Of Mice And Men's Treatment Of Women In The 1930s

Of Mice & Men John Steinbeck’s Of Mice & Men is a novel packed with racial and gender inequalities. The way it portrayed the character of Curley’s wife is particularly interesting and spoken about, and for good reason. Throughout the novel, Curley’s wife – who, accordingly, was never called anything else – was consistently dehumanized, and forced to fit into certain stereotypes. It’s also worth noting that Curley is an abusive husband towards her. Curley’s wife is a victim of sexism, correctly depicted by Steinbeck’s illustration of how society used to be.

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.

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).”

There was nowhere in the novel that states there was another female. Curley’s wife didn’t have or wasn’t allowed to have any friends at the ranch. This would contribute to as why she is so lonely. When she did try to make friends with the ranch hands Curley would get mad or they would ignore her. Curley’s wife didn’t understand why they would never talk to her.

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).

John Steinbeck explains how Curley, the boss’s son, is not involved in his wife’s life, because he spends all his time talking about the ways he is going to seek revenge, as a result Curley’s wife gets lonely and is tempted to flirt with the men on the ranch. When Curley's wife tried speaking to Crooks, but he also rejected her fiercely and she said to Crook “ Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever once in awhile, think I like to stick around in the house all time and listen to what Curley is going to do to the other men”(Steinbeck 77). Since Curley’s wife is not getting attention from her husband, she is forced to seek attention from other men in the bunkhouse. Curley’s wife is very loyal to Curley, but because Curley is not involved in her life she complains to other men like Lennie saying “I never get to talk to anybody. I get awful lonely”(Steinbeck 85).

After the Great Depression in 1929, America’s economy was devastated. The increase of farming across the Great Plains states caused the precious soil to erode, turning the once fertile grassland to a desert like Dust Bowl. Hundreds of farmers and workers migrated to California in search of jobs aiming for the American Dream. The American Dream is the hopes and the goals of the characters in which they can obtain a better life through their hard work. In Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is portrayed to be extremely vital for the men as it serves as their motivation, yet ultimately proves to be unattainable through the memorable characters of Lennie, George and Curley’s wife.

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. Author John Steinbeck explores multiple real life issues in both works, and provides a message of how unfair the world is, as well as show how cruel humans can be to differences.

Curley’s wife was never thought of, by the men on the ranch, as anything other than Curley’s wife. They continually talk about her and what she does and how she is ‘flirts’ with all of the men. Curley’s wife tells Lennie how she could have done more with her life if she had not have married Curley. She described to Lennie about how she was about to be a movie star and everything but her mother stopped her so she married Curley. Curley’s wife also describes how Curley treats her and how she wants to leave and do something with her life.

Is being a woman something someone should be blamed for? Growing up as a woman in the 1900s was very unfair for all females. They had less rights and were treated as if they were prized possessions. A book that provides insight into this topic is Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. In the book, the only female character is married to the boss’ son, Curly. Curly and his wife 's relationship has no true love involved and according to Curley 's wife, the marriage is very forceful. In fact, we do not even know the name of Curley 's wife! In Of Mice and Men, it is illusive that Curley 's wife is treated poorly and has an unfair life. All Curley 's wife wanted to do was talk with the other ranchers instead she is considered a tart for talking to other

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.

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.

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.

Of Mice and Men which takes place in the 1930’s, Steinbeck’s discussion on sexism is still an obstacle that faces society today. John Steinbeck wrote about sexism as a social issue in his 1937 novel Of Mice and Men, and, even though there have been some immense improvements in the role of women in society, the problem still stands today. Because John Steinbeck saw sexism as an important social issue in his time he wrote about it in his novel Of Mice and Men. How Curley's wife is treated by all the men in the ranch displays how women were treated back in the 1930’s. In the novel the readers are not given the name of Curley’s wife; she is being displayed as property.

Being forced to kill someone would be really emotional, but imagine if that person was your best