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A Misunderstanding Without History In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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A Misunderstanding Without History We all have that one character we extremely hate, whether it 's in a book or show, you just want them to die. However, not all characters should be hated to the core, many have their own reasons. In the novel “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, the author illustrates how readers can easily misinterpret Curley’s wife without any historical context, through the need of companionship of Curley’s wife, wishing to reach to her dreams and the desire to have freedom. To begin with women in the 1930’s, they desired to seek one that can understand and support their hardships.In the novel all the male characters have no sympathy for Curley’s wife, they constantly speak …show more content…

In the novel one of the men, Carlson is annoyed by Curley’s outburst of trying to look for his wife and complains, “Whyn’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?” (62). Men didn’t like the idea that women could have the same rights as them and go around to places instead of staying at home. They believe that since women are meant to be housewives, they should stay in the house. From this quote, the reader perhaps, mistakenly agrees with Carlson, thinking that Curley’s wife is just a rebellious woman who isn’t there for her husband. This distinguishes of how the readers can misunderstand Curley’s wife characterization by reason of the lack of historical context. Adding on, the historical content elucidates about the real struggle women had to endure, by having to do so many chores in the house without ever receiving a break. From the “Women in the New Deal Era”(PDF) the author states, “Women not only had to worry about supporting their families by providing food, shelter, and clothing, but they also were depended on to deliver emotional support to their loved ones in those trying times, in any way they possibly could.” Not only were women supposed to physically take care of the family they had to mentally take care of them too. A woman shouldn’t be bound in chains where she is forced to work till she dies. During those times women weren’t allowed to have the freedom to do something besides just working, but that doesn’t mean they never yearned the desire for freedom. This quote addresses the necessity of freedom that women had

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827 Words | 4 Pages

After leaving home and basically forcing herself into a loveless marriage, she states that she isn’t in love with her husband. ” I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella”. (89) Throughout the course of the book, Curley’s wife spends most of her time “looking for Curley” when in reality she’s just looking for someone to talk to.

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873 Words | 4 Pages

As the only women on the ranch, this causes Curley's wife to be the minority to all of the men on the farm. This causes her to become very lonely and isolated since she is the only women. In the texts Curley's wife says, “‘I get lonely,’... ‘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 anybody?’”

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In such time of the Great Depression and gender equality, this novel presents the character of sexism, Curley’s wife, to show how her dreams has been achieved through death. During her talk with Lennie, she tells him that she “‘[...]never get[s] to talk to nobody [and that she] get[s] awfully lonely’” (Steinbeck 86). Even though she is depicted as a flirtatious, “‘[...]purty [...] bitch’”, her true life was lonely and segregated from the male ranchers (Steinbeck 32). Steinbeck applies this paradox in the story to picture the reader about how a character’s identity can either encourage or ruin his or her reasons to live and achieve a future.

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Things start off well, but take a turn quickly. George and Lennie are the main characters, but some of the other characters can be deeply examined too, through different literary lenses. Curley’s wife is one of these characters, whom could be identified by many literary lenses. However, we will focus on one lens, the Gender lens.

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939 Words | 4 Pages

”(Steinbeck 88). Curley’s wife unwittingly sets up Lennie to change the entire course of the book and further complicate the situation for them. Lennie ends up killing Curley’s wife in a situation she never should have been in, but her nosy behavior brings her to her doom. If Curley and his wife could produce a real conversation maybe everyone could have gotten their dream to come true but somethings just do not pan out. Curley’s wife can be vicious in about any way just like she is to the other

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948 Words | 4 Pages

Curley’s wife is the wife of the Bosses son, Curley. In the novel Curley’s wife represents different themes such as loneliness, innocence and dreams. We learn this as we are introduced to her character and learn her story. Her overall purpose in the book is simple- she is a ‘tramp’, who ruins mens happiness however as her character develops, she becomes more complex and we learn about her vulnerability and innocence. Steinbeck also shows the portrayal of women in 1930s America, showing that women were treated as objects and could only get attention through their physical appearance.

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780 Words | 4 Pages

Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as followed: “...wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up... she wore a cotton dress and red mules... She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the doorframe so that her body was thrown forward... Lennie’s eyes moved down over her body, and though she did not seem to be looking at Lennie she bridled a little” (31). Curley’s wife knows that her power, her only power, lies in her beauty and her position of actually being Curley’s wife.

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639 Words | 3 Pages

In the story “Of Mice and Men “, Curley’s wife is an outcast. First, Curley’s wife has no friends on the farm, she became lonely and wants to talk to people on the farm (86). Curley’s wife become’s an outcast by no one talking to her, so Curley’s wife becomes lonely and walks around the farm looking for a conversation. Indeed, Lennie from the ranch is told not to talk to her or look at Curley’s wife (86). This action right here caused Curley’s wife

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566 Words | 3 Pages

On the farm, cruelty and devastation breed. The main source of this infestation is Curley and his wife. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley and Curley's wife share the traits of selfishness and frustration. These two characters, specifically make life hard for their coworkers. Their violent outbursts and troubled personalities make them the perfect couple.

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1357 Words | 6 Pages

All the men on the ranch thought that Curley's Wife had a perfect life but she says, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes” (Steinbeck 3). Even though she’s married to Curley and seems like she has the life but even she doesn't want to be there on that ranch with the life and family she has. Curley's wife is very neglected on the ranch she's treated like she doesn’t exist and doesn’t matter. Curley doesn’t talk to her and or spend time with her and this makes her desire a better, higher lifestyle with a bigger

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976 Words | 4 Pages

Curley’s wife is perhaps the least mentioned and regarded as a minor character but she is perhaps the most essential in the message of attachment. All she has is Curley, whose abusive nature is causing her to despise him more and more every day. She craves talking to others and forming an attachment to the boys on the farm (39). This causes her to try and make conversation with everyone around her. "Nobody can't blame a person for lookin', (40)", She says this as she reached a point where all she wants people to acknowledge her.

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725 Words | 3 Pages

Of Mice and Men which takes place in the 1930’s, Steinbeck’s discussion on sexism is still an obstacle that faces society today. John Steinbeck wrote about sexism as a social issue in his 1937 novel Of Mice and Men, and, even though there have been some immense improvements in the role of women in society, the problem still stands today. Because John Steinbeck saw sexism as an important social issue in his time he wrote about it in his novel Of Mice and Men. How Curley's wife is treated by all the men in the ranch displays how women were treated back in the 1930’s. In the novel the readers are not given the name of Curley’s wife; she is being displayed as property.

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528 Words | 3 Pages

During election seasons, someone who didn't know any better would think that the only DC real estate that is ever available or worth getting into is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Talk to sports fans in the area and they will tell you that the hot new DC real estate is the new Nationals Park in the Southeast section of the city. But the overall reality is that there's a whole lot more to DC real estate than simply historic and cultural centers and tourist destinations. Whether you're visiting the Washington, DC area or you already live in the metro DC area, chances are good that you have a sense that DC real estate has a lot to offer. You can't ride the Metro without seeing dozens of advertisements announcing the construction of new condominium

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Curley’s wife, the only main female presented in the novella, is depicted as a harlot. The only other time females are mentioned is when they are mentioned as being ladies in whore houses. This depiction sets the tone for all females presented in the novella. Instead of being seen as a worker, women were mainly seen as man’s companion, and as a symbol for love, lust, and desire. In the novella Curley’s wife’s appearance is described as, “Her face heavily made up.

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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.

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