In the book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, the motif of social inequality prevails throughout the story. What this portrays about the society back then is that people did not care about others but only themselves. If they had truly cared about others, they would have done something about the inequality. But as it is shown in the book, nothing was done about inequality at all; in fact, it was viewed as normal. Since Crooks is a black man, his human rights are not respected. Due to his race, Crooks does not have any right to speak or even live near the white men. He is all alone, which makes him so cynical. Crooks has lost his rights to freedom, too, since he is unable to move anywhere because he won’t be able to get a new job. …show more content…
The woman who is mentioned in this book does not have a name and is known as Curley’s wife. The role of Curley’s wife in this book reflects how society viewed women back then. Curley tells his wife to stay home and that she does not belong anywhere else but in the barn. Curley’s wife at first wanted to become a movie star but Curley refuses to let her go. This shows gender inequality since women are not able to make any decisions. Due to her lack of freedom, Curley’s wife is bored and starts seducing men at the …show more content…
The frontier of justice is being whether George’s action is justified or not, whether it is a merciful act, or an act of crime. On the inequality and difference of people which determine their lives, this book questions the value and belief and whether it is right that people’s lives are determined by their race and gender. What is most shocking is the fact that there are people who do not understand the value of life at all. Two of the characters are Curley and Carlson, who see Lennie’s death as something normal. Nobody gives justice to Crooks, who is a black man. This novel also uses improper language to portray the striving for life since it shows that people has no education, and that people are barely able to live and has no time for schooling. In this story, there is no police mentioned, which reflects the belief of people back then; they thought that it was perfectly normal for someone to be killed because they did something wrong. In this book, there is no justice system involved which indicates the prevailing value of insignificance of life of those who are
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.
The first description of Curley’s Wife states that she gives multiple ranch workers “the eye” despite being “married two weeks.” From this we can instantly deduce that she is somewhat of a “tart” however if we evaluate further this could explain that she is lonely and not content with her new husband. The fact that she is giving other ranch workers “the eye” despite being married makes us feel no sympathy for her and instantly portrays her as endeavouring and potentially dangerous, although, on the other hand we can understand her restriction by Curley which makes us feel sympathy.
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 is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her.
One of the factors that create an imbalance of power within a society is a person's socioeconomic status. Often people with low socioeconomic status are undervalued in society. This imbalance can cause issues with the feelings of security and confidence. Also opportunities and choices can be limited for some people, but expanded to others. People often identify with roles of different socioeconomic status groups, based on their own socioeconomic status, and this can limit creativity and the potential of groups or individuals. If the world believes that people can go from “rags to riches” in America, then there should be an opportunity for all socioeconomic groups.
The issue of sexism was still very present in 1930’s America compared to our present day now. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife as the only female character in the novel because the ranch was no place for a women. He uses many different methods to portray the attitudes towards Curley’s wife and to belittle the importance of her.
Although discrimination is still present during the time period of the book, Crooks still attempts to make friends. Others treat Crooks unjust because he is different from others given that he is black. He does not know how to treat others because of the way others treat him; with disrespect. Furthermore, he does not know how to vent his frustration and as a result, lashes out at others because they are cruel to him. Crooks is not allowed to participate in daily events with white people. He is treated unfairly and therefore acts the same way toward the white people (the ones who offended him.)
This prevented the characters from reaching their full potential and causes tragedy. Racial discrimination was one of the aspects of the discrimination in this story. Consequently, Crooks had to battle with various difficulties and conflicts, which prevented him from reaching his full potential. The ranch hands did not let Crooks live, eat, and play with them because his skin colour was different. It led to the conflict between him and Lennie.
Crooks suffers from loneliness, because he is black, not because he is an unfriendly person. Crooks, though, may seem mean, but he is just tired of being rejected and disrespected by everybody around him. Crooks has a horrible life. He will never have a companion or anybody that will respect him unless he meets another black person. Crooks says,” I’ll tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick. (Pg. 73)” He doesn’t even have the opportunity to have a companion, and that is sad.
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.
Curley’s wife’s femininity may be seen as her greatest weakness or flaw to most, but she rapidly discovers that it is also her only weapon on the ranch and learns to use it to her advantage. Therefore, she puts up an alluring and sultry front in an attempt to receive attention, because she is aware that none of the men on the farm respect her because of her position as a woman. The men's blatant lack of respect for her belittles the miniscule amount of power she has acquired
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
Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men, by John Adolf Steinbeck Jr., American author and Pulitzer Prize winner, follows the lives of downtrodden farmhands, George and Lennie. As with many of Steinbeck's books, the themes in Of Mice and Men include his favored themes of class warfare and oppression of the working class. Steinbeck also focuses his literature on the power of friendship and the corrupt nature of mankind. In 1993, Professor Thomas Scarseth wrote a critical analysis of the novella analyzing many aspects of Steinbeck’s work including the presentation, themes, and writing style. In his essay, Scarseth explains the key themes of the Novella. He noted that the corrupted nature of man, the injustice of life, and the power of friendship were three important themes of the book. Much of Scarseth’s analysis contained numerous thoughtful insights. Were his insights and opinions valid, or were his, and Steinbeck’s, perspectives on these issues flawed?
4.) Curley's Wife- The only female character in the novel, Curley's wife is never given a name and is only referred to as "Curley's wife." Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. She is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life.
Kony 2012 was a film produced Invisible Children which went viral overnight. The video gained 31 million views in a single day and since has gathered almost over 99 million view on YouTube. The campaign was a 30-minute video made by filmmaker and Invisible Children co-founder Jason Russell can be considered a political documentary by traditional standards. The political documentary intended to persuade bystander viewers to hold certain beliefs about Kony, a leader of the rebel militia group the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. Viewers were asked to act immediately to raise awareness through social media, local campaigns and political advocacy to capture the rebel leader who kidnapped children. While the film raised a significant amount of money, it has been accused of engaging in “slaktivism” in which one takes action, which has little effect beyond making one feel like they have contributed.