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How Does Steinbeck Present The Women In Of Mice And Men

477 Words2 Pages

The novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, strongly focuses on the limitations of being a woman due to the treatment of others and the norms within society. The one singular woman within the ranch is overlooked and is not even respected via the use of her name; only a symbol of who she “belongs to” and what she wears. I am strongly connected with this piece, having watched society treat women as an object of marketing and the effect these images have on youth. The novella also portrays the double standard set between males and the only female on the ranch. I’ve watched as my hard work has gotten me the minimum or even belittled compared to boys who do the bare minimum, yet they still get treasured and gain mass amounts of appreciation for just showing up. …show more content…

John Steinbeck intentionally strips the women in the novella of their names, instructing audiences to view these women’s roles as limited. Not even once does Curley, her husband, refer to her by her name, only asking the workers, “[If] You seen a girl around here?”. Curley doesn’t respect her as an individual, only viewing her as an accessory to himself, the others follow this belief, hence the simplistic title of “Curley’s wife”. She is also described as having “full, red lips.” and her fingernails being painted red. Which symbolizes sexuality and promiscuous behavior. Causing a rumble across the ranch, due to rumors of her disloyalty, due to her giving everyone “the eye”. Likewise, we often hear the only other female in the novella named as “the girl in the red dress” referring to what happened back in Weed. This title again belittles a woman as an object of a man’s portrayal, what she was wearing. These women have both been objectified to nothing more than a nameless title and a figure in

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