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Hatred Of Women In Of Mice And Men

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John Steinbeck, author of, “ The Harvest Gypsies,” writes, “This hatred of the stranger occurs in the whole range of human history, from the most primitive village form to our own highly organized industrial farming.” It could be argued that throughout history, stubborn white men have proven to be weak. They have been perceived to bring down other people, in order for their feelings to be validated and appear powerful. We can explore this through the environmental and political lens in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and why these weak men hate the “stranger,” who is the female role in this classic novella. Not only were women not allowed to vote until the 1920s per The Nineteenth Amendment, but it wasn’t until 1973 that the US Supreme Court …show more content…

She is left out and called vulgar names because she isn’t the stereotypical “housewife,” because of the fact that she wants to be sociable and wants more for herself than to cook and clean for an abusive, emotionally detached husband. George, Slim, and Candy all hold a dismantled judgment against her, without even knowing her. George exaggerated, “I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her,” before even speaking a word to her (Steinbeck 32). She remained unnamed, other than addressed by “Curley’s wife,” and was constantly disrespected, Steinbeck uses a character like Curley’s wife, the female temptress archetype, to tear down the men through the influence she had on …show more content…

Not only were women recycling and sewing to do their part in helping the USA win World War II, but large numbers of women were also helping to build aircraft and create bombs. Going from complete discrimination in the 1930s to now even having female political leaders in today's world would have driven the haters into complete disbelief. Females have undeniably struggled to earn respect in the world. Feminists celebrate the significantly increased number of women in politics, but women are still underrepresented in executive and legislative positions (“Feminism”). Society bases women on the belief that one gender is superior to the other. This gender has experienced growth not only through politics but through their home lives and simple everyday choices as well. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to represent the women during this time, opening up a window to see the dramatic growth the race has made. It is now normal for women to work, own businesses, wear clothes other than dresses, and for women to achieve their dreams. Curley’s wife would be proud to see how far her gender has worked its way up through society. It is important to acknowledge this unequal treatment and learn about the past, so history will not repeat

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931 Words | 4 Pages

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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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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566 Words | 3 Pages

As we start the story every person seems innocent and quickly changes when their true colors begin to show. During the book, we meet Curley’s wife a temptress whom everyone sees through and as we see later on, she turns into a damsel. Curley’s wife got bored one afternoon at home and decided to take a trip into the workplace when all she began to do was stir up trouble, “Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny." (steinbeck 120-121)

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755 Words | 4 Pages

“…some horses snorted and stomped their feet.” Steinbeck shows a certain level of power asserted by Curley’s Wife that even animals are wary of her presence. Steinbeck also shows a nasty side to Curley’s Wife because she is being ignore by the men she felt vulnerable and lonely. “Listen nigger she said. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap.”

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591 Words | 3 Pages

Although Steinbeck uses all his “Of Mice and Men” characters to criticize society, Curley’s Wife is the character who points out the most glaring flaws. She shows this in her actions, her background, and her attitude towards the men and herself. In the novelette, the reader is introduced to Curley’s Wife as just that. Curley’s Wife, despite being her own person with motives and feelings, is never called by name.

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800 Words | 4 Pages

The Marginalized: Curley's Wife Have you ever felt the extreme sexist challenges of being a woman? The irrational fear of differing from your peers and being judged on the basis of what sex you were born as, as "the bard of femininity," is on your shoulders, you are being objectified solely for the fact that you are female. In John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella Of Mice and Men, the author uses the themes of loneliness, isolation, and sexism to explore the theme of the marginalization of women in this time and how it leads to extreme dissociation, self-harm, and pain. Steinbeck's character Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men exclusively represent women's marginalization because she is depicted as a tramp, and most people back then wouldn't

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998 Words | 4 Pages

Moreover, with George and the other males spewing insults about Curley’s wife, it highlights the awful disrespect females would receive from people during this time period. Women were often judged for being the gender they were born as and not for the person they are, such as Curley’s wife. Unfortunately, these misconceptions about Curley’s wife leaves her in a vulnerable and unprotected state due to the fact that no one views her positively except herself. The only female character in the novella must defend herself, but outnumbered by a misogynistic population, her chances of conquering and winning are slim. In addition, Steinbeck portrays the horrors and prejudice of women by describing the reaction of Curley when he views his dead wife.

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862 Words | 4 Pages

Especially when in the context of Curley's Wife. According to Kevin Atell, she is seen as a “purely menacing figure—an ominous portent… ”(Atell) Steinbeck characterizes her this way with intent in order to show the inequitable social norms that are occurring in everyday life. While modern society may have these inequitable sex roles they are still not as apparent as they were in the past. For example, throughout the novella, Curley's Wife is allowed no interaction with anybody outside of Curly.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

Steinbeck’s novel was set in 1937 against the backdrop of liberalism. But the women in spite of the liberal notions were still controlled by men as can be seen in curley’s wife case, though she was talented and has a dream she lack the opportunities to fulfill her dream. Most of the women did not have formal education so most of their dreams remained

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953 Words | 4 Pages

The women shown by Steinback are Curley’s Wife, Susy, and Aunt Clara and are given somewhat respect. Even though there are not many female characters, John Steinbeck symbolizes them as archetypes throughout the book he indicates sexism of women being at the bottom of the social hierarchy in a male workplace. Although all women in the novel are portrayed differently, on some level as authority figures, they differ in the amount of respect received

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684 Words | 3 Pages

By highlighting the difficulties that Curley's wife faces as a woman, Steinbeck signifies that the American Dream is not only unattainable but that it unfairly excludes marginalized groups, particularly women. Curley's wife is held back by the limited roles and expectations placed upon women and is unable to pursue her dreams and aspirations fully. Through Crooks, Steinbeck criticizes the romanticized representation of the American Dream by exemplifying the fact that the Dream is out of reach for many individuals because of societal oppression and institutional

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786 Words | 4 Pages

The singular prominent female character in the story is portrayed as an object, rather than a person. Steinbeck displays her as an object by never directly naming her, instead only referring to her as ‘Curley’s Wife’. This reduces her to Curley’s property, and the effect is heightened by the fact that Curley never refers to her as anything other than ‘my wife’, as if she is an object belonging to him. His immediate reaction to her death is not one of sadness, but one of anger towards Lennie, as if Lennie has destroyed a valuable possession of his. Curley turns his wife’s death into a situation with himself as the center of attention: ‘...“I’ll kill the big son-of-a-b*tch myself.

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913 Words | 4 Pages

In 1920 when the 19th amendment was passed allowing women to vote, many women thought that Gender Inequality was coming to an end. Soon after, the Great Depression happened, and everyone was focused on that. Life for women was especially hard then because they had to live in a world full of poverty and discrimination. Throughout Of Mice and Men we see this through Curley’s Wife. She just wants to fit in and talk to the men without thinking she wants something, or being called rude names.

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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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1644 Words | 7 Pages

The novellas Of Mice and Men and The Pearl are both often noted as social criticisms. The author, John Steinbeck addresses real-life issues that society is facing. Whether through direct statements and comments, or through a fictional characters’ situation, Steinbeck criticizes just some of the problems of society. He shows the way people are discriminated against, and why. He shows the issues society faces.

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