An agreement made between two to share each other until the end of time. Marriage is this agreement, but also a union between two people. A union that is meant to be shared equally; however, in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men this is not the case. The main marriage, in the novel, is between Curley and his wife. The pair displays a marriage of control rather than a union. This is seen as a dominated and submissive relationship between the married couple. This creates a negative outlook on the idea of marriage in the 1930s to today’s standards. The ceremonies have not changed over time; however, the idea of having a control relationship has changed to a union or partnership relationship. The idea of being an object in a marriage has also changed. …show more content…
In the 1930s, men were viewed as the head of the house. They had control of the land and their wives. The farm workers explain how Curley’s wife did not deserve to be on the farm: “Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specifically like her”(Steinbeck pg. 78). This indicates the role women had. They were not allowed to have shared ownership of the land their husbands’ own. When Curley’s wife was talking to Lennie she explained that “‘You can talk to people, but i can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad”(Steinbeck pg.87). This demonstrates Curley control as the head of the household. This is because of the wording of I can’t. By using this wording Steinbeck explains to the reader on how Curley’s wife had no control. According to Hodder, “The common law doctrine of coverture subsumed a wife's legal identity into her husband's”(Hodder). With the help of this statement Steinbeck’s reasoning to write Curley's wife as a prop to be used by the men in the story is …show more content…
In the current society, those who are married are both viewed as the head of the household: a shared partnership. This is because of the shared responsibility they have. According to Hodder, “Sociologists agree that women have driven the shift from the marriage-centric mores”(Hodder). According to the Women’s Bureau in the 1920s 21 percent of women worked outside of the home and compare to today there is 49 percent working outside the home(Our). Women are able to go into the work field to provide for their families without the judgment of others, like in the 1930s. By allowing women to enter the work field, they are able to share the responsibilities of the household. Thus for ending the idea of having a head of
In John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife as a flirtatious, mischievous, and over all isolated woman. Steinbeck doesn’t give this character a name, yet she is one of the most important characters in the story. Curley’s wife first comes off as flirtatious to the main characters, George and Lenny, when they first hear about her from the character Candy . Candy is talking about how she gives men “the eye”. He also displays his feelings about her by saying, “Well, I think Curley’s married… a tart”(28). This is setting George and Lenny up to expect she is a flirt.. Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife in her first introduction as a scantily dressed woman.. Steinbeck writes, “Both men [George and Lenny] glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, roughed lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled cluster, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers”(31). The color red is sometimes considered for portraying a sign of danger or sex. This passage supports Curley’s wife as being flirtatious and also how she’s dangerous and can cause trouble displaying herself while she is married. Also, when George and Lenny are talking to Curley’s wife she tries to flirtatiously talk to them too. After their first conversation she re-adjusts herself. Steinbeck displays her with “She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”(31). Steinbeck is explaining to the reader in detail that Curley’s wife is trying to show herself to Lenny and George to get thei...
The way Curley’s wife was treated changed the responsibility she had, the views of her, and being alone all the time. In life, women and those who are different aren’t seen as equal. They all have harder lives than the typical man does. Unfortunately, one of the characters who were different was outnumbered and was seen on a lower
Curley's Wife in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. ‘Of Mice and Men’ was originally a novel by John Steinback which was written in 1937. It was also made into a film in 1939, and then later. in 1992. It is a tale of the friendship between two men, George and Lennie, who has travelled to work on a ranch together and how their friendship is put to the test.
...nd a tease throughout the novella which shows that the men only view her as a sexual being. The workers assume that everything she does is to cause trouble and she is held responsible for her own murder as well as the situation forcing George to kill Lennie. It is apparent that Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife as a medium to bring to light the excessive sexism women faced during the Great Depression.
In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, after Lennie’s death, there are many people to blame, but Curley and Curley’s Wife are to blame more than anyone else and there are strong reasons as to why.
Curley's wife is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her.
In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the feminist lens is represented in many different ways throughout the novel, including actions and comments different characters make. Most of these events are surrounded by the character Curley’s Wife. Curley’s wife is a character who is known for her not being trusted by any of the workers on the ranch, and for fooling around with other men besides her husband, Curley. For instance, when Curley’s Wife is talking to another character, Slim. “…’Hi Slim,’ she said. Slim’s voice came through the door. ‘Hi, good-looking.”(Steinbeck, 31) Curley’s Wife is not allowed to flirt or even communicate with other men at the ranch, but she likes to break the rules and have a conversation with other people because she feels that she has never had any freedom since she married Curley. Curley’s Wife is mistreated at the ranch because everyone is afraid to trust and contact her.
In the Steinbeck novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, he introduces us to the character of Curley’s wife. She could be interpreted as a mis-fitting character in the novel, as no one relaters to her. This essay will go on to examine the character of Curley’s wife and how characters perceive her and how this influences the readers interpretation of her.
In every person's life, they may come to meet someone who feels like they can fulfill their life by themselves and do not need anyone else. Completely independent, and able to do everything on their own. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, that is the case for Curley's Wife. The novel is filled with challenges and struggles for Curley's Wife to be independent, without a man. Curley’s Wife is forced to live around the farm, and only allowed to talk to Candy but is hoping for a new life by herself.
In this essay I am going to examine whether Curley's wife is a tart or
Curley’s Wife, who persistently talked with every man on the ranch besides her husband, displays how sexism is portrayed on the ranch. Steinbeck proves this by showing a differing view towards women in the time period that the book was written, because, as Carleson states, “Why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?” (Steinbeck, 62). Carleson is exemplifying just a small fraction of the negative
Curley’s wife is an outsider on the ranch, simply because she is the one. only woman there is. Steinbeck never named Curley’s wife. She is defined by her relationship with Curley, as his property, not as an individual. Namelessness also has the effect of reinforcing how insignificant she is in the life of the ranch, how dependent she is on Curley, for her.
Life is full of choices: where to go to school, where to live, who to marry, and what jobs to apply for, and most of the time each of us control what happens with these choices. What if those choices brought someone to the point of being trapped and feeling helpless? In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck the wife of Curley is in just that spot. She made the choice to marry a tyrant of a man and is now forced to live with the consequences of her decisions. Curley’s Wife is misunderstood due to the workers’ assumptions, Curley’s relationship with her, and her unclear background.
The character of Curley’s Wife is very hard to unravel, as throughout the book, Steinbeck’s representation of women through characters such as George and Candy, is very harsh. This is because the sociological opinion at that time was that they were either, mothers, sisters, or prostitutes, as the audience soon see, George and other ranch workers refer to her as “bitch” “loo loo” and “tramp”. There were also a growing number of prostitutes during the Great Depression period, as they would offload their services to those whom were able to pay and have some decent income during the Depression. Other aspects that may make Curley’s Wife seem like a tart, is Curley’s “Glove Fulla’ Vaseline”. Curley literally keeps a glove full of Vaseline, in order to keep his hand soft, possibly for a sexual act. Curley boasts to Candy that the hand is for his wife, which tells us that she gives him consent to do these acts to her, and also, Curley’s nerve to inform fellow workers about his glove shows that he believes that his own wife is a tart, which is very controversial today, but back then, women were seen as nothing more than possessions, yours to do what you will. George informs Lennie to avoid Curley’s Wife at all costs, and not to talk to her, because of her promiscuous behaviour, he believes t...
To begin, one character that faced discrimination in Of Mice And Men is Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife, the wife of Curly who is the son of the owner of the farm, is the only woman on the farm. She is constantly called names by the men on the farm because of the way she acts around them and is always mistreated and misjudged by them. Candy, an old man that works on the farm says, “‘Purty...but-...she got the eye. Well, I think Curley’s married...a tart’” (Steinbeck 28). This quote shows that Curley’s wife is a disloyal wife because men in the farm keep calling her a tart and that she gives them the eye. This quote also shows how Curley’s wife is property because they don’t call by her real name but only label her as “Curley’s wife.” It highlights