In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck outlines many corrupt societal structures intended to exploit and demean individuals based on their perceived value: the inherent exploitative nature of the American Dream, the hierarchy of power in America based on an individual 's ability to work, and the way in which oppressive systems are maintained through a mis-projection of anger of the oppressed. The idea of the ‘American Dream’ motivates workers without giving them any actual gratification; individuals are led to believe that success is inevitable and thus abstain from carrying out the necessary work to achieve their long term goals, preventing lower class individuals from entering positions of power. The American Dream is the concept that …show more content…
The setting of this novel is the great depression, a time period of tremendous economic turmoil in which labor was seen as a necessity in order to revive the American economy. Steinbeck presents a plethora of disabled characters. Crooks has a crooked back as a physical handicap; however, this aspect of Crooks character does not deter his working ability (Steinbeck 76). Steinbeck does not include any moment in which Crooks is discriminated against for his disability, making the point that society isn’t prejudiced against individuals for the mere fact that they are disabled but rather that their disability prevents them from working; Crooks can work, and thus members of society do not feel the need to treat him unfairly due to his disability. To contrast Crooks, Steinbeck includes Both Candy’s dog and Lennie, whose disabilities impairs their capacity for work in some manner. Candy’s dog’s disability stems from age, as Carlson says, “ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive [...] That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I got old an’ a cripple.” (Steinbeck 45). Unlike Crooks, Candy’s dog’s handicap limits his ability to work and thus he is seen as undesirable. The manner in …show more content…
The 1930s were not a time of racial equality nor gender equality. There was a sharp increase in racial violence, and because there was a severe lack of jobs, african americans were often fired to ensure jobs were available to white men. Women 's working opportunities were also severely limited and much of the progress made by women towards gender equality was erased. Steinbeck includes Curley’s wife to demonstrate the gender inequality in this time period. Curley’s wife is so overlooked that she is barely even given an identity. Curley’s wife and Candy’s dog are the only two characters in the novel that don’t have names, through this parallel, Steinbeck brings to light the fact that women were treated no better than animals in this time. The other characters think of Curley’s wife as nothing but “jailbait” (Steinbeck 32) and isolate her because of this. Often one of the most detrimental effects of oppression on an individual is the isolation that comes with it. Humans are naturally social creatures, when isolated they grow resentful and angry, and often this anger is misplaced. Curley’s wife, for example, uses what status she does have in society to say to Crooks “I could
“(Candy) said miserably, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothin like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs.”’
In the time period that this story takes place women were believed to be lower than men. Hence why her name is just Curleys wife she is his property at that time there for she doesnot need a name. ( Steinbeck 23) This shows that she is not valued as a human being among the others and its not just because Curley doesnt want her flirting with the other guys she is an outcast. Another example of discrimination based on the time period this takes place is Crooks for his
Since the beginning of time in the United States, the idea of the American Dream has had a heavy influence on society. According to Document C, American Dream is defined as earning enough money to be happy, obtaining a worry-free lifestyle, and running in a high social circle. While working Americans still hold on to the hope of the American Dream, individuals from other countries often move to the United States with the hope that they too may have a piece of the pie. Despite the novelty and allure of the American Dream, it is nothing more than false hope.
Being the woman/ wife in the story makes curley 's wife a possession, and inanimate object,and nothing more than. This novella continuously beats the theme that women are objects to be used to the man’s desire and satisfaction into the reader. The statement Steinbeck makes in this novella should be familiar with everyone, but is especially close to the female population. Curley’s wife was not the first, nor is she the last woman to experience objectification and isolation due to her anatomy.
“…some horses snorted and stomped their feet.” Steinbeck shows a certain level of power asserted by Curley’s Wife that even animals are wary of her presence. Steinbeck also shows a nasty side to Curley’s Wife because she is being ignore by the men she felt vulnerable and lonely. “Listen nigger she said. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap.”
(Josselyn) Curley’s Wife can be mistaken for an antagonist in the story because she is only described through the men’s point of view. Workers on the ranch view her in one way: as a cause for trouble. The old sweeper, Candy, sheds his perspective on us when he describes her on page 32, saying, “Jesus, what a tramp. So that’s what Curley picks for a wife” (Steinbeck). As men arrive for work, they are flooded with the opinions of all of the existing others.
Finally, Steinbeck dehumanizes Curley by the negative criticism that always pursues her and her loss of identity when accompanying someone or something. This is why she is always commonly known as “Curley’s Wife”, proving that she is an unimportant and insignificant character in this book. Plus, everybody in the book says that Curley’s wife causes trouble for everyone; as George says, “She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger,” (Steinbeck, 49) and is constantly getting blame for all that goes wrong in Soledad; as Candy says, You God damn tramp. You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad.
In such time of the Great Depression and gender equality, this novel presents the character of sexism, Curley’s wife, to show how her dreams has been achieved through death. During her talk with Lennie, she tells him that she “‘[...]never get[s] to talk to nobody [and that she] get[s] awfully lonely’” (Steinbeck 86). Even though she is depicted as a flirtatious, “‘[...]purty [...] bitch’”, her true life was lonely and segregated from the male ranchers (Steinbeck 32). Steinbeck applies this paradox in the story to picture the reader about how a character’s identity can either encourage or ruin his or her reasons to live and achieve a future.
Curley’s Wife dealt with adversity throughout the novel, specifically discrimination based on gender bias. She did not overcome the subjugation, and it wasn't possible for her to do so in the world that she lived in because women were viewed as less than men as well as property in that world. In the novel George asserted, “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch… I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her.” (Steinbeck 32) Steinbeck used this quote to express the discrimination against Curley's Wife, indicating that people thought poorly of her because she was a woman. Lennie is another character that Steinbeck wrote to deal with discrimination, but instead of gender bias he dealt with disability discrimination.
The “American Dream” has been set in stone by the founding fathers since birth of the United States. This concept has always been discussed in every history lecture that we have sat through from elementary school to college. But, why discuss about the American dream in every history class since its debut? The purpose of the lectures is to discuss about how the “American Dream” affects the American people. In result, The “American Dream” has sparked a lot of controversies and debates for decades about the topic of if the “American Dream” is an unrealistic goal or if it is possible that anyone can achieve it.
Some people have to work twice as hard as others, but that does not mean they will never earn what they deserve. Just because the American Dream seems impossible does not mean that it is. Of Mice and Men is a cruel reminder of the fact that the American Dream is a difficult goal, but it also shows readers that they should never stop working toward their goals, no matter what challenges they
The Failure of the American Dream in the Context of The Great Gatsby Sun Seo Jeon 전순서 20140880 The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, which is a belief that anyone, regardless of their social class and the situation they are born into, is given opportunities to achieve their own version of success. It is emphasized that American dream is achieved through sacrifice and hard work, not just by chance. This meant to motivate Americans to attain prosperity and happiness. However, there is an ironic interplay between idealism and materialism in this statement of American Dream; the dream suggests hope, opportunity and equality, but in reality, it is to become rich and of higher social status, which is only
In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrayed a political statement by looking at mental and physical disabilities through different characters such as Curley's Wife, Crooks, and Lennie. Curley's wife is used to represent how women were treated during the 1930’s and almost treated with a disability. Women were portrayed as the help and they were supposed to stay home and work while the strong brave men went out and got money to support the family. By Steinbeck not giving Curley's wife a name he is showing how she is connected to Curly with an Invisible rope.
The novellas Of Mice and Men and The Pearl are both often noted as social criticisms. The author, John Steinbeck addresses real-life issues that society is facing. Whether through direct statements and comments, or through a fictional characters’ situation, Steinbeck criticizes just some of the problems of society. He shows the way people are discriminated against, and why. He shows the issues society faces.
World of Sexism Due to the Great Depression, women’s rights took a back seat to employment and poverty. It was believed that women shouldn’t work but stay at home, clean, cook, and raise their children. The prejudice against women in the society was great back in the 1930s for they were degraded and underestimated. All the rights they had gained in the 1920s were neglected and the women were once again maltreated. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the victim of sexism is Curley’s wife who is so insignifact that even a name was not provided for her.