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Gender Perspectives In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Since the beginning of time, the world has been living in a male dominated society. Women have always been viewed as less than a man. What are the qualities of a good woman and what are they worthy of? This question can be asked, but the answers from different gender perspectives will vary. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, social inequality and gender inequality are two very important topics that can be depicted. This novel takes place during the Great depression during a completely different time period than we are in now yet, similar issues still exist today. In this novel the reader can view women from two different perspectives. The male perspective of women and the novels perspective. During the 1930’s, men were the main source of income and were highly depended upon to make money while women were expected to stay home with their children.
Women weren't allowed to chase after their dreams and in the eye of society, not be able to complete a job position that a man held because they are not equal. “ Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her. “ (Steinbeck 78) This quote is addressing that a girl shouldnt be on this ranch full of men, making this a standard that women wouldn’t even be considered for a job in this field. The woman they are referring to in this quote is …show more content…

Many males did not take into consideration their own faults and actions when it came down to it. Readers could take away from this novel how the world has evolved since the time period this book was written in, but how girls will till face some of the challenges like men degrading women in our world today. The feminist theory shows that many women feel that these circumstances and perspectives should be changed, and all humans should be equal. Everyone is at fault for their own actions and that is a message readers could take from this

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Women throughout history were always undervalued by the men. They have always known where their place in society was. Also, women are known for always being at a disadvantage with the men; women have never gotten as many opportunities as men, even in today's world. They always were at a disparity against men. It wasn’t until recently when women were able to be educated.

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768 Words | 4 Pages

Archetypes are a manifestation of how our minds envision the roles of characters, these characters come in the form of the hero, villain, temptress, damsel, monster, and mentor. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, we follow the story of two men who struggle to pull through, on their journey they come across other characters that fulfill the roles of the archetypes. One character in particular that fills the archetype of the villain is Curley. Curley has an aura of evil that resonates from his attitude and his actions, which triggers people to act defensively around him for self-preservation.

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511 Words | 3 Pages

America is often perceived as a country that values human rights. But on many occasions, this has been invalidated through the objectification of people of all genders, races, and backgrounds. Objectification is the act of treating a person as though they are not human but much rather an object or thing. For instance, Frederick Douglass’s aunt Hester in Narrative of the Life of a Slave by Frederick Douglass and Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Objectification has caused human suffering, not just in the past but today as well.

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547 Words | 3 Pages

Were racism and sexism that different on a California ranch 1930’s? In the novel Of Mice and Men, there is evidence of both sexism and racism throughout the story. Curley’s wife and Crooks are both characters who have first witnessed these views first hand. The two characters might be very similar in many ways but they also have differences. Even though Crooks and Curley’s wife are treated in the same ways one of them is not as badly treated as the other.

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956 Words | 4 Pages

In the socially realistic novella, ”Of Mice and Men '', by John Steincbeck, the author constructs the character of Curley's wife to explore the brutal reality women had to go through in the harsh environment of America during the Great Depression. Steinbeck, hence, creates a critique on society by delivering several examples of the treatment women in 1930s America received. Steinbeck portrays the misogynistic view of society all throughout the novel. The character of Curely´s wife gives the reader a clue of the lack of authority and importance women had during the Great Depression , this is because Steinbeck uses the possessive noun Curely´s wife to refer back to the character, the use of the possessive pronoun implies how women were seen

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1447 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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893 Words | 4 Pages

If a women was not a prostitute, they were labeled as jailbait, and viewed only as having sexual worth that often created more problems than it solved for the men. The extent of obscene depiction and their commentary on femininity in Of Mice and Men justify a woman’s inability to make a significant societal contribution even in the most dire periods of

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1183 Words | 5 Pages

The feminist lens provide modern society with the most compelling view of literature because men don’t trust women, men think women are cheaters and whores, and women don 't have a voice. First and foremost, men don’t trust women. Illustrates how the feminist perspective is the best lens to new modern literature in his play “Othello”, when shakespeare articulates through brabantio in Act 1, as he speaks to duke that “She has been fooled, stolen from me, and corrupted by spells and medicines bought from cheating salesmen. She is not mentally impaired, blind or

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953 Words | 4 Pages

“She’s gonna make a mess, they’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s a jailbait all set on the trigger”. Of Mice and Men show’s George and Lennie’s path to their American dream. They are starting off as laborers in California in the Salina’s Valley and live in a hand-to-mouth lifestyle on a ranch. The novel portrays many male characters than female.

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

If you had a vagina in John Steinbeck 's Of Mice and Men, a novel about extremely different people with their own individual disabilities and facing seemingly unending hardships, you were at a complete disadvantage to your male counterparts. John Steinbeck utilizes Curley 's wife to portray the views of someone who is utterly lonely, unable to apprehend her dream, and constantly oppressed due to the sole fact that she is a woman, demonstrating how the sexism in society leads to women not being able to participate in the American dream. One could say that Crooks, the only black character in the book has it harder, but this is not true. Although he is alone, he is not nearly as alone as Curley’s wife. Crooks gets to work with the other men during the day and sometimes spends time with them in the evenings.

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1262 Words | 6 Pages

Of Mice and Men is John Steinbeck’s most successful early novel containing elements of social criticism shaped by this real life experience. Steinbeck drew his inspiration for the work from his experience living and working as a “bindlestiff” during the 1920’s. Instead of graduating from Stanford University, Steinbeck chose to support himself through manual labour whilst writing. His experience amongst the working classes in California lent authenticity to his depiction of the lives of the workers - who are the central characters of this novel; and the social issues that ensue. To further emphasize the loneliness of the itinerant worker Steinbeck then decides to set the novel near Soledad, California, a town name that means “Solitude” in Spanish.

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607 Words | 3 Pages

“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.” - Alice Walker In Chapter 4 of Of Mice and Men race and gender are depicted in different ways symbolizing different character behaviors.

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913 Words | 4 Pages

Therefore, when the men say that, they are basically calling a her a “slut”. Throughout the novel of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the author reveals that there were false expectations based on gender through the character of Curley’s Wife. The amount of sexism and discrimination of women was explicit. Curley’s wife just wanted to fit in without being judged.

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973 Words | 4 Pages

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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854 Words | 4 Pages

As many other literary texts such as Jane Eyre or Gone with the Wind are more straight forward with their exhibit of views on women, this short story requires a more in depth, close reading to illustrate

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