The definition of a sympathetic character is one whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, though not necessarily admire. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife, a main character in the book is blatantly portrayed as an unsympathetic character. This is because they only see her through the men's eyes, who only see her as a tiresome object, owned by her husband. Steinbeck’s portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair and misogynistic because he only displays her as unintelligent and promiscuous, never has a character have a turning point where they realize she’s more than an object, and he never reveals her true name. The first reason that Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair is that he never gives Curley any redeeming personality traits, he only depicts her as unintelligent and promiscuous. Making her physical features, such as her red nail polish, the most important part of her character. This is made obvious by the ranchers when they talk about her, as George says, “I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her. You leave her be." And, “Jesus, what a tramp. So that's what Curley picks for a wife”(67). This is unfair because if Steinbeck wanted to make readers question the misogyny occurring in the book he would have given her redeeming …show more content…
She was only written with negative character traits which made it so characters or readers were never able to sympathize with her. Next, no character ever had a turning point where they saw Curley’s wife as more than exactly that, Curley’s wife. And finally, he never gave her a name. There was a great imbalance between sexism and making the readers question the sexism. If Steinbeck had chosen to give the woman some justice the message against sexism would have been stronger. Tragically, now all the woman can really be remembered for is her cruel words, and red nail
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Show MoreThe characters in “Of Mice and Men” have memorable personalities that we all can relate to due to their set archetypes. John Steinbeck uses these common and generalized in order to have the readers relate more to his characters. This allows the reader to experience the story and feelings of the characters much better and lets the reader to connect to the character’s feelings, or force the reader to form opinions that aligns with those of the main protagonist(s). In “Of Mice of Men”, readers are initially introduced to Curley’s Wife with words such as “tart”, and having “the eye”. Which, even if readers do not know what that means, it may be inferred through diction that she is overly flirty, or a “tramp”.
Curley’s wife also states, as she targets Crooks, “Well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (81). Curley's wife feel she needs to prove her own authority as Curley’s wife by picking on social outcasts, because she knows she has no power over anyone else on the entire ranch and she is tired of feel empowered all the time. She uses her beauty to give her power over the men, and her position as a white person and the boss’ son’s wife to pick on a social outcast, such as a black person like
The human condition is something we as people all experience, and through it we develop as people. Some people grow up having great lives, and others go through the worst of it. Most people, good lives or not share sympathy for one another and what they go through. The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is an incredible novel that deals heavily with character sympathy. The story is about two migrant workers who travel to a ranch to work towards buying a stake of land later in life.
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.
Loneliness is a very common In Of Mice and Men, loneliness is a very common thing, the men who work on the farms travel from farm to farm usually alone, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don 't belong no place. They come to a ranch an ' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they 're poundin ' their tail on some other ranch.
First off, while everyone in the story has a name or nickname, even Crooks, Curley’s Wife is never given a name. She is the only
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.
Unit Two Essay Murderers can be heroes too. In John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” many of his characters are archetypes, including the outcasts. Three interesting pariahs have been deeply analyzed and compared to archetypal characters, settings, and objects. These characters are an unnamed woman labeled simply as “Curley’s wife,” a negro ranch worker named Crooks, and a “slow,” yet powerful “companion” called Lennie.
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.
The Death of The Unborn Female American Dream Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, takes place during the time of The Great Depression; an era extremely difficult for women. The novella contains many iconic characters that serve as a metaphor to our societal standards. Curley’s wife is introduced just like any other; however, the emphasis on her feminine features are metaphoric to where women stand in society. In order to prove that society makes it impossible for certain people to attain The American Dream, Steinbeck objectifies, sexualizes, and kills Curley’s wife to show that women cannot reach The American Dream. Steinbeck uses specific vocabulary to objectify Curley’s wife; alienating her from The American Dream.
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 reader is positioned to view her negatively as she uses her beauty as power to seduce the workers on the farm and make her husband jealous. The men often complain about her throughout the novel, calling her names that no woman would ever appreciate. Candy tells George and Lennie his honest opinion of Curley’s wife, “You know what I think?” George did not answer. “Well, I think Curley’s married…a tart.”
The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley only caring about his social appearance. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has given you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. Steinbeck shows the human condition of men while they survive in the American depression.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (1937) is an intensely-focused novella that deals with friendship, trust, the relationship between good and evil and the role of justice. It is the second book in Steinbeck’s trilogy about agricultural labour, alongside with In Dubious Battle (1936) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). The title, inspired by a line in the poem The Mouse (1875) by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (The best-laid schemes o' mice an ‘men / gang aft agley), encapsulates the spirit of the narration.