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LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY of mice and men
Literary analysispaper of mice and men
Literary analysispaper of mice and men
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Matt McQueen Mrs. Lutrell English 11 5 February 2018 Curley’s Wife In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates a story about main characters George and Lennie that takes place during the Great Depression. All the characters in the story have different disadvantages, including Curley’s wife, the only women.
“‘Well, you been askin’ me too often, I’m gettin’ God damn sick of it. If you can’t look after your own Goddamn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me” (Steinbeck 62). When Curley cannot find his wife, he becomes quarrelsome and confrontational, putting others in danger. Due to Curley’s wife not staying by her husband’s side, the other ranchers’ duties as well as the lives are put on the line, considering Curley’s amount of power on the farm and his well-known wrestling career.
She resorts to talking with other men by flirting, but only makes Curley more protective and abusive towards the other men she is associating with. People do not see others’ internal selves, but only their external images. By focusing only on the outer appearance, the men on the farm see Curley’s wife as a “tart” (Steinbeck 29). Curley is very pejorative and the men in the ranch
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.
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 book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck we learn about the characteristics and personalities of most characters early within the book. Except for one character who is very mysterious. Curley's wife is the only woman on the ranch. Everyone on the ranch refers to her as Curley's wife throughout the whole book. Is a character who does not have a name that important to the story?
I’m going to tell you a litter bit about Utah also known as the Beehive State. Utah’s state flower is the Sego Lilly and the state bird is California Gull. My state’s tree is Blue Spruce and state fruit is cherries. The state animal in Utah is an Elk. Utah has a state fossil, it is the Allosaurus.
(Josselyn) Curley’s Wife can be mistaken for an antagonist in the story because she is only described through the men’s point of view. Workers on the ranch view her in one way: as a cause for trouble. The old sweeper, Candy, sheds his perspective on us when he describes her on page 32, saying, “Jesus, what a tramp. So that’s what Curley picks for a wife” (Steinbeck). As men arrive for work, they are flooded with the opinions of all of the existing others.
John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, takes place in California on a ranch in the Salinas Valley during the Great Depression. During this time, the United States of America was in a period of economic decline and people were living in poverty. From these hardships, weaknesses arise in different characters in the novel. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck utilizes the deaths of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife, and Lennie to reveal that weaker people are eradicated because they cannot defend themselves against others.
Despite being the only female on a ranch full of foul-mouthed men, Curley 's wife exploits both her sexuality and her status to demonstrate power throughout the novel. For instance, when first meeting Curley’s wife she attempts to enhance her body for the new men: “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward” (31). From Curley’s wife’s actions we learn that since the beginning she finds it necessary to flaunt her body, instead of showing her real personality. Furthermore, she is using her physical attraction to portray an appearance that is automatically seducing in hopes of placing herself above the newly arriving men. After Crooks tells Curley’s wife to get out of the barn, she erupts
Curley’s Wife is hiding her real personality There are many to some people in the world that are afraid of showing who they really are, and their real personality, but yet this may block their dream/goal. However I don’t have this experience, it’s impossible to understand what curley’s wife is feeling unless you’ve had a personal encounter like this. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, is a perfect example of this because her real personality is to be actress on a stage, yet she’s trapped on a farm with someone she hates and tries to express herself as a tart to maybe get over the fact that she’ll never be in the big city. To give some background about Curley’s wife she is a young 15 year old girl who is married to the bosses son; Curley, and
In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck two brother like men, Lennie and George, take off looking for a job to come up with the financial help for their life long dream of owning a small farm and food plot. They soon find themselves in california, on the banks of the Salinas River cussing and cursing at the old bus driver who had dropped them off miles away from their desired destination. They go to the ranch and end up meeting the workers, Candy, Slim, Carlson, Curley, the boss, and Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife Flirts with all of the workers which makes Curley mad and wanting to pick fights with everyone. Curley ends up getting into a quarrel with Lennie, who then destroys his hand.
In society it is natural to judge someone when you first meet them, and sometimes it leads them to misperception. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck talks about George and Lennie, their journey through the Great Depression. The start of the book talks about how George and Lennie move from farm to farm looking for work and they find a new farm. At this farm they befriend a few of the workers there, but they all misperceive Lennie right away and see him as this weakling that cannot do anything really serious. Since in the end Lennie ends up killing Curley’s wife and no one expected it since he comes off more childish.
Many books possess an evil character, a villain, however the villain normally helps to improve the story and create a depth to the plot. In the work Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck uses the character Curley to show that violence is never the answer. When introduced to anyone new, Curley has to threaten them, because he needs to showcase his role of leadership in the group. However if he showed them kindness instead, people wouldn’t see him as an angry person. For example, Candy warns George to distance himself from Curley, because he has a nasty temper and loves beating up big guys because he is not big.
Steinbeck created a certain image of women by portraying Curley’s wife as she is. The impression of women that was left was not too kind. “Well, I think Curley’s married… a tart… He ain’t the first… there’s plenty done that. ”(Steinbeck 28).
