Sexism In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men illustrates the downfall of two lonely men. who have only each other to depend upon. Many of George and Lennie’s struggles come from things they cannot control, such as Lennie’s mental illness and the fact that both men are stuck in the dead-end pursuit of rural labor in 1930’s America. However, the greatest tragedy in this story comes from the simple fact that Lennie is left alone with Curley’s wife because Curley’s wife is the true villain in Of Mice and Men; she alone causes the trouble that leads to Lennie’s death. In his novella, Steinbeck examines the different ways that men and women express their power, and while the men in his tale rely upon the power of physical strength to assert their place in society,

There are many indications that this is true, but three reasons stand out specifically. First, her character is described in one point of view only; the point of view of the men is the only told perspective in the book. Second, Curley’s Wife was forced to settle for less. She even goes to say this directly in the story. Lastly, she has a deep sense of isolation from being the lone woman on the ranch. In this John Steinbeck piece, the theme of a villain having a sense of victimization can be proved through the character of Curley’s

In one of John Steinbeck’s novels, Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is always marginalized due to the fact that she is a woman. Curley's wife is, without a doubt, not treated with much respect. She is barely given any importance by the men at the ranch. A very evident way this is shown is her name. Her real name isn't mentioned even once in the entire

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

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

A symbol is anything that represents a larger idea, especially a material object representing something compact. A symbol can also represent a theme or moral to the story. It gives the reader something deeper to think about, and find other possible connections to different characters or objects overall. The novella Of Mice and Men captures many deep connections and displays various themes for the reader to obtain. Steinbeck uses numerous symbols that grow into greater themes throughout the novella such as Curley’s wife, the bunkhouse, and Candy’s dog.

Sexism is an important topic when one discusses society. The issue of sexism has always been prominent. With the definition of prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex. In Of Mice and Men, author John Steinbeck showed how men thought about and treated women through the character Curley’s wife.

Curley’s wife has always been taught to sell her-self, whether it was to a road show or into the hands of a husband. Richard Hart recognizes that Curley’s wife is more like a store bought good, rather than an actual wife and writes, “Curley’s wife views herself as a commodity, and an object of sensuality” (36). Curley’s wife’s dream was to be an actress on a traveling road show, but she is too ignorant to realize that that dream is long gone and selling herself is not in the least bit attractive or becoming of a young woman. Stein-beck characterizes the men on the ranch as male chauvinists who cannot fathom a woman ever being half as important as themselves. “Curley’s wife stands as a glaringly bitter and ironic illus-tration of the immorality of narrow minds and the social conditions that produce them” (Hart 39). No one on the ranch gives Curley’s wife the respect that a young, beautiful woman deserves, but she also has been treated so low her whole life that she does not demand respect. For exam-ple, “Curley’s wife is not given a proper name. Apparently she does not merit it;” Curley’s wife never takes notice to her name never being used, which is

To begin, Steinbeck demonstrates the adverse impacts of sexism in this novel through the character of Curley’s wife. In the beginning of the book, Curley’s wife is

To conclude, Curley’s wife in the 1937 novel Of Mice & Men is an accurate portrayal of the sexism during the ‘30s. She was mistreated by her husband, dehumanized, and forced into a life she never wanted. John Steinbeck was sexist in his writing, but simply because the time he lived in was as well, Curley’s wife being a victim of its horrors, rather than a

Archetypes are a manifestation of how our minds envision the roles of characters, these characters come in the form of the hero, villain, temptress, damsel, monster, and mentor. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, we follow the story of two men who struggle to pull through to survive horrible times, on their journey they come across other characters that fulfill the roles of the archetypes. The archetype in discussion is the villain archetype which is the evildoer of a story usually a person who commits a crime against society or against a couple of people. One character in particular that fills the archetype of the villain is Curley, he has an aura of evil that resonates from his attitude and his actions, which triggers people

Prejudice, it’s something humans all do naturally. Everybody, no matter what race, appearance and family history, have some level of prejudice against others. In the novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife, Candy, and Crooks are discriminated against, ‘picked on’ and there are certain degrees of prejudice they are treated with. These characters are crucial in providing the audience or the reader with evidence that prejudice is a human fault and the way in which these characters were treated, is to be expected.

“She’s gonna make a mess, they’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s a jailbait all set on the trigger”. Of Mice and Men show’s George and Lennie’s path to their American dream. They are starting off as laborers in California in the Salina’s Valley and live in a hand-to-mouth lifestyle on a ranch. The novel portrays many male characters than female. The women shown by Steinback are Curley’s Wife, Susy, and Aunt Clara and are given somewhat respect. Even though there are not many female characters, John Steinbeck symbolizes them as archetypes throughout the book he indicates sexism of women being at the bottom of the social hierarchy in a male workplace. Although all women in the novel are portrayed differently, on some level as authority figures, they differ in the amount of respect received

One example showing Curley’s wife being a troublemaker is when George first met her, he was very cautious. He said, “She’s gonna make a mess. They’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s jail bait all set on the trigger”’(51). He then warns Lennie about being around her. George will not allow Lennie to spend time with her, because he is afraid that it would cause a quarrel. Later on in the novel, Crooks, Lennie, and Candy are talking when suddenly Curley’s wife appeared. Then men stop talking, and Crooks says to her, ‘“You gotta

As Letty Cottin Pogrebin once said, “ When men are oppressed it’s a tragedy. When women are oppressed it’s simply tradition.” Many women have to deal with sexism in everyday basis; sexism is the prejudice or discrimination based on the sex of a person. Trough 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.