Sexism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The author, Steinbeck, uses his own personal experience to “serve as an inspiration…” (Johnson 1) when writing this particular story. His past experiences also helped him for the future. Lennie, of all characters, is the least dynamic. He undergoes a significant amount of change and develops throughout the story. He has been isolated with George throughout his life. His sole purpose in life is to make George happy and to own a farm with George and take care of the soft rabbits. Lennie is the most innocent and defenseless. He also is the largest and strongest, which does not help in certain situations. Lennie is the protagonist in the story. He gains the readers sympathy by his intellectual disability and helplessness. Lennie murders things by accident such as the mouse in his pocket, the puppy and Curley’s wife. He enjoys the touch of and somehow uses those murders and experiences to scare him from doing it again. George’s opinion means the most to him.

Equality has been a hot topic in the past century. Women and African-Americans have not had equality for that long. Women gained quality in the 1920s and African-Americans gained equality in the 1960s. It took them a lot of time to get those rights and dream in Of Mice and Men, show equality must be worked for. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck utilizes the characters of Crooks and Curley’s wife to illustrate that equality takes a long time to come by.

Toxic masculinity. It is a hidden concept that not many men know of yet many men have internalized. It is a socially-constructed attitude that describes the male gender as violent, unemotional, dominant, and sexually aggressive. Culturally accepted ideas of manliness lead men to believe that to “be a man” one must display these horrible attributes. John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men follows the dynamic duo that is George Milton and Lennie Small as they face the Great Depression and a new job. In his novel, Steinbeck seems to represent the idea of toxic masculinity through not only the ranch workers but George and Lennie themselves. Steinbeck shows that male stereotypes and false ideas of manhood not only exist in present-day but were also present during the 1930’s. Through Steinbeck’s depiction of certain men as aggressive and strong, he proves that toxic masculinity, gender roles, and the patriarchy can affect men negatively much more than they affect women.

John Steinbeck uses different methods to present Curley’s Wife and women in the 1930s. Throughout the novella Steinbeck represents women to be lower in society than men. In the novella women only have three different roles. A wife, an aunt and prostitutes. Steinbeck uses these roles to show the roles of women in society. Curley’s wife, Aunt Clara and Susy and Clara from the cathouse represent he microcosm of the women in American society.

Gender discrimination has been a large problem throughout the world. This type of discrimination was seen in the past and can still be seen today. In the 1930’s women were not treated nearly as equally as men. They were to do house work: cook, clean and raise the children. This is seen in Of Mice and Men because Curley’s wife is not on the ranch to do “ranch work,” she is there to be Curley’s lady and do things inside the house that the men wouldn’t do. In many countries women are often seen as objects. The reader can imply that the men on the ranch treat Curley’s wife as if she was an object as well since they do not give her a name. Based on how women were treated in the 1930’s readers can imply that the reason only one woman was at the ranch was because that wasn’t there job or that they were not strong or skilled enough to do the ranch work. Gender discrimination was not as large of a role in the novel, however, Curley’s wife being the only woman on the rach it became a bigger

Steinbeck uses characterization to explain racism. On page 68 of Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, it states “‘Well, I got a right to have a light. You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my

Discrimination have been happening everywhere in the world and as long as anyone can remember. Discrimination is still a problem today. America just had protests dealing with Black Lives Matter and African Americans feel they are still discriminated against and treated differently. The time that the novel Of Mice and Men takes place in is important because during the Great Depression it was hard to find money, so Lennie couldn’t just stay at home while George had to work. They both had to make money to support themselves. Lennie, Crooks, and Curley's wife all face discrimination which greatly impacts their lives.

One of the many reasons why this novella is so highly acclaimed is because of its complex characters. Steinbeck is able to convey a character’s personality and nature through their behavior. Although he never spells it out, readers are able to comprehend that Lennie has some sort of mental disability. Steinbeck first introduces Lennie being reprimanded by George like a parent would reprimand a child. Other obvious hints of “unusual” behavior are Lennie’s choppy speech, his obsession with petting (mostly dead) mice, and his forgetfulness. It seems like no one understands Lennie and what might’ve happened for him to be this way, so George jokes about it. He says, “He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid. He’s awright. Just ain’t bright.” (22 Steinbeck) The readers are almost tricked to believe that it’s okay for George and everyone else to make fun of Lennie’s mental disability because if he’s too dumb to understand, how can it hurt him… right? Of course not! Steinbeck pulls the rug from under everyone by having George reveal that he almost killed Lennie by messing with his inability to understand when someone is taking advantage of him. In a heart-to-heart with Slim, George reveals, “I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with ‘im. Used to play jokes

“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In the book, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck there is many examples of stereotyping and labeling. George and Lennie are the two main characters of the book and they both are stereotyped. George watches and takes care of lennie, so he is labeled as a parent figure. On the other hand, Lennie is dependant on George so he is labeled as immature. However, there's much more to the characters than what they are labeled as. Even though the other characters in the book will learn more about George and Lennie throughout the story, they will forever be known for their stereotypes. Steinbeck shows that with stereotyping people look at the world with more judgement.

Crooks is a good example that discrimination shapes a person's life. Lennie had come into the barn and was in Crooks door way and crooks was uncomfortable due to Crooks being a negro and is used to people leaving him alone. “‘Come on in and set a while,’ Crooks aid ‘’long as you won't get out and leave

How is a woman in an era dominated by men expected to gain attention? Steinbeck wrote the novel titled Of Mice and Men emphasising the male society while displaying American dreams crushed throughout the novel. Whereas, minimal wiggle room for Curley’s wife expands upon her husband’s father’s farm because of its majority being men and her being the inferior sex. Her image demonstrates a sexual figure towards the male workers when Lennie and George saw her for the first time as stated, “She had full, rough lips and widespread eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails red and her hair hung in curls with a cotton house dress,” whereas red usually provokes people as an attention seeking color from its vividness bringing along attention to her hands

In the novella, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the diverse set of characters individually handle oppression on a daily basis. For these characters, racist, sexist and degrading remarks are normal for the time period (early 1900’s). The story is about two men, Lennie and George, trying to find work in a troubling economic time while also trying to overcome Lennie’s mental handicap. They also meet other people that have to overcome their own “setbacks”. The author shows oppression of the characters through their effect on others, actions, and their dialogue.

Experiencing the horrible and panful misfortune that many people faced in the 1930s due to the great depression John Steinbeck wrote one of the most critically acclaimed novellas Of Mice and Men. The novella follows the story of two migrant ranch workers George and Lennie who while trying to find work develop a close friendship and share a dream of one day owning their own land. But beneath the surface of what seems like a simple tale of two unlikely friends is a much deeper story and inside of those who were accepted and those who were marginalised. John Steinbeck has ability in his writing to touch the readers and convey his messages of friendship, race, alienation and misogyny that were very present in the 1930s throw his characters Crooks,

Recently in Mainz, Germany, the dairy brand Müllermilch sparked quite a feud with fellow customers and returning buyers of designs featured on milk bottles. The front design of the bottle presented almost nude women making obscene poses, while grasping onto the different flavors of the drink. On top of the sexist images, racist pictures of women were also placed. The cartoon shown on the chocolate flavored drink, was of a darker-colored woman, when all of the other flavors presented lighter-colored women. Many feel that women should not be depicted simply as a piece of ‘food,’ and that gender inequality and racism is a matter that should not be promoted, but should be obstructed when the sales audience contains

“Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.” This quote, once said by E. B. White, excellently states what the novel, Of Mice and Men, is trying to clearly state. Of Mice and Men is a profound novel that has many things to teach society. This novel, written by John Steinbeck, reflects many flaws in the world today. It mirrors many of the characteristics that every human possesses. Prejudice is still a common way of thinking in today’s society, and to the people who feel victimized, it can be hard to overcome. Curley’s wife, Lennie, and Crooks all deal with prejudice against themselves different ways.