Curley's Wife and her phallic hair...!

P – The way Steinbeck describes her suggests the negative, promiscuous nature, of her character. Q – ‘Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.’ E – The simile is repeated by Steinbeck in the novel. This gives it extra significance. By comparing her hair to the sausages, Steinbeck creates phallic imagery here, the sausage is representative of the penis. This emphasises her sexual nature. The simile could also suggest that her hair is full bodied and ‘meaty’ or that it is greasy. It is ironic that her hair is curly and she is married to Curley, perhaps Steinbeck is creating a pun here.