John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, takes place during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, in the Salinas Valley, California. It establishes the prospect of the American Dream, discrimination,loneliness, and disenfranchisement through its characters. George and Lennie provided the value of the American Dream, to which the leading female role, Curley’s wife, represents how women are exempt from the American Dream, and appeared as less than equal to men. She developed a form of loneliness throughout the course of the novel. The novella seeks to demonstrate the way of which life was like for the characters of all different statuses and backgrounds. Through Curley’s wife’s character, we are able to see how life was like for a women during …show more content…
She was repeatedly attacked against and viewed as less than a human. This quote from the text, “Seen the new kid yet?”(51), gives a correlation of dependent children seeking others for help, to how women were given no power by the society and needed to be dependent on others to fulfill their lives. In earlier days children were heavily disciplined and had no real connection with their parents, that correlates to Curley’s wife’s resemblance to being lonely with no stable connection. They cannot obtain the same, or any, freedom as a man. Consequently, this leads into the next quote, “ Why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?”(62), that resembles the recurring childlike personna that is following Curley’s wife’s character. In that time gender roles played a substantial part in society. Women were expected to be housewives, tening to their husbands, and to what a women had expected of her. Curley’s wife’s main identification to being dehumanized is the lack of even giving her a name. The novella only introduces her as being “Curley’s wife”. She was not able to reach full human potential in the novel and was broken down to the point where she is nameless and simply less than a …show more content…
Accordingly,within the ranch is the town Soledad, which means alone and gives the meaning behind the characters sense of loneliness that was also influenced by the inability of achieving their dreams. Steinbeck’s quotes, “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad” (87), that represents the concept that Curley’s wife was traped on the ranch knowing no one else but Curley himself. Before marrying Curley, Curley’s wife had hopes and dreams for being a successful actor. Both of the dreams were influenced and left undiscovered by her mother’s actions. Her inability of achieving her dreams influenced her sense of loneliness as she was then truly alone with nothing left to hold onto and to have going for her. This led to her marriage with Curley and she reminisces how life could’ve been like for her as an actor. Curley’s wife quotes, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me.”(89) that represents her wishful hoping for the dreams she was unable to achieve. This is parrell with the idea of women being exempt from the American Dream. Curley’s wife’s lack of interaction takes a toll on the overall image of her character. Steinbeck quotes , “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” that presents the isolation she faces on a day to day
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Show MoreCurley’s married woman is talked about before she is seen in the book. The first existent reference of her is ‘wife. ’ Already it has been established that she has no name. she is merely Curley’s married woman. The work forces see her as a adult females.
Curley’s wife is one of the most alienated characters in the novel Of Mice and Men, if not the most alienated and isolated character as it is displayed through her being nameless, being very flirtatious, and the perception of her by the men on the ranch. Indeed, the author constantly is showing that how regardless if you are amongst people or have company, but however there is no sensation of love what so ever, it is just as equal to living a life through despair and desolation. Whenever Curley’s wife appears in the book she is either looking for her husband or other company to converse with, however it has a reverse notation and it pours out of her in resentment and disillusion as she states, “Why can’t I talk to you?I never get to talk to
Misconception Curley’s wife, who was never to be named, was a complex and important main character in John Steinbeck's novelette “Of Mice & Men.”. She had a complicated past from aspiring to be a young actress but never getting the support needed from her family. She was practically forced into marriage with Curley; she never actually loved him. From the first time she was brought up in the novelette, she was portrayed as a flirtatious, ignorant tramp. This portrayal, however, is based on the viewpoints of Steinbeck’s male characters.
They are odd, in the eyes of the other workers, because they travel together. They meet Curley’s wife, the daughter-in-law of the owner of the ranch, who happens to be the sole woman on the farm. The workers’ colored views of women portray Curley’s wife as a negative character before her true self is revealed later in the book, as she nears her death. Through the worker’s assumptions and diction, Steinbeck demonstrates how negative stereotypes drive negative behaviors and beliefs.
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.
The author showed that Curley's wife is an outcast by not giving her a name at any point in the novel. This makes it obvious that women are treated less than men, especially at this time. The book’s setting is the 1930s around the time of the Great Depression (Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Ketcham). During this time women were looked at and treated as less than men in almost every aspect of daily life. Steinbeck wanted to keep her unnamed to show that she was a stray.
Curley’s wife is described as an attention seeking woman who is desperate and yearns for recognition because of her loneliness and her unsuccessful dream of being an actress. In section 6, Curley’s wife desperately tells Lennie her story of when she was young, she was promised fame and a chance to be on a show, “but my (Curley’s wife) ol’ lady wouldn’ let me (Curley’s wife)”. This expresses that there are always obstacles that prevent people from succeeding just like how her mother refuses to let her be in the show and be an actress to get the attention she always yearns for. People start off with great potential, viewing their dream as obtainable and as their biggest motivation, but in this cruel world, they are only reaching for a tragic aim. Moreover, Curley’s wife expresses that she will never stay in a place where she “couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself (herself)”, but what she does contradicts what she says, instead of having a better life or gaining recognition, she marries Curley and is back into a similar or even worse situation she started from.
Things start off well, but take a turn quickly. George and Lennie are the main characters, but some of the other characters can be deeply examined too, through different literary lenses. Curley’s wife is one of these characters, whom could be identified by many literary lenses. However, we will focus on one lens, the Gender lens.
This shows how much she wants to go looking for companionship. Her detachment to the world around her forces her to look elsewhere. She has a pent-up resentment to so many people, including her own mother. This resentment had occurred as a result of how her mother forced her to let go her dream of being an actress. She formed a detachment to her mother because of that.
Someone once said, “A villain is just a victim whose story hasn’t been told.” The character known as Curley’s Wife in Of Mice and Men is portrayed in John Steinbeck’s writing as an antagonist. Multiple time throughout the book she is insulted by the men, who call her things such as a tramp, or a tart. As the story continues, there are many hidden indications that she could be seen as a much simpler, innocent presence, rather than an evil. When looked at more in depth, Curley’s Wife can be seen as a victimized character.
Steinbeck created a certain image of women by portraying Curley’s wife as she is. The impression of women that was left was not too kind. “Well, I think Curley’s married… a tart… He ain’t the first… there’s plenty done that. ”(Steinbeck 28).
Sexism is shown in the book when Curley’s wife is regarded as a bitch merely owing to the fact that she is flirtatious and wears appealing clothes. People are prejudiced against Curley’s wife because she is a woman and also because she wears makeup and dresses. She is constantly called derogatory terms throughout the book simply because of her appearance and coquettish actions. She is perceived as Curley’s property so she is not to be looked at or spoken to.
Similarly to Lennie, Curley’s wife also feels left out and different from everyone else. She is not considered a “normal” wife, or have a “normal” hope for her future. Most people during this time hoped to get married and become a housewife; Curley 's wife aspired to be an actress and only married Curley when it did not work out. Curley’s wife told Lennie, “I ast her if she stole it, too, an’ she said no. So I married Curley (Steinbeck 88).”
Curley’s Wife: The Struggle of Getting Out From Her Cage Throughout literature, women who are characterized as shameless temptresses are often the way they are because of a desperation to break away from society’s oppression of low-class, uneducated females. This is never more true than for Curley’s wife in the fictional novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Through considerate yet concise descriptions of her fantasy of Hollywood stardom, putting down of others, and attention-seeking ways, Curley’s wife is revealed to be a downtrodden female who suffers from her own internal, emotional conflict. Curley’s wife muses about her Hollywood ideal as a reassurance that she is a woman of worth and potential.
This scene shows that Curley’s wife never wanted to be on the farm, she wanted to go be a star and get out of her small town. This dream ended when she married Curley, who moved her to an even smaller town. In addition, during this time period it was practically impossible for women to divorce their husbands. This meant she couldn’t leave Curley, even in the name of the law.