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Changes for women in society
Woman oppresion in literature
Women shaped by society
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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, …show more content…
“Wait’ll you see Curley’s wife.” (Steinbeck 28). This is the first time Steinbeck mentions Curley’s wife in the book. The way Steinbeck introduces her gives the reader an impression that he is referring to Curley’s wife like she is a piece of his property. Steinbeck continues to tell how the other men don’t respect her, because they think she has the eye. “Well—she got the eye”. (Steinbeck 28) This ‘eye’ is an idiom of “attractive to or desire of someone or something.” (“Ammer”) Steinbeck continues to then explain how the men don’t talk to her and when they do, its always objectifying and …show more content…
Like clockwork, she is told to go away every time. “’I get lonely. … You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?’” (Steinbeck 84). Humans a designed in a manner to which they thrive off social interaction, but without it it can cause devastating effects. The way Steinbeck creates such an environment to were Curley’s wife is alone shows his deep misogynist views. Curley’s wife also is aware of how alone she is, like it says on page 85. “’Wha’s the matter with me? … Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?” (Steinbeck 85). Curley’s wife continues to talk about how she is alone and hates it, how she does not want to be at this ranch or even married to Curley. “’ I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella … Coulda been in the movies.’” (Steinbeck 84). Soon Curley’s wife and Lennie are at the climax when tragedy strikes, Curley’s wife is killed. The way Steinbeck writes the scene is as if it’s Curley’s wife’s fault. That she should have known better than to let a big, strong, man touch her hair. Steinbeck even put a dead puppy killed by Lennie in the scene so Curley’s wife could see the signs and avoid her death. When, in reality, it’s not Curley’s wife’s fault. Lennie was the only person on the farm willing to talk and listen to her. There’s no question to why Curley’s wife would let him touch her
The way Curley’s wife was treated changed the responsibility she had, the views of her, and being alone all the time. In life, women and those who are different aren’t seen as equal. They all have harder lives than the typical man does. Unfortunately, one of the characters who were different was outnumbered and was seen on a lower
...nd a tease throughout the novella which shows that the men only view her as a sexual being. The workers assume that everything she does is to cause trouble and she is held responsible for her own murder as well as the situation forcing George to kill Lennie. It is apparent that Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife as a medium to bring to light the excessive sexism women faced during the Great Depression.
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.
Throughout the novel, Curley’s wife interacts with the characters in a flirtatious manner that is intended to grab attention, thus making the others distrustful of her. It’s fascinating to note that the way others treat her determines how she treats them back; for example, Lennie is the only man to regard her positively, calling her “purdy” (Steinbeck 32), so she behaves empathically towards him, whereas Candy refers to her as a “bitch” (Steinbeck 84) and she’s rather vile towards him. This point is further supported
In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the feminist lens is represented in many different ways throughout the novel, including actions and comments different characters make. Most of these events are surrounded by the character Curley’s Wife. Curley’s wife is a character who is known for her not being trusted by any of the workers on the ranch, and for fooling around with other men besides her husband, Curley. For instance, when Curley’s Wife is talking to another character, Slim. “…’Hi Slim,’ she said. Slim’s voice came through the door. ‘Hi, good-looking.”(Steinbeck, 31) Curley’s Wife is not allowed to flirt or even communicate with other men at the ranch, but she likes to break the rules and have a conversation with other people because she feels that she has never had any freedom since she married Curley. Curley’s Wife is mistreated at the ranch because everyone is afraid to trust and contact her.
In the Steinbeck novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, he introduces us to the character of Curley’s wife. She could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel, as no one relaters to her. This essay will go on to examine the character of Curley’s wife and how characters perceive her and how this influences the readers interpretation of her.
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.
During 1937 when Steinbeck wrote the book "Of Mice and Men", women were treated as second-class citizens. This was also the time when the great depression occurred in America. In the novel, Curley's wife is the key women, and she is not named at all, the lack of name denotes Curley's wife to insignificant status. Steinbeck wants the reader to recognise the inferior role of women in the world. Alongside this in “Of Mice and Men” they are also other women figures such as the prostitutes (Susy’s place), and a Women called Aunt Clara who is seen in the novel to be caring towards men. In contrast, to this Shakespeare, an English poet and play writer as he is regarded to the utmost writer in English language, has written a tragedy play which is titled
In conclusion I believe that Curley’s Wife is a very significant character in the novella because she represents the stereotypical woman and they way she acted, and was treated leads me to feel great sympathy for her despite her flirtatious demeanour. Steinbeck is very successful in creating sympathy throughout her character change and he presents her in this way to prove that the majority of women went through similar situations. This leads us to sympathise with all people society deem to be ‘inferior’ and we can even apply this lesson to today’s society.
Steinbeck displays, Curley’s wife as more of an object to the men at the ranch. He conveys this idea through the description of her appearance. When Steinbeck introduces the reader and George and Lennie to Curley’s wife he takes a long time to describe her. “She had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her finger nails were red “. This quotation suggests that Curley’s wife is an object to men in society and that she is as worth as much as she is wearing. Not only does Steinbeck describe her appearance he also describes her actions when on the ranch and talking to the men. He does this to show the awareness that the men have towards her. “She puts her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”. A lot of the men on the ranch try to ignore and do not want to start a conversation with her but through Steinbeck’s description of her actions the reader can see that she craves attention from the men on the
Throughout Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck displays how isolation through sexism and racism causes one to crave attention, and he helps the reader to understand the problems in society about racism and sexism through portraying Curley’s Wife and Crooks both craving attention in their own ways and experiencing various setbacks. Curley’s Wife, who persistently talked with every man on the ranch besides her husband, displays how sexism is portrayed on the ranch. Steinbeck proves this by showing a differing view towards women in the time period that the book was written, because, as Carleson states, “Why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?” (Steinbeck, 62).
Curley makes sure his wife doesn’t talk to anyone. She is a victim of herself because she married a man that she hardly even knew. She married him though, to have a companion. She killed herself and Lennie because of her need for companionship. She craves companionship because she is an attractive woman with a need for interaction.
Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie could not reach their potential because of the discrimination against them. In Depression era, people discriminated African-American people by using derogatory terms, physically assaulting them and limiting their socialization. They discriminated women by calling names and making offensive assumptions. The mentally disabled people were target of brutal actions, stereotypes, and betrayals. Steinbeck was warning to people not to discriminate others by showing various conflicts and tragic ending that caused by discrimination.
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...
From her first appearance in the story, Curley’s wife is described as a different kind of threat, one who is all artifice and manipulation from her red lips and fingernails to her red mules, “on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (Steinbeck 31). The imagery Steinbeck uses, paints her as a woman who is quite bold, but fragile with a passionate essence.