Everyone has a handicap, there’s something inside of everyone that either physically or mentally holds them back. Crooks? He’s black. Lennie? He’s retarded. Candy? He’s old. All of these are few of the countless handicaps John Steinbeck put onto his characters when writing Of Mice and Men. One “handicap” in particular separates a character from all of the rest, arguably putting her at the bottom of the totem pole. Curley’s Wife, her handicap being the only female on the farm. In the 1930’s, this outweighs every handicap by leaps and bounds. Depriving her of rights, outcasting her from society, and stripping her of her American Dream are few ways Curley’s Wife has it the worst in the novella. But as shown countless times, Curley’s Wife’s biggest handicap is her gullibility.
Women’s role in the 1930’s was quite simple, do as told by the man. No more, no less. This simple role snatched the rights of women right before their eyes, reducing them to just a maid beckoning to man’s
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But this is all taken away from her at a young age. Curley’s Wife’s Mom shut down Curley’s Wife’s dream long before Curley could ever imagine to. When offered a show spot by an actor that had been coming through, Curley’s Wife’s Mom immediately refused the offer, leaving Curley’s Wife to do nothing but watch it vanish before her own eyes. “A show come through, an’ I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ‘ol lady wouldn’t let me. She says because I was only fifteen. But the guy says I coulda went. If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet.”(88). Though only a small flashback on Curley’s Wife’s past, it has a huge impact on how the viewer sees her. Curley could’ve gone off and lived her real American Dream, she could’ve went big and never had to look back. But this was all taken away from her, all because she's a
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.
Steinbeck expresses the theme of loneliness in the character of Candy. Candy is lonely because his is missing half an arm. Candy?s disability separates him from society, an example of Curley being set aside is when everybody else goes to town he is left in the barn with Crooks, Lennie, and Curley?s wife. Candy?s only friendship was with his old, smelly dog. Candy?s dog was a symbol of himself (old, and useless). When Carlson kills Candy?s dog he kills Candy on the inside as well.
In the story Of Mice and Men there were many handicaps that Steinbeck decided to speak upon. One was the fact that Crooks was a crippled stable man, Lennie who was mentally disabled, and Candy who lost his hand in an accident and is always worried about keeping his job (Attel). All three of these characters were left behind for reasons. All three had handicaps that prevented them from getting along normally in society. All three of these characters had handicaps, b...
...ntally disabled people prevented Lennie from being trusted and be respected as a human being. In this novel, discrimination that Lennie had to face prevented him from showing his abilities.
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.
In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, published in 1937, many characters are depicted as having a turbulent and continuously changing relationship with power. In the case of Curley’s wife, her power, or lack thereof, derives from her status of being the only woman on the ranch during a time when females were viewed as being inferior and subordinate to men. In some instances, Curley’s wife uses her femininity to her advantage to flirt with the various men on the ranch and obtain information from them. She is aware of her beauty and the control over men this gives her and she realizes that a seductive attitude can be used to manipulate others. Although, ultimately, being a woman is her downfall. The men on the ranch ridicule her and dismiss
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.
“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.
One character who faces discrimination is Curley’s wife. As she is the only woman on the ranch, she is left alone, and mostly ignored. Being married to Curley doesn’t help; it only gives the men more reason to keep their distance. “‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?’”(87). Being lonely, she tries to attract the men on the ranch. This leads to her spending time with Lennie. As she entices him to pet her hair, her fate is sealed. Her attempt to avoid loneliness costs her something she holds dear: her life.
One of the many themes in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is women, they have no privilege and are seen as nothing but trouble. During his lifetime women are also seen as lower class citizens. Some of the women in the novel are Curley’s wife and the prostitutes, they are just seen as sexual objects. Throughout the story, Steinbeck expresses the great dislike for the women, through how the men feel about Curley’s wife. By the time the readers finally meet Curley’s wife, they already have a negative opinion about her.
From physical and mental abuse to injustice, females regardless of any race or color became one of the main groups in society considered divergent and negligible--much like the discrimination that has segregated African Americans from the rest of society. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck stresses how much men and civilization both negated women. By using several scenarios within the novel to show how most of the men felt and thought about Curley's wife. Even though Curley's wife was only a minor female character in the novel, her role as a woman was not only important to both the reader but also women. In order to show and represent the role of women Steinbeck purposely left out Curley's wife name for the purpose of.
Curley’s wife is treated like trash, with disrespect as it reflects the hatred of women during 1930s. Curley’s wife's’ hair was pulled out by Lennie, “She jerked her head sideways, and Lennie's fingers closed on her hair and hung on” (Steinbeck 91). The lack of women in Of Mice and Men shows reflects the pain brought about women during the early 20th
Curley’s wife already knows that Lennie and George’s dream is corrupted even through the hard work they’d put in because Curley’s wife experienced a similar aspect when not achieving her goal. As a matter of fact, when Curley’s wife is lonely and Lennie is all she has to talk to she concedes, “And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him. ‘Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothe- all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I could sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me. When they had them previews I could went to them, an’ spole in the radio, an’ it wouldn’ta cost me a cent because I was in the pitcher.
Curley’s wife has also experienced the pain of losing dreams. When she never got the letter about her acting career back, she panicked and married into a miserable household constantly reminiscing about what could have been. She confides in Lennie that she didn’t “used to [live] like this” and how she “coulda made somethin’ of
During Curley’s wives’ time on the ranch she dreams of what her lonely life could have been like. One example of this is the following statement, “I lived right in Salinas” she said. Come there when I was a kid. Well, a show come through, an I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show.