Theme Of Sexism In Of Mice And Men

John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. was an American author wrote many novels including one of his most famous, Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men teaches many lessons about the nature of human existence. Each relationship grows throughout this short story and end with a dramatic experience. All of the characters, including Lennie, George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife, admit, at one time or another, to having a profound sense of isolation, seclusion and loneliness.

Generally, during the course of the novel, women are viewed negatively. They are seen as objects, not real people. For example, throughout the novel, Curley's wife is merely known as 'Curley's wife'. She is never called by her real name. The term 'Curley's wife' implies she is owned by Curley, and not a person with freedom. From this, the reader can tell that Curley's wife lives in an unfair World, in an era of inequality. This suggests Steinbeck

Essay about Curley’s wife Curley’s wife is the only female character in the novel Of Mice of Men; Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only referred to in reference to her husband. Like the other people on the ranch, she is very lonely and has dreams of a better life which never come true. The author John Steinbeck introduces Curley’s wife in a symbolic ness way, this is shown when George is talking to Lennie about the dream and when Curley’s wife first meets both the men. “Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off.

Discrimination if often based on many qualities and abilities. Some of the most clearly shown examples in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men are gender, age and racial discrimination. The victims of these types of discrimination are Curley’s wife, who is unhappy and bitter about her life, Candy, the old, disabled swamper and Crooks, the black stable buck. Throughout the novel, these three characters face many hardships because they are harshly judged and often misunderstood.

Curley’s wife from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is an important character to the plot and themes of the novel. She is first introduced as the new wife of Curley who is very flirtatious. She grew up in Salinas and had dreams of being a Hollywood actress. However, her mother would not allow her to follow her dreams since she was only sixteen. So, she married Curley, who she met at a dance, and lives on the ranch with him and the other ranch workers. Throughout the novel, Curley's wife shows that she has a ignorant and flirtatious personality but is also very lonely.

The idea that George uses Lennie’s retardedness for amusement relates back to ableism. Instead of helping Lennie and build him up, George sinks him down with harsh words and cruel pranks. Society does not help people with disabilities, they mock, like George would mock Lennie. Steinbeck uses symbolism as well to explain ableism in society, in specific Candy’s dog. This point is further shown in the novella, Of Mice and Men, when Steinbeck writes, “Well--hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him,’ he said proudly,’ You wouldn’t think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen.’ … Carlson insisted. “And he stinks to beat hell. Tell you what. I’ll shoot him for you.’” (44-45). Candy’s dog sees no mercy in the eyes of Carlson. Carlson insists on the dog’s death, so far as to murder the animal himself. This shows the cold, harsh reality of those with disabilities in society. Though the mutt was once great, one of “greatest” sheep dogs Candy has ever seen, has been beaten down by age. Carlson coldly decides the dog’s fate, the old greatness

“Well, you keep your place then, n*****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (Steinbeck 81). In the novella, Of Mice and Men, the readers are following the life of Lennie and George, who are migrant workers during the Great Depression. Migrant workers, unlike Lennie and George, primarily travel alone, and they go from job to job. George and Lennie have been together since they were younger, as Lennie would come along with George while he worked, so they had become inseparable. Lennie got them kicked out of many jobs, but they landed a spot as a ranch hand bucking barley. Once they became acquainted with the farm, Lennie and George become friends with a man named Crooks, but before that, they are introduced to the ranch by Candy. As the story progresses, a theme of isolation, discrimination, and loneliness on Candy, Lennie, and Crooks is revealed.

John Steinbeck uses Curley 's wife to portray the woman 's role in the 1930s. Back then, women were treated as property and trophies to their husbands. Women 's insignificance is signified by the fact that Curley 's wife is never given a name. She is always referred to as Curley 's belonging. Additionally, Carlson 's statement about Curley 's wife needing to go back to her place where she belongs characterizes women 's roles by saying that women should be at home performing domestic chores. In essence, women were looked down upon and never seen as equal to the men.

John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, takes place during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, in the Salinas Valley, California. It establishes the prospect of the American Dream, discrimination,loneliness, and disenfranchisement through its characters. George and Lennie provided the value of the American Dream, to which the leading female role, Curley’s wife, represents how women are exempt from the American Dream, and appeared as less than equal to men. She developed a form of loneliness throughout the course of the novel. The novella seeks to demonstrate the way of which life was like for the characters of all different statuses and backgrounds. Through Curley’s wife’s character, we are able to see how life was like for a women during

In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses many characters to show his assertion that man is basically evil. When Curley’s wife confronts Lennie, Crooks, and Candy in Crook’s place, she notes that the others “left all the weak ones here” (77). The “weak” ones that Curley’s wife refer to all attack each other in a vicious circular firing squad. Crooks taunts Lennie about the possibility of George not returning, and takes “pleasure in his torture” as he “[presses] forward for some kind of private victory” (71). Curley’s wife calls Candy and Lennie “a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep” (78) and threatens to get Crooks “strung up on a tree” (81). Meanwhile, all the other characters are the ones that make those Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife feel “weak” because they are disabled mentally, disabled physically, black, and female, respectively. In this way, Steinbeck shows that all men are basically evil as they do not lend a hand to each other and instead simply attack and prey upon each other.

Curley’s wife, on the other hand, is not insecure, but suffers from ostracism and isolation because she is a married woman. Michael Meyer points out, “…the hardship for a woman to live on the ranch as presented in the novel should not be ignored”. Curley’s wife only wants someone to talk with her, but the men on the ranch mistake her trying to start conversations as sexual advances: “I never seen nobody like her. She got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody… I don’t know what the hell she wants” (Steinbeck 51). They also ridicule her, calling her a

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.

One character in the story does not even have a name: Curley’s wife. Steinbeck illustrates her as someone who is a pawn of those around her. On the surface, she is reduced to a rude and selfish woman. But, if one looks deeper, Curley’s wife’s gender and class hinder her high aspirations and reduces her to ridicule. Her husband restricts her contact with others and does not show any affection towards her. She reveals this while

In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men characters in the novel are segregated by sex, race, age, physical and mental disabilities. John Steinbeck portrays the intolerance and bigotry of 1930’s America through the separation of his characters based on their handicaps. Lennie, Candy, Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife and Crooks all face social pressure from the other characters on the ranch based on their intelligence, physical disability, age, sex and color. Stereotyping based on ethnic or physical characteristics is typical to the 1930’s depression where civil rights for minority groups had not yet been addressed. Almost all of the characters who, in

Almost all the characters symbolize a certain type of discrimination but the strongest characters that portray discrimination in society is Candy and Candy’s dog, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. Candy is an old man that worked on the ranch until he had his arm cut off and was incapable of doing any heavy work and his dog was too an old, smelly dog who couldn’t do any work because of his age. Candy and his dog are a symbol of how the old, disabled, or infirmed are not valued in society nor are they wanted. Just like Candy’s dog can be replaced by a new, young pup, Candy can be replaced by a younger, stronger, and more capable worker. Crooks is a negro stable buck and represents discrimination of race. Crooks has his own corner of the stable where he sleeps and puts all his things in because the other men don’t want him in the bunkhouse because he is black. “‘Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘’Cause I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink to me.’(68)” White people have power over him so if he makes any mistake he can be easily cut off and canned. This is shown when Curley’s wife shuts him down in a conversation, “Listen nigger. You know what I can do if you open your trap?” There is also Curley’s wife who represents discrimination of gender. Curley’s wife is a sweet, young girl who lives on the ranch with Curley where there are no other women but her so she tries to talk to the men. But since she is married she isn’t allowed to talk to anybody but Curley or she’ll be accused of being a flirt or a “tart”. Not only does