how and why george and lennie react differently toward curley's wife?

George is weary of Curley's wife; in fact all the men, except Lennie are scared of Curley's wife. She is a temptress of sorts. She moves from cabin to cabin flirting with the men. The reality is that she is desperately lonely. The men don't want to talk to her because Curley, the bosses son, is hot tempered and can get them fired from a job they desperately need. Lennie thinks like a seven year old. He finds Curley's wife soft and misunderstands her advances. Lennie does not understand the repercussions from Curley.

George has been around. He has seen women flirt and use men to get ahead. He has no personal reaction to Curly's wife except to tell Lennie to stay away from her. He believes her to be trouble, and she is in fact just that. Lennie is like a kid, but he has the sexual urges and body of a man. He doesn't know how to control himself whereas George is in complete control of himself.