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Gender sexism issues in todays society
Gender sexism issues in todays society
Gender sexism issues in todays society
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In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, one of the main ideas present is sexism, particularly directed at women. We see many examples of this throughout the text mostly shown through Curley’s wife, such as the idea of objectification and over sexualizing women. The text shows the extremity of this viewpoint in the early 20th century, although this way of thinking still exists in our world today. Curley’s wife feels as if she is ‘owned’ by her husband. She is told by her husband not to speak with the ranch workers or be around them but despite this she still flirts with the other men. An example of this is when she meets George Milton and Lennie Small for the first time. She comes in “just looking for Curley”, which is her excuse for talking to the newcomers. I believe she does this out of loneliness and isolation, which had been caused by Curley and the ‘time’ they lived in. When this happens today in Western society, it is considered to be a form of emotional abuse. Although times have changed and it has been given a different name, I feel that this ...
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
“Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody.” (Steinbeck, 86). In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife is an outcast compared to the men. Being female, she cannot do what the men can. This novel was based in the 1920’s, a time where women weren’t allowed to do certain, almost all, things. She was not allowed to talk to anyone because she was seen as a threat. Her treatment was caused by how men viewed her. This all affected her responsibility, the views of her as a woman, and her loneliness.
As Slim and George arrived at the bar, neither of them said a word. Slim looked at George but George avoided his attempt at making eye contact. They walked in and sat at a round wooden table that looked to be a decade old. George sat down at one end and Slim sat down on the other directly across.
In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there is only one woman and one African American male announced in the reading. The women is Curley’s wife, her name is not stated in the novel, who is the only woman that lives on the farm. While Crooks, the African American male, lives on the farm in a little cottage away from the rest of the men that live there. As we keep reading, we soon get the idea that Steinbeck’s purpose of women and African Americans is to present: discrimination towards race, gender stereotyping, and the double standards in the predominantly male workplace.
John Steinbeck’s creative and carefully planned writing expressed the difficulties of oppression in this Era. Of Mice and Men explored the effects of systemic oppression on women,
Curley’s wife could be considered an outcast in society. Women were not supposed to be adventurous, talkative, and mischievous; she was the opposite of what women were supposed to be in society. Every member on the ranch seen her as trouble and
In the novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Candy is one of the main characters, who symbolizes some major themes. He is the oldest worker and his job as a ‘swamper’ who cleans the bunkhouse. He has spent majority of his life in the farm, working for someone else. He also has his dog, his best friend. He is usually described as “careful” “shuffled” and “slow”. This shows that he is a very slow and thoughtful man. Candy symbolizes several things about America in the 1930s.
excited one. He now has hope of doing something and it came from the "dream
In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, many character experience different challenges throughout the book. One main thing that three characters struggle with is discrimination. People are constantly treat them in an unfair way and always look at them like they are not equal human beings. This does make sense though for the time period in which this novel was wrote, most people had not yet accepted that people were in fact, equal. Even though there is less discrimination today, it has not completely gone away. Things need to change because people are not enforcing consequences when someone is being discriminated against, as well as there are not many good models to show younger generations not to treat others different based on age, gender, race, and so many more. Three characters that face discrimination the most in the novel, Of Mice and Men, are Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Lennie.
The ending of the book, Of Mice and Men, had many strengths and weaknesses. In the last chapter, all the guys are playing a tournament of horseshoes. Lennie was in the barn mad because he had killed a little puppy and didn't understand that he did it. He tried to bury it in the straw when Curley's wife walked in. Lennie was nervous because he wasn't allowed to talk to her but he ended up relaxing and talking to her about stuff. He said he liked to touch soft things because it felt good on his fingers. She let him touch her hair because it was soft but Lennie was touching it too hard and messing up her hair. She started to yell and Lennie put his hand over her mouth and told her to not scream like that. Then he shook her and it broke her neck.
In Of Mice and Men the audience are invited to dwell on Curley’s wife vulnerability which was exploited at the hands of others, as a result of their gender and class. On the other hand we gain a deeper insight into the lives of victimised women in both ‘Of Mice and
Flawless skin, small waists, the unattainable idea of perfection. The idea that a woman should be the icon of feminine beauty, a brainless robot that is great at housework and pleasing their husband has lasts from generation to generation. This idea continues in the 1930s, when the Great Depression was wreaking havoc on everyday life. Instead of letting equally smart women work alongside of men to bring the stocks up, they were still told to stay home and be the mothers and wives that they should. This idea continues in Steinbeck’s famous book, Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck subtly reiterates his belief that white men are superior to every other race and gender. Therefore, the misogynistic portrayal of Curley’s wife is sympathetic,
‘Of mice and men’ written by John Steinbeck in 1930s. The character of Curley’s wife demonstrates what a women shouldn't be like in the society at that time. As, they should be possessed by their husbands and working housewives. The fact that she didn’t even have a name suggests that she was like a possession to her
Curley’s Wife in ‘Of Mice and Men’ is used cleverly by Steinbeck to create sympathy amid the reader but also to represent the position of women in 1930s America. Through an intelligently designed pattern of events in the book, we feel varying amounts of sympathy for Curley’s Wife and thus unconsciously acquire information regarding the issues women had to face in the 1930s. In this essay I will evaluate the extent that Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife as a sympathetic character and its relation to 1930s America.
In Of Mice & Men, the character Curley’s Wife is depicted as flirtatious, promiscuous, and insensitive. However, her husband Curley sees her as only a possession. Most of the workers at the ranch see her as a tart, whereas Slim, the peaceful and god-like figure out of all the men, see her as lonely. This answer will tell us to which extent, is Curley’s wife a victim, whether towards her flirtatious behaviour, or to everyone’s representation of her.