Cultures in ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck Essay

Her average day would start out like any other woman’s. She encountered others with a smile and would initiate a conversation in hopes of making friends despite the strict orders everyone had been given to not talk to her. Her hopeful smile would fade as she heard the painful words the men spoke of her. Tart. Tramp. Whore. Promiscuous. Each day she would hear these words, but each day she would act as if they did not faze her. She is Curley’s wife and before her death, she would be described by these degrading words that no woman hopes to hear. The novel Of Mice and Men follows the dynamic duo that is George Milton and Lennie Small through their experiences at a new job. One of the characters they meet is Curley’s wife, a misunderstood woman whose husband attempts to control her yet she stayed strong. Although unintentionally, Steinbeck represents Curley’s wife as a feminist icon through her defiance for her husband and inability to conform to stereotypes, and while, he openly described women as submissive to men, through her lack of compassion Steinbeck subtly suggests that women are indeed more powerful.

Within the novel Curley's wife is treated like a possession or a “whore” rather than a women. Women back in the early 1900’s were treated very badly or were judged by their looks and not by their intelligence.In the novel Curlys wife is called things like “tart” and “purty” or even “jailbait”, which for a women is very disrespectful.A womens intelligence is not defined by their looks but as seen within the novel “Of Mice and Men” it is stated

Because Lennie is confused he grabs her hair and tries to make her stop yelling. But because Lennie does not know how to control his own strength, he squeezes Curley’s wife’s neck too hard and crushes her spine. Lennie then flees the ranch because Curley wants to kill him for what he did to his wife. So Lennie is not brutally murdered by Curley, George finds Lennie and, because he cannot get him out of trouble, shoots Lennie. Lennie’s uncontrollable strength and ignorance destroyed his, George and Candy’s dream

The character of Curley’s Wife is very hard to unravel, as throughout the book, Steinbeck’s representation of women through characters such as George and Candy, is very harsh. This is because the sociological opinion at that time was that they were either, mothers, sisters, or prostitutes,

Curleys wife is one of the most interesting and complicated characters ( or maybe even more than one character within her) in the novella; of mice and men. Everything about her from her clothes to her personality to her dreams end up leading to her death and unfortunately the death of young Lennie. she is just a young woman seeking attention, feeling the only way she can receive it is if she throws herself at the men around the ranch. Curleys wife deserves all the attention she can get , however, in the 1930s things were a lot different to how they are now for women. In this essay I will be exploring the contrasting representations of Curleys wife and her character. perhaps underneath all the lies we can find a misunderstood, sensitive and

Curley's wife is cast out because she is a woman. Curley watches over her carefully since she is his wife and the only woman on the farm. Curley does not allow his wife to converse with the other workers because he is afraid she will be unfaithful. She complains that individually, the men are generally nice, but in groups, they shun her and are sometimes cruel. Since Curley's wife is oppressed, she lashes out at a target that is weaker than she is, which is usually Crooks. He does the same.

Curlys Wife is a very powerful and yet powerless character within the novel Of Mice and Men as Steinbeck uses her to reflect the prejudice against women in the 1930s since they had very little rights. Just from her title “Curlys Wife” she has no actual name, this shows that she is just Curlys property and powerless in the sense that she hasn’t got her own individual identity, only an identity through her husband, also she doesn’t have enough power to be called a ‘woman’ instead she is discriminated against and is called derogatory terms such as a “tart” when Slim first speaks of her to George by saying “I think Curly married a tart” showing no respect for her

‘Of Mice and Men’, set in 1930s America during the time of the Great Depression, effectively explores the attitudes of women through the character of Curley’s wife. She is one of the only female characters in the book, with the only others being Lennie’s dead aunt Clara and the prostitutes in the whorehouse. Furthermore, Curley’s wife is never referred to by name but rather as the possession of a man, highlighting how women were viewed as the possession of men to do with as they please. This idea is supported by the fact that Curley has “a glove fulla Vaseline” portraying how Curley only thinks of his wife as a sexual object. Candy, the old swamper, first introduces Curley’s wife, meaning the reader already forms an opinion of her before she appears.

In John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, many of the characters can be considered sexist. Curley treats his wife as an inferior to him, and she is also

In some distinct ways, the story “Of Mice and Men” draws parallels to societal problems of that time. For example Candy, the ranch owner, represents the vicious way that which social power can turn into. Steinbeck is an interesting figure in American literary history because he lived through the Great Depression, as well as World War I. This is immensely important in his development as a writer because he saw America at its highest and lowest points.

Even though Of Mice and Men takes place after the long fight of women to gain suffrage, women had less rights than men in the book (women gained suffrage approximately 17 years prior to the story’s events). This basic lack of rights is demonstrated by the fact that Steinbeck names Curley’s wife as he does. In the patriarchal society of the United States, the belief that women were property, not people was prevalent and commonplace. The suffrage movement, which led to all of the above, took place from 1848 to 1920, and was especially promoted during the outbreak of World War 1, when women were able to support the home and work in factories. These are all reasons and analysis for why Steinbeck chose to use this ‘major’ minority group in one of his most famous

'Of Mice and Men' written by John Steinbeck in 1937, is a bemused novella, full of crestfallen moments and derogatory people. John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' was set just outside Soledad in Southern California, written during "The Great Depression." This novella contains George Milton and Lennie Small, who are itinerant workers who have a dream of owning a big house with animals. These men encounter intricate situations, yet still manage to surpass them. After leaving Weed due to complications with Lennie, they settle in a nice, comfortable ranch in the next town over. The two manage to get themselves on the wrong side of the boss' son, Curley, after talking to his "tramp" of a wife. Later in the novella it is revealed that Lennie Small

Women are often portrayed as seductress and disregarded. In a patriarchal society, women are inferior to men and have lower social status. In a patriarchal society, the men dominate while the women submit. A woman does not have the ability to show their talents or strengths because of how low on the hierarchy they are. White women are ranked one of the lowest in status within the hierarchy, above African Americans.

Of Mice and Men portrays many groups of society throughout the story making you see how poorly the different groups were treated during that time. Many hardships and struggles were faced during the Great Depression Era. Each character represents a group among society. When reading the book you must pay attention and group them where you think they belong. You will be able to associate the characters with the groups and the hardships people faced during that time. Giving you a look into how life was during the Great Depression and how it was different for everyone throughout the period.

As with Crooks’ treatment of Lennie, however, the author reveals the reciprocal nature of prejudice and resentment in the farm. Curley's wife encounters a lot of discrimination because of her sex over the course of the novel. Living on a ranch where the large majority of the inhabitants are male, she is very lonely. George knowingly comments, "Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain't no place for a girl" .