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Changing Gender Roles In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Women

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Of Mice and Women The literature of the 1930’s illustrates the American woman staying in the home to provide for those who depend on her instead of joining the workforce to support them through a job (Walker). This image does not tell the whole story about the role that American women played during Great Depression.The Great Depression changed the gender roles in American society, specifically the role of the American woman from at home moms to taking over the workforce and developing a sense of independence among themselves. Overall the hardships of the Great Depression were felt by the women of America, but the impact was felt by each woman uniquely due to the different lives that all women live. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses the character of Curley’s Wife to represent the gender roles …show more content…

A prominent change occurred during the Great Depression that would change the role of the American woman into what it is now. In the 1930’s it was seen that the male of a household was the one at work working hard to collect enough money for the family while the wife worked at home caring for children and trying her best to support her family as well. However, this image is not always true in a sense that some women were single moms that either their husband left or they had gotten a divorce. In order for a woman to provide for her family whether or not she had a husband, she most likely joined the workforce to contribute some cash flow to the family (Ware). Once World War II came around the women supplied the needed work to the workforce created by the need for soldiers to fight the war (Harrison). This significant growth of involvement of women in the workforce was shown

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