Wife from ‘Of Mice and Men’ and Mally from ‘Malachi’s Cove’. ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set in California about 1930s, when the great depression hit the world whereas ‘Malachi’s Cove’ is set in Victorian England. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ Curley’s Wife is described as a â€Å"tramp†, â€Å"bitch†, â€Å"Jail-bait† and a â€Å"rat-trap†. This suggests to the reader that she may have had a bad past or because of her playful personality, whilst Mally is described as a well respected person, the â€Å"people spoke well of Mally because she was so good to her grandfather†. This possibly suggests to the reader that Mally is well known for her very noble personality. Steinbeck and Trollope both use language that shows the characters true personality in this case Curley’s Wife and Mally. Curley’s wife is described as a â€Å"tramp† which could relate to her attitude to prove a point. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ Steinbeck doesn’t give Curley’s Wife a name, this may suggest to the reader that she is not important to the storyline, but you could also argue that Steinbeck left Curley’s Wife without a name because, he wanted to emphise on Curley’s Wife, and to warn the other men, on the ranch to stay away because, she is married to Curley, the bosses son. Alternatively Mally does not have a name in the novel this may suggest that Mally is one of the more important characters in the novel ‘Malachi’s Cove’ In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ Steinbeck describes Curley’s Wife as â€Å"heavily made up†¦she had full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes and her hair rolled up in little clusters† whilst Trollope describes Mally as â€Å"Wild-looking, almost unearthly creature with wild-flowing black uncombed hair†. This suggests to the reader that Mally never â€Å"exercises any of those feminine attractions† whereas Curley’s Wife made the effort to dress up even though the clothes she wears might not be suitable for working on the ranch. Curley’s Wife is described ad â€Å"heavily made up† this may be because she is insecure with herself, whereas Mally is described as having a lot of confidence because she doesn’t care what people think about her appearance.