Curley is the boss's son and is certainly more powerful than the other men on the ranch. He is also a bully and uses his power to intimidate. He is a former boxer and makes sure all the men know about it by showing them newspaper clippings about when he competed in the Golden Gloves (boxing competition). In chapter two he confronts George and Lennie. When Lennie is quiet, Curley becomes irritated and basically orders him to speak:
Curley stared levelly at him. “Well, nex’ time you answer when you’re spoke to.”
In both chapter two and three Curley wields his power by demanding the men tell them if they have seen his wife. He seems to be forever looking for her. At the end of chapter two he again accosts George, this time almost threatening violence:
“You seen a girl around here?” he demanded angrily.
George said coldly. “’Bout half an hour ago maybe.”
“Well what the hell was she doin’?”
George stood still, watching the angry little man. He said insultingly, “She said—she was lookin’ for you.”Curley seemed really to see George for the first time. His eyes flashed over George, took in his height, measured his reach, looked at his trim middle. “Well, which way’d she go?” he demanded at last.
In chapter three, after being insulted by Slim, Carlson and Whit about how he's always looking for his wife, he becomes enraged and picks a fight with Lennie. Lennie is smiling broadly over the dream of the farm which George has just been describing. Curley thinks Lennie is laughing at him and promptly challenges him:
Then Curley’s rage exploded. “Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I’ll show ya who’s yella.”
Curley initially beats Lennie badly until George yells for Lennie to fight. As Curley is swinging Lennie catches his hand, crushing it badly. Immediately, because of Curley's power on the ranch, George is concerned that Curley will ask his father to fire them. George asks Slim,
“Slim, will we get canned now? We need the stake. Will Curley’s old man can us now?”
Slim threatens Curley with telling everyone how he was beaten by Lennie, and for a time this changes Curley. He is not so demonstrative around the men. When his wife is discovered dead, however, he reverts back to his authoritarian way. He says he will kill Lennie and organizes the men for a manhunt:
Curley came suddenly to life. “I know who done it,” he cried. “That big son-of-a-bitch done it. I know he done it. Why—ever’body else was out there playin’ horseshoes.” He worked himself into a fury. “I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts. Come on, you guys.” He ran furiously out of the barn. Carlson said, “I’ll get my Luger,” and he ran out too.
The threat of Curley's power to actually go through with hunting down Lennie and killing him in a brutal way leads George to make his fateful decision to kill his friend himself.
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