In the novel, ¨Of Mice and Men,¨ the author, John Steinbeck, develops complex characters which opens the story up for interpretation. Steinbeck uses both direct and indirect characterization, which forces the reader to infer important traits about each characters. An example of a character is Crooks, a colored man working on a ranch during the Great Depression. Being the only black man on the ranch, Crooks is often looked down on as a stable bunk, and is not respected as the other men are. Because of this, Crooks is perceived as powerless.
In Chapter 2 for Of Mice and Men George and Lennie finally arrive in the Bunkhouse. When the old swamper named Candy came in to help out George and Lennie, he was telling them about how the boss was. Later on the boss came in and was interrogating George and Lennie because George was talking for Lennie and he was getting suspicious, thinking they were trying to pull something over him. After the boss left the Bunkhouse, Curley (the boss's son) came in and started talking to Lennie about if he is spoken to he needs to answer the person himself. Once Curley left, Candy came back and was talking to George about how Curley is good with his hands.
In the novella, Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck illustrates a ranch in the 1930’s during the great depression where those who fit into mainstream society run the show, and those deemed “outcasts” are rendered useless. Steinbeck depicts characters with setbacks that diminish their value in the eyes of society, and contrasts them to characters that have no difficulties conforming to the norm. Crooks, being a black man isolated by his race, and Candy, a elderly man limited by his age and missing limb are examples of Steinbeck characters that experience hardships because of the differences. The poor treatment of Crooks and Candy by the other characters, and their chronic unhappiness in a place that doesn’t value them, comments on how
John Steinbeck depicts Crooks as a sympathetic character by emphasizing his obedient nature and lonely attitude. In the book Of Mice And Men Crooks is a sympathetic character because of his obedient nature. First off when Crooks pops his head into the bunkhouse and says to “Mr.Slim” that he heated tar for a mules foot “”oh!
The Progressive Movement lasted from the late 19th century through the first twenty years of the 20th century. There were economical, political, and cultural problems during this time period, and Progressives worked to improve them. The movement sought to restore economic opportunities, and to improve the lack of fairness and justice in American life. Progressives wanted to preserve capitalism, improve working conditions, and achieve better governmental rule.
The definition of a sympathetic character is one whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, though not necessarily admire. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife, a main character in the book is blatantly portrayed as an unsympathetic character. This is because they only see her through the men's eyes, who only see her as a tiresome object, owned by her husband. Steinbeck’s portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair and misogynistic because he only displays her as unintelligent and promiscuous, never has a character have a turning point where they realize she’s more than an object, and he never reveals her true name. The first reason that Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair is that he never gives Curley any redeeming personality traits, he only depicts her as unintelligent and promiscuous.
Lonely Characters in Of Mice And Men Imagine a world where people didn’t really care what one said to another, and neither cared enough to ask each other questions. A place where everyone existed in silence, but were together at the same time. As portrayed in the novel, Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, in which Steinbeck’s idea of loneliness is isolation in silences. The author teaches the reader that friendship is mostly about conversation, and magnifies the effects of isolation through the eyes of Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy.
This distinguishes of how the readers can misunderstand Curley’s wife characterization by reason of the lack of historical context. Adding on, the historical content elucidates about the real struggle women had to endure, by having to do so many chores in the house without ever receiving a break. From the “Women in the New Deal Era”(PDF) the author states, “Women not only had to worry about supporting their families by providing food, shelter, and clothing, but they also were depended on to deliver emotional support to their loved ones in those trying times, in any way they possibly could.” Not only were women supposed to physically take care of the family they had to mentally take care of them too. A woman shouldn’t be bound in chains where she is forced to work till she dies.
As we all know, there are different opinions on the character Curley’s wife from different perspective. Some people might say that Curley’s wife is nothing but a possession of Curley, following the fact that we know her as Curley’s wife instead of her real name. Other people might say that Curley’s wife is the main voice from Steinbeck, which expresses the concern of both racism and classism But the truth is women at this period of time in the society, in this case, Curley’s wife, have a dominant role of a housewife and don’t have any freedom when decision is made. She first appeared in the doorway of the bunkhouse, asking the location of her husband, which is later revealed that it is just an excuse to be able to interact with the ranchers.
Steinbeck incorporates his personal identity all throughout the characters and the story during his novel, Of Mice and Men, in many different ways. First of all, the book took place in Salinas, California. This is the town where Steinbeck was born and grew up in. As stated in the passage, the area’s geography and enumeration really impacted his senses, and is clearly shown in his writing. He had previously said how he was going to write about the houses, farms and ranches of the Salinas Valley.
Furthermore, one of the most interesting roles in the ensemble of characters is Curley’s wife: her name is never mentioned in the book, as a reminder that she feels completely anonymous and useless, since her role is not recognised by none of the other characters. Her self-obsession probably originates from her desperate and unfulfilled need of validation. Someone may argue that her character is designed only as a tool for the development of the story, but her strong personality goes beyond this function. The moment of her death is in fact the highest moment of the novella and the culmination of an ascendant climax that goes throughout the whole narration.
The only woman in the novel is Curley’s wife, who doesn 't even get a name. On the farm, she’s discriminated against in multiple ways. She’s seen as an object by Curley, with little to no respect whatsoever. She’s not allowed to go out to town, and is stuck on the farm. And when Curley keeps his hand in a glove filled with vaseline to make it smooth for her.
Later in the novella Curley’s wife flared up and says, “Sure I gotta husban’. You all seen him. Swell guy, ain’t he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like…” Curley’s wife uses sarcasm as well as aggravation to respond to the men.
Sexism is shown in the book when Curley’s wife is regarded as a bitch merely owing to the fact that she is flirtatious and wears appealing clothes. People are prejudiced against Curley’s wife because she is a woman and also because she wears makeup and dresses. She is constantly called derogatory terms throughout the book simply because of her appearance and coquettish actions. She is perceived as Curley’s property so she is not to be looked at or spoken to.
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a short novel that packs a punch and really looks back at America’s past and mistakes. Steinbeck paints a picture of the late 1920s and early 1930s through two men, George and Lennie. George looks after the mentally challenged Lennie and must take action by soon ending Lennie’s life. The characters in the novel all struggle with heartbreaking conflicts but, no one else suffers more than Lennie and George. These conflicts are often supported imagery in the text.
