Which moment do you mean? There are two different scenes that students often confuse. I’ll give both possibilities and explain where Curley goes and why in each.
1) If you mean the scene after Curley’s wife is killed (Chapter 5):
- After the men discover Curley’s wife dead in the barn, Curley quickly becomes determined to find and punish whoever did it.
- He rounds up other ranch hands and leads a search party toward the Salinas River / the brush where Lennie fled. In other words, he goes to find Lennie and get revenge — he wants to shoot him himself.
- Why: Curley’s reaction is motivated by anger and a desire for immediate retribution; he wants someone punished for his wife’s death and he believes the killer has fled to the river area where Lennie often goes.
- Chapter reference: This is the closing action of Chapter 5 leading into Chapter 6, when the men pursue Lennie.
2) If you mean an earlier scene when Curley is looking for his wife because he suspects she’s been talking to the men:
- In earlier chapters (for example in the bunkhouse and around the barn), Curley is often suspicious and comes looking for his wife. In those scenes he typically prowls the bunkhouse or the barn area to see where she might be and to assert control.
- Why: Curley is jealous and possessive. He checks the areas where the men work or socialize because he thinks one of them might be talking to or flirting with his wife.
- Chapter reference: Curley’s possessiveness shows up throughout the novel, especially in Chapters 2–3 (the bunkhouse/horse-shoe pit scenes) and again in Chapter 5 (after his wife’s death).
If you tell me which chapter or page you’re working from, I’ll give a precise line-by-line explanation of that specific moment.