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The Characters Of Women In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

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As a writer during the Great Depression, John Steinbeck impacted an audience who found consolation in his famous literature, during a time of desolation and despair. Through the means of his writing, women have a perpetual role of trying to deviate from their societal roles, but are inhibited and rejected by society. The female characters in Steinbeck’s writing all are depicted as inferior in relation to their male counterparts. This observation brings about a new query open for deliberation. Was one of the most preeminent writers in history prejudiced against women? It is formidably supported that John Steinbeck had strong prejudiced opinions about women as evidenced by his writings. Considering the vast number of available works, only a small selection of Steinbeck’s most popular literature is needed to investigate the slighted nature of his female characters: the women of The Grapes of Wrath, Eliza from “The Chrysanthemums,” and Curly’s wife in Of Mice and Men. …show more content…

Additionally, he focuses on the inferiority of women, who cannot openly exert their power. Most damningly, Steinbeck frequently considers that women are more easily susceptible to temptation, and cannot restrain themselves once tempted. These intentions of limiting women are subtle in his writing and project Steinbeck’s own bias against women. His unfair treatment of women allows readers to conclude the issue that John Steinbeck understood the uncontained strength of women, but was prejudiced against their actions, as supported and expressed through his

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Steinbeck’s book represents what women often represent in literature; the weak object of desire. However, women

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As society has become an integral part of the world’s culture, the opinions and misconceptions of others have dominated the way people live. Throughout history, certain groups and ideas have been suppressed by the ones in charge. These actions have sprouted an almost universal indifference to those deemed less than ideal, and therefore created a divide in the way society sees race, age groups and even gender. Coupled with the Great Depression, these beliefs are the driving force for the majority of problems individuals experience in the text. In the novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the device of conflict to portray the external struggles of characters living in the era of the Great Depression.

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In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck uses a range of techniques to help the reader understand and feel sympathetic to the outcasted, sad characters in the novel. Steinbeck describes the state of the outcasts, which are Curley’s wife, Crooks and Candy,and in which they are discriminated against the others in the ranch. Steinbeck refers to the characteristics of the outcasts in society to make the readers feel sympathy and understand that the stereotypical categories they are put under are not always true. Steinbeck draws on emotional language to show the reader that the stereotypical categories the characters are being put under are not always veracious. “...Why can’t I talk to you?

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Prejudice against women and gender equality are common controversies exhibited through various forms, such as in literature, everyday society, and multimedia, regardless of the time period. In literature, misogyny is often a topic that is discussed or incorporated. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, portrays misogyny in the 1930’s through the creation of a character named Curley’s wife. When the male ranch workers converse about Curley’s wife, George warns Lennie, “I don’t care what she says or what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her.

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Of Blacks and Whites “It is not what an author says, but what he or she whispers, that is important.” -- Logan Pershall Smith (adapted) Authors have the power to influence readers not only with what they say but with what they imply. Authors can, and often will, use this power to bring light to darker times. John Steinbeck wields this power in his novella, Of Mice and Men to tell the public of the cruelty and prejudices that were directed towards minorities during the 1930s.

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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

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The Death of The Unborn Female American Dream Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, takes place during the time of The Great Depression; an era extremely difficult for women. The novella contains many iconic characters that serve as a metaphor to our societal standards. Curley’s wife is introduced just like any other; however, the emphasis on her feminine features are metaphoric to where women stand in society. In order to prove that society makes it impossible for certain people to attain The American Dream, Steinbeck objectifies, sexualizes, and kills Curley’s wife to show that women cannot reach The American Dream. Steinbeck uses specific vocabulary to objectify Curley’s wife; alienating her from The American Dream.

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“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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Masculine and Feminine Roles in Steinbeck’s “Chrysanthemums” In the story “The Chrysanthemums”, by John Steinbeck, Elisa Allen lives an unsatisfactory life as she desires more than what is bestowed upon her. The reader learns Elisa’s husband is culpable for not seeing the beauty of his wife, leaving an open door for the antagonist, a traveler, to prey upon Elisa’s. Steinbeck uses Masculine and Feminine roles of the early 20th century, Internal Conflict, and an antagonist, to show Elisa’s struggle for Identity. Steinbeck illustrates Masculine and feminine roles of the 20th century in the “Chrysanthemums” to show Elisa’s struggle with identity.

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“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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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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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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The Treatment of Women in Literature Since the beginning of time, women have always been considered less than or inferior to men. Although, the treatment of women has improved tremendously and women are seeing more opportunities than ever before, we still have a long way to go. Until recently, the majority of published writers were men and the depiction of women in literature was mainly one sided. No matter what time period or culture, women in literature usually take the back seat to men. The once popular TV drama series, Twin Peaks, which was created in 1990, and Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” which was published in 1970, but was probably written in the 50s or 60s, are perfect examples of this.

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Author John Steinbeck explores multiple real life issues in both works, and provides a message of how unfair the world is, as well as show how cruel humans can be to differences. Sexism is an important topic when one discusses society. The issue of sexism has always been prominent. With the definition of prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex. In Of Mice and Men, author John Steinbeck showed how men thought about and treated women through the character Curley’s wife.

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In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.

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