What Is an Individual's Role in Society?

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people who play the role of manipulators. Curley’s wife knows the consequences of any rancher found talking with her, but she still puts them in that temptation. These men can lose their job if Curley suspects them to have a relationship with his wife. Such knowledge does not deter the wife from trying to challenge the men and eventually, she settles on Lennie after learning of his might after crushing Lenny’s hand. She tempts Lenny and even offers her hair to him for petting, but this does not end well (Steinbeck, page 88). Such a role by Curley’s wife tries to show that in the society, women play the role of subjects and they are supposed to be submissive to the men and are denied any friends and even dreams. Curley’s wife is ready to be close to anybody even Lenny to minimize her boredom. She even allows Lenny to pat her hair as a way of consoling him but just like all the animals Lenny pets she too is killed. This shows that women are considered just as property and animals are considered. Their role is of no significance in the society and why Curley fails to mourn his wife.

The role of an individual in the society is highly determined by the gender or the social class that one in. This affects the way in which others view the person and the responsibilities given to this person (Battilana, page 662). One’s physical appearance and intelligence affect the role that one gets. Each role is accompanied by either popularity or fame depending on how one handles it. Although Curley is the son of the boss, the people in the ranch do not respect him but treat him with contempt due to the way he handles the responsibility given to him. There are people whose role is that of victims in the society as portrayed in the novel for example women and the poor who must work for very little payment.