Is the sexism in Of Mice and Men purposeful? This is the question I needed to consider while writing this essay and researching. What I found when researching Steinbeck's political views was that he was a very radical person. Many of his books were burned especially by the very people who were the subjects of them. In 1962 the New York Times published a piece on him calling him quote: “ a “limited talent” whose work was “watered down by tenth-rate philosophizing." These attacks solidify Steinbeck as a radical. Once my questions were hardly answered I dove deep into the actual book. The book Of Mice and Men portrays blatant depression era sexism.
If women worked, it was only housekeeping type jobs and women without families were often overlooked in society. I believe because of this it makes sense that Curley’s wife had to marry him. Though it would be presumed that it was harder for women to get work it was actually the opposite, jobs that were considered “women's work” were less
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I believe that because of Steinbeck's political views, leaving her unnamed was definitely purposeful. I believe that naming something helps humanize it, leaving her unnamed causes us to lack empathy towards her. I believe that her flirty behavior & vivid description makes her seem more unhuman but also emphasizes the outdated idea of women being objects. This can be seen when George calls her a rattrap, "Well, you keep away from her, cause she's a rattrap if I ever saw one.” Another thing done to not make us empathize with her is her harsh treatment of Lennie and Crooks. Both characters she treats with little respect yet when Lennie kills her it is yet again proven that she doesn't have any power and the blame is put on her. This can be seen when Candy says, “You God damn tramp”, he said viciously. “You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy
She bickers and quarrels with Candy, saying, “‘Tell on’ be damned,’ she cried. ‘Nobody’d listen to you an’ you know it. Nobody’d listen to you,” (Steinbeck 67). Nobody is going to pay attention or listen to Candy, as he is crippled and doesn't have the power to stand up for himself. In this section, Steinbeck indirectly demonstrates that Candy is ineffectual, based on what Curley’s wife thinks about him.
Institutionalized Oppression and Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck, and award-winning American novelist. Born in 1902, Steinbeck was raised in California’s Salinas valley which, in later years, greatly influenced his writing. Steinbeck’s seventh published book, Of Mice and Men, follows an unlikely pair of male migrant workers. One man, George, small and logical; the other man, Lennie, large yet lacking wit.
Every character has different behaviors to opinions. John Steinbeck wrote this book like it was real life. Characters had habits, personalities, dislikes, opinions, sadness, happiness, anger, etc. This is what makes this book so alive and truly something about life. Stereotypes such as women not being important enough to learn their names.
Through the characterization of George, Crooks, and Curly’s wife, in his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck reflects on the impending doom humans face due to their insufficient hopes blinding them from what truly matters. Curley’s wife plays a crucial part in asserting the theme, as she is a paradigm for someone whose loneliness and dreams drive them in a search for happiness somewhere they will not find it. Her
In the novella “Of Mice and Men” one of Steinbeck’s central character is Curley’s Wife. Steinbeck presents her as a dangerous and powerful due to his language techniques like metaphor, simile and structure. However in a misogynistic society she can also be seen as a lonely and vulnerable character. Steinbeck’s use of symbolism especially towards Curley’s wife creates a dangerous and powerful persona.
In the novella Of Mice And Men, sexism is prevalent throughout the course of the story. One significant character who has been affected by sexism is Curley’s wife. This is clearly demonstrated when she is referred to throughout the novella as “Curley’s Wife”. Rather than being known as an individual with emotions, she is objectified and her identity is robbed from her. Sexism is also shown towards Curley’s Wife when she is constantly misunderstood and is suspected to flirt with others by all the men on the ranch.
Of mice and men is a novella written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937. It follows 2 migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small as they begin working as farm hands on a ranch close to a small town called Soledad durning the great depression. Of mice and men is a novella set almost 100 years ago, but some of the problems that are faced in the story are still an issue today. This essay will focus on the misogyny and victim blaming shown in Of mice and men and how it still relates to today. Misogyny is extremely prevalent in this book.
The characters in “Of Mice and Men” have memorable personalities that we all can relate to due to their set archetypes. John Steinbeck uses these common and generalized in order to have the readers relate more to his characters. This allows the reader to experience the story and feelings of the characters much better and lets the reader to connect to the character’s feelings, or force the reader to form opinions that aligns with those of the main protagonist(s). In “Of Mice of Men”, readers are initially introduced to Curley’s Wife with words such as “tart”, and having “the eye”. Which, even if readers do not know what that means, it may be inferred through diction that she is overly flirty, or a “tramp”.
Steinbeck uses Archetypes to represent various larger groups of people at that time in order to show how each group was discriminated. Lennie is symbolic of the “wise fool” archetype, being mentally inferior but being able to reveal the best and worst of others. Like when he was talking with crooks. Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated
John Steinbeck’s presents Curley’s wife in a way that comes off as she is being abused. In Of Men and Mice Steinbeck clearly portrays Curley’s wife as a victim and not a villain, as others would see her. She is abused by Curley, mistreated by the other men on the ranch, and she is treated like she does not exist with no respect or value. Curley’s wife is a victim because Curley her husband, abuses and mistreats her.
In the novel Of MIce and Men John Steninbeck creates empathy for the character of Curley’s wife, centered around her being the only woman living on a ranch during the 1930s, in order to help the reader prepare for, and deal with, the novel’s tragic ending. Through the chapters in the novel, the author Steinbeck creates sympathy by making the character Curley’s wife feel needed and being around cruel people, it is shown that it is hard to be a woman living in the 1930s. This can be shown in the novel Of Mice and Men as the character Curley’s wife is constantly being insulted by the men on the ranch behind her back for what she wears and what she looks like. All the character Curley’s wife wants is someone to talk to but is neglected by the
In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrayed a political statement by looking at mental and physical disabilities through different characters such as Curley's Wife, Crooks, and Lennie. Curley's wife is used to represent how women were treated during the 1930’s and almost treated with a disability. Women were portrayed as the help and they were supposed to stay home and work while the strong brave men went out and got money to support the family. By Steinbeck not giving Curley's wife a name he is showing how she is connected to Curly with an Invisible rope.
The author showed that Curley's wife is an outcast by not giving her a name at any point in the novel. This makes it obvious that women are treated less than men, especially at this time. The book’s setting is the 1930s around the time of the Great Depression (Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Ketcham). During this time women were looked at and treated as less than men in almost every aspect of daily life. Steinbeck wanted to keep her unnamed to show that she was a stray.
Author John Steinbeck explores multiple real life issues in both works, and provides a message of how unfair the world is, as well as show how cruel humans can be to differences. Sexism is an important topic when one discusses society. The issue of sexism has always been prominent. With the definition of prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex. In Of Mice and Men, author John Steinbeck showed how men thought about and treated women through the character Curley’s wife.
World of Sexism Due to the Great Depression, women’s rights took a back seat to employment and poverty. It was believed that women shouldn’t work but stay at home, clean, cook, and raise their children. The prejudice against women in the society was great back in the 1930s for they were degraded and underestimated. All the rights they had gained in the 1920s were neglected and the women were once again maltreated. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the victim of sexism is Curley’s wife who is so insignifact that even a name was not provided for her.