Stereotypes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“‘Well, you been askin’ me too often, I’m gettin’ God damn sick of it. If you can’t look after your own Goddamn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me” (Steinbeck 62). When Curley cannot find his wife, he becomes quarrelsome and confrontational, putting others in danger. Due to Curley’s wife not staying by her husband’s side, the other ranchers’ duties as well as the lives are put on the line, considering Curley’s amount of power on the farm and his well-known wrestling career.

Of Mice and Men is a miniature scale of our society as a whole, and this belittling can be seen in society on a greater scale with racism, sexism, ageism, and discrimination of the disabled.

John Steinbeck’s 1937 historical fiction novella, Of Mice and Men, is filled with issues that are still current today, and in the story, he hints at his own belief set. Some topics found in the book, which was set during the United States’ Great Depression, discussed sexism, prejudice, and friendships. These can be and are as difficult to discuss approximately eighty years later. Throughout the story, characters who are prejudice use victims to make themselves feel better about who they are, showing their own insecurities about their position. Steinbeck shows this idea, people’s way of expressing insecurities, throughout the book.

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.

As society has become an integral part of the world’s culture, the opinions and misconceptions of others have dominated the way people live. Throughout history, certain groups and ideas have been suppressed by the ones in charge. These actions have sprouted an almost universal indifference to those deemed less than ideal, and therefore created a divide in the way society sees race, age groups and even gender. Coupled with the Great Depression, these beliefs are the driving force for the majority of problems individuals experience in the text. In the novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the device of conflict to portray the external struggles of characters living in the era of the Great Depression.

John Steinbeck is an author famously known for his work in books such as The Grapes Of Wrath, Cannery Row, East Of Eden, and others. John became well-recognized for his extreme social realism and his naturalism which allowed his work to reach a new more profound meaning. In John’s most famous novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicted life as one of seclusion and stereotype. In particular, the author views Curley's wife's life as one of temptation and insignificance.

Being forced to kill someone would be really emotional, but imagine if that person was your best friend. In John Steinbeck’s book “Of Mice and Men” George and Lennie have been together since they were kids. Lennie idolized George and George, as often as he gets mad at him, still loves Lennie. They run from their old town of Weed to get a job as ranch hands in Salinas Valley. From there they meet many people, most of which welcomed them, while some had a harder time accepting them.

Steinbeck creates contrasting images of Curley’s wife by using literary techniques such as pathetic fallacy, juxtaposition and irony. Body 1: When Curley’s wife is first introduced into the novella it isn’t in person, it is through rumours and gossip. Evidence of this is when George is talking to Candy and Candy describes Curley’s wife as a “tart” who has “the eye”. This provides the reader with only a description of a married woman who is immoral and only causes trouble for the ranch hands. Specifically, the word “tart” dismisses her as a person and rids the reader of any thoughts about her having feelings.

He made her stay in the house all day. Unwilling to comply, she would sneak out to talk to the workmen. The men on the farm however, percived curleys wife as a “tramp”, beacuase of the sexual image she brought upon herself. Making them stop approching and conversing with her. she felt alone, seeing that she had no friends, no future,

(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.

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, on their journey they come across other characters that fulfill the roles of the archetypes. One character in particular that fills the archetype of the villain is Curley. Curley has an aura of evil that resonates from his attitude and his actions, which triggers people to act defensively around him for self-preservation.

In conclusion, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck furthers Steinbeck’s speech by illustrating how dreams can be crushed, as well as people feeling lonely and worthless when they are discriminated against, whether it be racism or sexism. By illustrating what happens when these isms are present in society, Steinbeck is demonstrating exactly why they should not be existent. Discrimination has lasting negative effects that can only be prevented by treating everyone as equals. To end, a n unknown wise man once said “Treat the janitor with the same respect as the

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.

In result of Curley’s wife being hurt by other’s expectations and failures, she belittles those who are weaker than her in social class and body. Curley’s wife once wanted to become a movie star, however her famous connection ended up betraying her, leaving her bitter and stuck in an unhappy marriage. By socializing with Lennie and Crooks, she betrays her husband’s trust in her, along with hurting Crooks. Her life ends when Lenny loses control of his own power and snaps her neck. Through Curley’s wife, Steinbeck portrays his dark belief of human connection: that humans are hurt and then hurt others around them, in a tireless

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.