Throughout time, male dominance has been found in many cultures in generation after generation. Sexism existed with that, and was accepted as normal in society. Although women have more equality today, back in 1939 sexism was common in the United States, especially in the South. Women’s rights were few during this time period, which is brought up in Jon Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men. In that novel, sexism hurts Curley’s wife physically and emotionally. The three most obvious acts of sexism seen in the novel are that Curley’s wife was not given a first name by the author, she was labeled a “tart”, and the she was abused by Curley. To start off, Curley's wife is only called “Curley’s wife” and is not called an actual name throughout the book. Although she has a main role in the novel, her character is thought of as weak because of the author’s choice. The author does this to show that she is only a possession of Curley, nothing more. In …show more content…
For example, she is countlessly called a “tart” and “jailbait” by some of the ranch workers. The workers call her offensive names because she flaunted her legs, pushed her shoulders back and pushed out her chest in front of the workers (Steinbeck 31). These actions could make it seem like she is interested in the other men and is being unloyal to Curley. Curley’s wife is alone often since she lives on a ranch with all men and no friends. In the text, when Curley’s wife goes into Crook’s room to talk the guys, she says, “Well, I ain’t giving you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever once in awhile? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?” ( Steinbeck 77). This quotation is important because it shows that Curley’s wife is just a lonely girl and wants someone to talk to her and give her attention. That ultimately caused her death, because she sought attention from Lenny who ultimately killed her accidentally. (Steinbeck
Curley’s wife comes off as a provocative, flirtatious, lustful woman, but is really hiding her true identity as a depressed and lonely person. Throughout the book Curley’s wife does show her true identity, but still tries to stay positive and deal with the bad hand she was dealt. Curley’s wife is a prime example of even though your life took a wrong turn that you shouldn’t give up. Curley’s wife may of been depressed, but she still tried to communicate everyday with someone no matter what they said to her.
Impressions of Curely's Wife in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck sees Curleys wife as 'nice girl' and not a 'floozy' however in the novel 'Of Mice and Men', Steinbeck introduces the character of Curley's wife; she could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel. In the novel Curley's wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch, the way she looks and acts lead others on the ranch to see her as a 'tart'. Additionally Curley might be the reason of Curley's wife behavior; Curley's wife is clearly lonely in the novel because Curley doesn't pay much attention to her. The lack of attention from Curley forces her to seek it elsewhere.
Shortly before her death, Curley’s wife shares her life story with Lennie and reveals how she is forced to marry a man she dislikes and give up all hope of achieving her dreams. This is all because she was conned by a boyfriend in the past and now must marry in order to survive. Throughout the novella, she is only known as Curley’s wife and we never learn what her own name is since she is referre...
Curley’s wife is also portrayed as a victim because she’s stuck with Curley. Curley’s wife is about 17 maybe 20 and she’s having a sad life dealing with Curley. Steinbeck writes “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought’n to. I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.” (89). Steinbeck shows that Curley’s wife doesn’t even like him. This what shows how Curley’s wife is nothing but a victim because she does things that she doesn’t want to do. If she was a free woman and does whatever she wants, then she would be a better person to herself.
Curley’s wife is a difficult character to understand. Steinbeck hasn’t named her; this could be for a number of reasons. He may have wanted her to be seen as lonely therefore not naming her shows no one gets close enough to her to call her by her first name. He may have done it to show the other characters only see her as the wife of Curley rather than an individual. He may also have done it to show the male attitudes towards females. Curley’s wife also helps to provoke mixed emotions in the reader. We often feel sorry for her such as when she talks of her loneliness, but on other occasions the reader can find her cold hearted. This is seen when she is racist towards the other characters.
In the modern error which is when the book Of Mice and Men was wrote women were treated like animals, heck they were treated even worse. Women had no rights, which is what John Steinbeck showed in the book. Women of thus error would not even allowed to vote. They were treated like slave. Steinbeck showed this in the book when Curley's wife was not given a name we just knew her as Curley's wife. Curley was the bosses son. They owned a farm and had many people working for them. Curley acted like he did not like his wife and treated her poorly, just like all women in the modern error. Women had no rights at all they were pushed and shoved around by anyone. Women were lonely, which is just what Curley's wife had told Lenny in the book Of Mice and Men. She told Lenny "I never get to talk to nobody. I get
Steinbeck describes Curley's Wife as a very friendly young women. For example, when Steinbeck describes her when she says, “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward” (31). When reading this, one can learn that Curley’s Wife is a very friendly women who is just looking for someone to talk to. She is forced to live on the farm and needs to find something to do, or someone to talk to while she is stuck there.
All through the book Curley’s Wife is very “open” to everyone she meets. The reason for this can be interpreted by her and Curley’s “so-called” marriage. The relationship between Curley’s Wife and Curley seems to be somewhat unstable as he is always asking “Any you guys seen my wife?” (pg. ). This also shows how protective Curley seems to be as he is always checking up on where his wife is. Curley’s insecurity seems to cage in his wife from having any kind of a friendship with any other men. In turn, the wife gets so sick of being isolated like this and relieves her loneliness by conducting secret conversations with many other men on the ranch. As a result many of the ranch hands see her as a tramp but it can be viewed that all she really wants is a person to talk to.
Also, the fact that Curley’s Wife does not have her own name and is simply a possession of Curley exemplifies the concept that women in the 1930s were treated as belongings of men and were stripped of their individuality, highlighting the social hierarchy in those times.
Throughout this passage, Steinbeck never gives Curley’s wife a name. This suggests that she did not have a position or identity at the ranch. Steinbeck did this to illustrate the real representation of all women in the 1930’s because back then most women would not have an identity of a position in the world of work.
Curley’s wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch. Because of the way she looks and acts, people think she is easy, or a "tart". " ‘Jesus, what a tramp,’ he said. ‘So that’s what Curley picks for a wife.’ " said George, p.35. She just wants someone to talk to.
Curley’s wife is an outsider on the ranch, simply because she is the one. only woman there is. Steinbeck never named Curley’s wife. She is defined by her relationship with Curley, as his property, not as an individual. Namelessness also has the effect of reinforcing how insignificant she is in the life of the ranch, how dependent she is on Curley, for her.
Her resistive attitude was made apparent when she was first introduced in the novella as Curley’s wife. In order to emphasise Curley’s wife’s inadequacy, Steinbeck doesn’t give her a name. As a victim of this lack of authority, she finds someone to bully and is presented as a powerful and intimidating person. Alongside many other Americans of the time, Curley's wife also had an American dream. Fear prevented her trying, as she knew if she failed, she would be left with nothing. Candy, a swamper, introduced her. Initially, she was mentioned in rumours which subtly hints at the idea that she had developed a bad reputation over time, which gives the reader opinions and biased views on Curley's wife even before she enters. Curley’s wife had the right to articulate her opinion, in fact she had more rights than Eva Smith, and despite the fact her husband was the boss, she still found that she was unable to speak. Presumably, the reason for this being the absence of an involved father figure. In fact the only man she could get close to ‘promised’ her to put her in the
Firstly, John Steinbeck the writer of ‘Mice and Men’ in the 1930s women in America were treated and seen as prostitutes. Curley’s wife is seen and is called a ‘tart’ by Candy and the other ranch workers say the similar thing such as ‘what a tramp’ and ‘she’s got the eye’ by George and whit they say this because she always wears a bright cotton dress and the mules with ostrich feathers; which states that she wants attention; this portrays loneliness . John Steinbeck does not tell the writer Curley’s wife’s name and yet John Steinbeck has so much sympathy for her; the reason john Steinbeck does not give a name for Curley’s wife is that John Steinbeck wants to create tension and change the atmosphere between the reader so the write could question and think about Curley’s wife if she is someone who wants to be with Curley and in the ranch or if she wishes to be with someone else or somewhere else. Later on the reader starts questioning if Curley lets to talk to someone in the ranch or if she is lonely; loneliness is also portrayed in ‘an Inspector calls’ by J.B priestly when Mrs Sybil Birling say’s (to Sheila) ‘when you’re married, you’ll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend all their time and energy on thei...
The character of Curley’s Wife is very hard to unravel, as throughout the book, Steinbeck’s representation of women through characters such as George and Candy, is very harsh. This is because the sociological opinion at that time was that they were either, mothers, sisters, or prostitutes, as the audience soon see, George and other ranch workers refer to her as “bitch” “loo loo” and “tramp”. There were also a growing number of prostitutes during the Great Depression period, as they would offload their services to those whom were able to pay and have some decent income during the Depression. Other aspects that may make Curley’s Wife seem like a tart, is Curley’s “Glove Fulla’ Vaseline”. Curley literally keeps a glove full of Vaseline, in order to keep his hand soft, possibly for a sexual act. Curley boasts to Candy that the hand is for his wife, which tells us that she gives him consent to do these acts to her, and also, Curley’s nerve to inform fellow workers about his glove shows that he believes that his own wife is a tart, which is very controversial today, but back then, women were seen as nothing more than possessions, yours to do what you will. George informs Lennie to avoid Curley’s Wife at all costs, and not to talk to her, because of her promiscuous behaviour, he believes t...