Why Is Curley's Wife Unequal To Men

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.

All over the world, in the past and even today, there has been a major problem called sexism. Women everywhere are being oppressed and marginalized. There are no real reasons for this, except for the fact that they are women. John Steinbeck’s exploration of a real-world issue, which is sexism, is clearly shown in Of Mice and Men and The Pearl through the characters of Curley’s wife and Juana.

Of Mice and Men provides us with plenty examples of dehumanization that guide us to conclusions, or insights or feelings of dehumanization. Some examples of this is the dehumanization of Lennie, Crooks and Curley’s wife. Of Mice and Men perfects the traits of dehumanization of Lennie by relating him to a number of animals like the horse. Steinbeck dehumanizes Lennie by comparing him to a horse when George says, “His huge companionship dropped his baskets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse” (Steinbeck, 2). Furthermore, Steinbeck helps us, by dehumanizing Crooks, living in a barn, to animals, to visualize how poorly Crooks is treated. To prove this, Crook says, “ ‘Cause I’m black.

Universally, it’s known for people in different time periods to share the same characteristics. In the 1930’s, people were racist and migrant workers travelled all over America. In the 1990’s, society was developing into what it is today. Specifically, an uprise of advanced technology and architecture. Although the time periods differ immensely, the people of those time periods are very similar. In Of Mice and Men, set in the 1930’s, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, set in the 1990’s, Curley’s Wife and Betty Carver share similar characteristics.

The phrase ‘our responsibility as a society’ means making an impact by changing the lives of others regardless of the obstacles, circumstances and consequences you have to overcome. Our responsibility as a society is to be willing to sacrifice our well-being or lifestyle for the needs of others.

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.

During the Great Depression, times were very tough in the United States for everyone. In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck illustrates the struggles of discrimination and the struggle of finding a job, in everyday life during the Great Depression through Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife.

“In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.” -John Steinbeck. Loneliness can be affected by many things and can affect many things. Curley’s wife is a character whose actions are debatably driven by the feeling of loneliness. Some think her actions are driven solely by her personality and moral values. Others see nothing wrong with her actions and excuse them by placing the origin of it on loneliness. These actions, no matter what the commencement, have a great impact on the people of the ranch. They affect relationships, sensibility, and moral character. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men the actions of Curley’s wife can be debated through what she does, her reasons of her actions, and the impact her actions have on

Innocent till proven guilty or Guilty till proven innocent? Curley’s wife, I feel is an innocent victim because she just wanted to talk to someone, only female on the ranch, Curley and his wife don’t get along that well.

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).” She thought her mom had stole the letter she was waiting for from an agent who could get her into her career; she assumed her mom stole it because she thought her mom would have wanted her daughter to do what “normal” women do. Also, she is not considered a “normal” wife; “normal” for that time meant she was supposed to stay inside and do chores and cook. Instead, she goes around, talks to the men working and hides from her husband. Curley’s wife is lonely because no one talks to her to prevent trouble. George said to Lennie, “well, you keep away from her, ‘cause she’s a rat trap if I’ve ever seen one (Steinbeck 32).”

Continuously she is being put down by the ranchers and is told consistently that her presence was unwanted on the ranch, even Curley, her husband, would act mentally abusive towards her. Day in and day out, it is assumed that Curley’s wife is being treated this way, and is putting up with this because she feels and/or knows that because she is a woman, she is inferior to them. Albeit her appearance no longer being near the ranchers, nor on the ranch, they will continue to maintain talking rudely about her, George eventually will start to poke fun at her when he only just met her, exclaiming: “‘Jesus, what a tramp,’ he said, ‘So that’s what Curley picks for a wife.’”.

When Candy is talking to George and Lennie about what he thinks about Curley, “Know what I think... Well I think Curley’s married a Tart”(Steinbeck 47) Candy obtains this view on Curley’s wife because of how she looks. The men on the ranch do not even give her a chance especially George. Right after George and Lennie come across Curley’s wife for the first time George says to Lennie “don’t you even take a look at that bitch. I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no jail bait worse than her. You leave her be”(Steinbeck 44). George is making bad inferences about Curley’s wife before he even gets to know her. The way Curley’s wife presents herself does not help her cause in being mistreated, by her husband or any of the other men on the

The author, however, drops hints throughout the book telling his audience that there may be more to Curley’s wife than what is easily deduced. One scene involving a sympathetic portrayal of Curley’s wife is when she is looking for Curley in Crooks’ quarters after Lennie and Candy enter. She knows where Curley and the rest of the men have gone, and grows angry at the cold shoulder treatment she is given by the three men in the room. Curley’s wife confesses her loneliness of being stuck in the house all the time and to not liking Curley’s company. The men in the room take this as flirting rather than seeking friendship and someone to confide in. This 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

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.

Humans are connected with one another through simple gravity-like forces that are ubiquitous and powerful, but in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the characters isolate themselves. While the english poet John Donne once said that “No man is an island”, his contemporary John Milton believed that “Solitude sometimes is best society”. So, which is true? In both books the characters act as if they are“islands”, but this does not create the “best society”.The characters’ detached isolation toward one another causes them to end up feeling empty and disconnected. In both Of Mice and Men and The Outsiders characters build mental barriers to protect themselves