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Limitation Of Women In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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In the novella ‘Of mice and men’ by John Steinbeck, two men George and Lennie, have many limitations in life. George and Lennie end up on a farm where they meet people who also have limitations, one of those people happens to be a character known as “Curley 's wife”. Steinbeck crafts Curley 's wife as a sexualized object in order to reveal that women are dehumanized and thus excluded from the American Dream. Not only Does Curley 's wife have to deal with being the only women on a ranch full of men but she also has to deal with only being known as a possession to her husband and to the others. “Curleys wife” (Pg 79) represents how they do not respect her enough to call her by her own name showing how much she lacks an identity of her own and is treated as a piece of property to her husband making it hard for her to do what she wants without being critiqued by the men on the farm. Another way Steinbeck objectifys Curley 's wife is by using specific vocabulary “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch. I don 't care what she says and what she does. I seen em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her. You leave her be.” (Pg 32) Through this quote Steinbeck is able to reveal the …show more content…

Notably, Steinbeck also isolates Curley 's wife from everyone on the ranch because she has to stay at home while everyone is out working and Curly does not want his wife to talk to anybody except for him, but since he is always working, it pressures her to talk to others and be rebellionent since she gets lonely by herself. “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” (Pg 85). “I get lonely, you can talk to people, but I can 't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How 'd you like not to talk to anybody?" (Pg 87 ). Steinbeck reveals how Curley 's wife is being isolated in this quote by her acknowledging how lonely she is and how she can not talk to anybody but Curley and if she were he would get mad at not only her but whoever she

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“‘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.

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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

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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.

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Curley’s wife describes her childhood, “I never got that letter. I always thought my ol’ lady stole it. Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself, an’ she says no. So I married Curley…” (Steinbeck 88).

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Misconception Curley’s wife, who was never to be named, was a complex and important main character in John Steinbeck's novelette “Of Mice & Men.”. She had a complicated past from aspiring to be a young actress but never getting the support needed from her family. She was practically forced into marriage with Curley; she never actually loved him. From the first time she was brought up in the novelette, she was portrayed as a flirtatious, ignorant tramp. This portrayal, however, is based on the viewpoints of Steinbeck’s male characters.

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The only character in Of Mice and Men (written by John Steinbeck) who has no name, Curley’s wife acts as if she belongs to Curley. Being the only female character in the book, sometimes she feels as if she needs more attention from some of the other characters. Curley’s wife searches for reasons for the workers of the ranch to talk to her. She knows that doing this will only get the men beat up by her husband, Curley, but she wants the attention. Lennie is intrigued by Curley’s wife’s luscious hair and good looks, whereas George sees her as a tease and a “tart”.

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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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Their relationship is far from ideal, with Curley spending a majority of his time attempting to prove his dominance among the other men present on the farm than with his wife. Her perception of this is, “‘Swell guy, ain’t he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody’” (Steinbeck 78). Curley is more focused on inciting conflicts with the workers rather than spending time with the woman he married.

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I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely’” (Steinbeck 86). this says that she get lonely because of curley doesnt allow her to talk to others because she flirts with them every male she talks too and the ranch is male dominated so Curley doesnt allow her to talk to the others. Another example of this is in the beginning of the book when we first meet Curleys wife she burst into the building looking for Curley then begins to flirt with Lennie and George.

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On the other hand Curley’s wife is always desiring attention due to her isolation: “I get lonely… How’d you like not to talk to anybody”(Steinbeck 87). This is one of the many times Curley’s wife has tried to talk to someone. She has tried to have a conversation with Lennie before but George tells him not to talk to her. Lennie could not resist and talked to her. Her constant desire for attention ultimately leads to her death.

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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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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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In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrayed a political statement by looking at mental and physical disabilities through different characters such as Curley's Wife, Crooks, and Lennie. Curley's wife is used to represent how women were treated during the 1930’s and almost treated with a disability. Women were portrayed as the help and they were supposed to stay home and work while the strong brave men went out and got money to support the family. By Steinbeck not giving Curley's wife a name he is showing how she is connected to Curly with an Invisible rope.

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The couple fails to admit to each other that they are not in love for fear of losing their power and status as individuals. Curley’s marriage is revealed to be a sham through his wife’s conversation with Lennie, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I oughtn 't to. I don’ like Curley.” (pg. 89 Steinbeck)

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Imagine your pencil flying up and down your paper you love writing in cursive and knowing how to. It helps both sides of your brain work together it also helps you generate ideas and write faster also you’re going to need to know cursive for important things you’ll need as an adult. Cursive is very important in your life and you might not see that. some people don’t think that cursive should still be tot because we have electronics now but I think we still need it.

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