Well, that glove's fulla vaseline. Vaseline? What the hell for? Well, I tell ya what - Curley says he's keepin' that hand soft for his wife.' Ch. 2, p.29
CharacterRelationshipsDeceptionFictionInsecurityMasculinityNovel
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- This dialogue reveals Curley's insecurity and false claims of masculinity through a mundane detail about his hand.
- In plain terms
- Curley says he keeps his hand soft for his wife, which seems suspicious to the characters.
- What can you take from it?
- People often hide insecurity behind exaggerated claims of strength or affection.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why might Curley feel the need to keep his hand soft?
- How does this detail affect how others see him?
Another view
The quote is dialogue and relies on context not provided in the snippet.
More from John Steinbeck
What the hell kind of bed you giving us, anyways. We don't want no pants rabbits. Ch. 2, p.20
Permalink to quote #15 George:I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be. Ch.2, p.33
Permalink to quote #17 Lennie:We could live offa the fatta the lan'. Ch. 3, p.57
Permalink to quote #14
Related quotes
Only the brave know how to forgive...A coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.
Laurence SterneLaurence Sterne quote #1 No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person. Two people, when they love each other, grow alike in their tastes and habits and pride, but…
Willa CatherWilla Cather quote #1 'I have this thing for generating character-oriented plots, where you look at a character and say 'What's the worst thing I could do to this guy?' I've found t…
Lois McMaster BujoldLois McMaster Bujold quote #1