The American Dream In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Propaganda filters throughout the world to lean people’s views one way or another. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife to demonstrate the American Dream. This is unattainable but is their motivation to carry on their daily on the ranch lives. George and Lennie’s actions revolve around their American Dream. In a conversation between George and Lennie they discuss their dream, George states “... We’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres, an’ a cow and some pigs” (Steinbeck, 14). George says this to Lennie to motivate him to keep quiet and out of trouble so they can eventually reach these dreams. The American Dream can be defined as people

Curley's wife name is symbolically important wasn’t given a proper name in the novel. Throughout chapter 2 and further on to the novel, Curley’s wife was just regarded as “Curley’s wife”, despite she being a part of the story’s key development. By not giving her a proper name, Steinbeck show inequality with in the set society and the level of sexism that is apparent in the time being

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is a book about two companions George and Lennie, who are running from troubles in their past job. George and Lennie are different from the rest of the society, in the year of 1930 where every man is for himself, that’s not the deal with George and Lennie. They stick together no matter how different they are. This is a novel that will let you experience the hopelessness, struggles and loneliness of the protagonist and the antagonist, during this period. One such character is a well- known woman referred to as “Curley’s wife”. In the novel of Mice and Men, Steinbeck’s use of Curley’s wife as a symbol of victimize to the rules and regulations of society in 1930. (fix by adding negative word)

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,

Curley’s wife constantly complains how lonely she is as Curley is not around most of the time. This drives her to wander about the ranch talking to other men and questioning them about Curley's whereabouts. As most of the men are in town, Curley’s wife wanders to the barn where Candy, Crooks, and Lennie are currently located. The men question why she is there and see her as a nuisance. But, she stays and discusses her struggles with loneliness. “‘I get lonely,’ she said, ‘You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley, else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to nobody’” (Steinbeck 87). In other words, Curley’s wife is left alone by Curley so much that she feels the need to talk to anybody that she finds. This is why she wanders about the ranch all day and talks to any men she can find. This demonstrates how women were treated during this time; they were thought to be unimportant and were often left alone by their spouses. Curley’s wife did not have a name, which shows how unimportant she really is. Women were thought to be of no use, leaving them to not have the ability to achieve the American dream.

Throughout most of the book Curley’s wife strikes us as a compelling and riveting character as we initially see her as a wicked character till those few seconds before she dies where you think, hey she might not be so bad after all. In the novel ‘of Of mice Mice and men’ Men’ Curley’s wife’s image is portrayed as a very sexual, flirtatious, cheeky and desperate. Steinbeck uses specific words, sentences and techniques to create the image of Curley’s wife as one that is very contrasting.

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, there is a character named Curley’s Wife. Curley’s Wife is first shown in the novella as a character who is provocative and represented as darkness. Throughout the story she is dehumanized, objectified, and sexualized. Therefore, Steinbeck crafts the character, Curley’s Wife, in order to convey how the american dream is unattainable through him showing sexism and discrimination towards women.

In a play starring mostly men, Curley’s wife is the star of the show. Curley’s wife is a big influence, she is misunderstood, and she doesn’t think about consequences of her actions. Everything she does impacts the lives of the men on the ranch. Curley’s wife is what the men call a “tart” but she is just misunderstood. Steinbeck’s description of Curley’s wife is short and sweet. He doesn’t spend too much time describing her. Instead, he writes about her actions and consequences of her actions for at least a fourth of the book. Curley’s wife is a victim of the cruel world she was living in.

Within this statement, it becomes apparent that the men of the ranch choose to exclude Curley’s wife because of her marriage, as if in they anger Curley, they anger the boss. Steinbeck’s remarkable use of writing also conveys her lone state within the world. Never does Steinbeck write a name for Curley’s wife, giving her the presence as property of Curley’s; It is no one's desire to be only property and seen no longer as human. Accordingly, all of the exclusion and animosity towards Curley's wife creates a morose, discouraged shell of

In the novel of mice and men, Steinbeck presents Curley's Wife is presented in many various ways. At first impression, she comes across as the seductive, troublemaker the ranchers see her as. Nevertheless, as the story progresses, we learn that this is only one of many sides to a very lonely woman. The reader’s sympathy for this character also changes throughout the novel, as her secrets are revealed and the real Curley's Wife is found. Curley's Wife is a very complex character.

What is the American dream? The American dream is the freedom to be whatever you want to become through hard work. In The grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck he portrays a family growing through the Great Depression, hoping to live the American dream. The Major characters have contrasting hopes for their lives pursuing the dream, but it may just be a promise never to come. Some of the major characters Tom, Pa, Ma, Casy, and Rosasharn have different beliefs on the “American Dream”, but they all play an important part of it.

John Steinbeck, the author, uses this societal pressure as the foundation of how she's treated by the men. Curley’s wife is never named, purposefully by Steinbeck to show the objectification that came with marriage during this time. When she isn’t being referred to as a ‘tart’ or another derogatory slang, her whole identity comes from the fact that she is married to Curley and therefore is his property. One key difference in the way the marriage is portrayed in the novel is the way they refer to each other while interacting with other characters. For example, in Chapter 3, Curley bursts into the men’s bunkhouse, saying “Any you guys seen my wife?” In contrast, Curley’s wife only ever refers to him as Curley, his given name. Many interactions like this display how respect isn't necessary concerning Curley’s wife, painting her in a picture of uselessness and vanity because she is a

Steinbeck is showing how Curley’s wife emerges as a complex and interesting character. Although her purpose is rather simple in the book’s openings, she is been called “tramp,” “tart,” and “bitch”. These nasty comments are made by the people that dislike her and her appearances; this makes the reader feel sympathy for her. Later in the book Steinbeck become more complex.

Curley’s Wife is always dealing with discrimination as a result of her gender. As a woman in this time period, her feminism restraints her from communicating with the other men on the farm. That isolates her greatly taking into consideration that a majority of the workers have that capability. Many of the men on the farm ignore Curley’s Wife, which then makes the atmosphere around her very tense and lonesome. When she does try to communicate with the workers, there is always a type of suspicion on her motif. The workers mention that, “I think Curley’s married… a tart” (Steinbeck 28). Curley’s Wife is stereotyped as a beautiful, passionate, and an untaught female. One of Curley’s Wife biggest regrets is her decision to marry off instead of pursuing her dream of performing on the road. On all accounts, the theme of oppression is visible in the character of Curley’s Wife on the grounds of her feminine

“They had no argument, no system, nothing but their numbers and their needs. When there was work for a man, ten men fought for it – fought with a low wage. If that fella’ll work for thirty cents, I’ll work for twenty-five” (Steinbeck, Grapes 296). The renowned novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is a realistic portrayal of life during the 30’s when the Dust Bowl swept across the nation, causing many to fall deeper into the depression. This caused many families to leave their homes in search of a safer and more hopeful land. The Grapes of Wrath follows Tom Joad, his family, and many other migrant farmers as they migrate from their Oklahoma farms into their new, hope filled life in California. The struggles that these characters endure throughout the novel compel the reader to wonder about the so-called American dream as well as the promises and declarations America has made to its people. As Americans, we feel the need to challenge whether or not the United States is truly living up to its promises as “the land of the free and home of the brave” and its promise for “liberty and justice for all”, especially when examining such a depressing time period in American history when jobs, land, and hope were so scarce.