John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'
Bethany anne
Period 3
Ms lutrell
Feb 5th
John Steinbeck 's classic novella “Of Mice and Men” revolves around the escapades of George Milton and his mentally handicapped friend Lennie Smalls as they try to “make their stake” and “live off the fatta’ the land” (steinbeck, 17) During this short lived scheme, they meet Curley 's wife. Curley 's wife, driven by loneliness, tries to befriend Lennie. This attempt of companionship ends as Lennie panics and snaps her neck in a quick few shakes. She died simply as she lived, nameless and easy. Steinbeck objectifies Curley 's wife to reveal that regardless of a woman 's appearance or drive, she will never achieve her dream.
Curley’s wife is mislead her entire life to believe she is star material, by
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On George and Lennie 's first night at the ranch, they share gossip with Carlson about curley and his infamous glove. “You seen that glove on his left hand? Well, that glove 's fulla vaseline. I tell ya what- Curley says he’s keepin that hand soft for his wife” (steinbeck 27). Gross or what? This truly displays the very little concern the men have for that woman. Did they point out it was gross? Not really. Who said curley 's wife wanted a soft hand, let alone a hand at all? 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. Steinbeck displayed the vicious cycle of sexism and how the demands of man conspire against morality of man. Curley’s wife was pretty and sought after by some, but seen as dirty and dangerous to others. Her appearance made her desirable but her resistance in submitting entirely deemed her unattractive or dangerous, just as many real women are
Compare And Contrast What's Eating Georny Grape And Of Mice And Men
1148 Words | 5 Pages“‘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.
Stereotypes In Of Mice And Men
975 Words | 4 PagesIn the time period that this story takes place women were believed to be lower than men. Hence why her name is just Curleys wife she is his property at that time there for she doesnot need a name. ( Steinbeck 23) This shows that she is not valued as a human being among the others and its not just because Curley doesnt want her flirting with the other guys she is an outcast. Another example of discrimination based on the time period this takes place is Crooks for his
How Is Curley's Wife A Mistreatment Of Women
3550 Words | 15 PagesThe features of the female experience at the time are the tragic fates of women, being the object of the male gaze, and being cruelly dehumanised by society. Curley’s Wife is a precursor to the infamous “femme fatale”, a testament to the men’s perceptions of her as a temptress, a troublesome wife, and a foil to the ranch. Steinbeck punishes her for verging on the line of flirting with other men and confessing her desires of freedom, financial stability, as well as her enjoyment in doing so while her husband isn’t around, essentially completing his misogynistic characterisation of Curley’s
Comparing The American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
630 Words | 3 PagesTheir relationship is far from ideal, with Curley spending a majority of his time attempting to prove his dominance among the other men present on the farm than with his wife. Her perception of this is, “‘Swell guy, ain’t he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody’” (Steinbeck 78). Curley is more focused on inciting conflicts with the workers rather than spending time with the woman he married.
Examples Of Sexism In Of Mice And Men
651 Words | 3 PagesThis eventually led to her feeling lonely. Furthermore, rather than one specific character enabling the sexism throughout the story, all of the men on the ranch contributed to the sexism shown towards Curley’s Wife. One such way was that they dismissed everything that Curley’s Wife said, especially regarding her loneliness. Instead of preventing her marginalization, they continued to marginalize her because of their own marginalization and insecurities. This is clearly shown when Curley’s Wife tells Lennie, Candy, and Crooks that “I ain’t giving you no trouble.
Curley's Wife Victim Essay
744 Words | 3 Pages(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.
How Does Steinbeck Use The Power Lens In Of Mice And Men
780 Words | 4 PagesSteinbeck describes Curley’s wife as followed: “...wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up... she wore a cotton dress and red mules... She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the doorframe so that her body was thrown forward... Lennie’s eyes moved down over her body, and though she did not seem to be looking at Lennie she bridled a little” (31). Curley’s wife knows that her power, her only power, lies in her beauty and her position of actually being Curley’s wife.
Dehumanization In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
384 Words | 2 PagesFinally, 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.
Of Mice And Men Rhetorical Devices
931 Words | 4 PagesIn such time of the Great Depression and gender equality, this novel presents the character of sexism, Curley’s wife, to show how her dreams has been achieved through death. During her talk with Lennie, she tells him that she “‘[...]never get[s] to talk to nobody [and that she] get[s] awfully lonely’” (Steinbeck 86). Even though she is depicted as a flirtatious, “‘[...]purty [...] bitch’”, her true life was lonely and segregated from the male ranchers (Steinbeck 32). Steinbeck applies this paradox in the story to picture the reader about how a character’s identity can either encourage or ruin his or her reasons to live and achieve a future.
Critical Lens In 'Of Mice And Men'
1217 Words | 5 PagesSome time later Curley’s wife comes into the barn to chat as she was also isolated from man. Curley’s wife lets Lennie pet her hair. As Lennie desired affection he stroked Curley’s wife's hair over and over again when she got mad and started crying out for help which caused Lennie to panic; “Oh! Please don’t do none of that,” he begged. “George gonna say I done a bad thing.
Gender Lens In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
835 Words | 4 PagesBeing 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.
How Does Steinbeck Present Misogyny In Of Mice And Men
998 Words | 4 PagesWithin the letter, he provides insight on the background of Curley’s wife, describing, “She was told over and over again that she must remain a virgin because that was the only way she could get a husband.” (1). In the society of the 1930’s, Steinbeck desired to depict prejudice against women within his writing and clearly executes his plan by giving Curley’s wife an unfortunate background. The only expectations for women during the time was for them to remain virgin and to be physically attractive. These standards demonstrate the fact that women were only seen as sexual objects, attempting to please men for marriage.
How Is Curley's Wife A Sympathetic Character
817 Words | 4 PagesThis is how the men saw her from the first time Candy brought her up to Lennie and George. As a woman that has an eye out for other men and all she wants is the wrong kind of attention. From the beginning, the reader has a biased opinion of Curley’s wife based on rumors before she even makes an actual appearance. The men talk about how she has “an eye” for the other men around the ranch, but they never actually go up to her to get an actual explanation. When she actually comes and seeks them out and tries to interact with them, they treat her with the least of
Humanity In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
880 Words | 4 PagesWhen Lennie is in the barn, he first is petting Curley’s wife’s hair. This suddenly escalates into Lennie putting his hand over her mouth: “she struggled violently under his hands. Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed to be free; and from under Lennie’s hand came a muffled screaming. Lennie began to cry with fright” (Steinbeck 88). Lennie seems frightened of the woman, though he is not the victim.
Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Essay
1173 Words | 5 PagesThe 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.
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