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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 ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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,
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.
excited one. He now has hope of doing something and it came from the "dream
Curley’s wife is a complex, main character in John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men”. She is introduced as an insignificant secondary character, but evidently posses the importance of causing the end of the novella. Despite the weight of her role, her value is hindered because of the culture towards women in the 1930s. Steinbeck uses imagery, foreshadowing, and metaphors to show loneliness analyzed through a Feminist Lens.
Curley’s wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch. The way she looks and acts leads other characters in the novel to see her as a “tart”. George makes his opinions clear just after he first met her “Jesus, what a tramp”, and “So that’s what Curley picks for a wife”. She just wants some one to talk to. Males on the ranch don’t like her because they think she will get them into trouble. They make judgments without getting to know her first. They judge a book by its cover. Curley, her husband doesn’t trust her with the other ranch hands. She was just out of place on the ranch, and because of that, must have been a really lonely person with lonely feelings.
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
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,
Curley’s wife always hide her identity from people and told everyone she ‘ coulda made somethin of myself’ and uses her mum as an excuse of not achieving her dream which I think is a lie because she is trying to hide the shame that she couldn’t make anything of herself as it is a disappointment after all. This is why she always shows off her past to other men in the ranch and I suppose is the reason why men were out off