english

1178 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: english language

Steinbeck spent his summers working on nearby ranches, there he became aware of the harsher aspects of migrant life and the darker side of human nature, which supplied him with material expressed in such works as Of Mice and Men; Of Mice and Men was critically acclaimed but the Nobel prize citation called a little masterpiece, the issue focused on is how Steinbeck presents the ranch as a harsh and violent place.
With argue that a prodigious example of a person who is thrilled by the violence of the ranch is Carlson, he always seems to show no emotion and is always the first to ask whether they should end a life or not , he loves to stir things up to cause a fight, ''took out a Luger pistol. let's get it over with'' he seems to love and agree with the idea of survival of the fittest and does not seem to notice how harsh the ranch is, he doesn't seem to be emotionally affected by violence and is keen to get his gun out in the hunt for Lennie and kill him even though Lennie has done nothing to hurt or harm him but he loves chaos and violence in the ranch. The last words in the book belong to Carlson, ''what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?'', and it is little surprise that they reveal his complete inability to understand George's feelings about the death of Lennie because he is so used to the idea of the violence at the ranch.
Traditionally, the ranch seemed to be a hard place to live if you were disabled, a woman or coloured at 1930's due to racism being so openly accepted and rife especially then because there were hardly any jobs available due to the great depression which was the greatest economic depression in history, it made the stock market crash, unemployment rises to a staggering 13 million and the living condit...

... middle of paper ...

...end of George and Lennie's companionship and their dream. She is portrayed, like the girl in Weed, as a liar and manipulator of men. In the scene in Crooks' room, she reminds Crooks of his place and threatens to have him lynched if he doesn't show her the proper respect as the wife of the boss' son and a white woman. All of these appearances cause the reader to dislike her and see her as the downfall of the men in the story. Steinbeck seems to show, through Curley's wife, that even the worst of us have our humanity.
This essay had shown how the ranch is a harsh and violent place which places with your emotions and feelings, it is a place where many people come to find hope and a better life but in reality it does not matter how much you plan or dream for your future, somehow it will go askew. So we can ask ourselves, is there really such a thing as an American dream?

Show More
Related

  • Of Mice and Men – To what extent does Steinbeck present Curley’s Wife as a sympathetic character?

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion I believe that Curley’s Wife is a very significant character in the novella because she represents the stereotypical woman and they way she acted, and was treated leads me to feel great sympathy for her despite her flirtatious demeanour. Steinbeck is very successful in creating sympathy throughout her character change and he presents her in this way to prove that the majority of women went through similar situations. This leads us to sympathise with all people society deem to be ‘inferior’ and we can even apply this lesson to today’s society.

    Read More

  • Social Commentary on Sexism in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbek

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Curley's Wife Initiates Her Own Tragic Death in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    She is not allowed to be in the ranch workers’ bunk house and is also not supposed to talk to the ranch hands. She is practically owned by her husband, Curley. None of the workers pay attention to her because they know it will get them into trouble. Curley is very jealous and protective towards his wife. The ranch workers look at her as a ‘tart’ because she flirts with everyone. Curley’s wife is very lonely, she is the only women amongst all the men on the ranch. Steinbeck explains that she is not a person, she is just a symbol. She has no function, except to be a foil – and a danger to Lennie. She dreamed of becoming a famous movie star, but all her dreams crashed when she married Curley. Instead of following her dreams she had to settle for a lonely life on the ranch.

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first impression the reader get´s of Curley´s wife is definitely not a good one. She walks into the scene as if she owned the place, like a person who is confident of herself and well aware of their sexual appeal. The reader can identify that she is not afraid to use her sexual appeal as a weapon to her advantage. “Nobody can blame a person for looking.” She tells to Lennie as soon as she feels his look posed on her body. This is the first words she utters in her first encounter with Lennie. With judgment the reader can infer that she is a person fool of herself and self-centered. These thoughts later get confirmed when the workers call her a “tart”. The reader can now see how the workers behave around her and how they react to the thought of her. It´s not hard to quickly judge her and, like the workers, classify her as a tart and associated her with trouble.

    Read More

  • To What Extent Curley's Wife a Victim in Of Mice and Men

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Lennie, George, And Crooks In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    2281 Words  | 5 Pages

    George was answering questions so much for Lennie that the boss though that George was going to take Lennie’s pay (Steinbeck 22). George lied to the boss and told him that Lennie was his cousin, and he was taking care of him because he got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid (Steinbeck 22). George also lied to the boss about why he and Lennie had left their old jobs in Weed (McMurray; Steinbeck 40). George and Curley’s wife exchanged some words in the bunkhouse before Curley came in and picked a fight with Lennie (“Stage”; Steinbeck 48). Curley’s wife is a threat to George and Lennie’s dream by bringing the harsh realities of the outside world, and by arousing Lennie’s interest (“Stage”; Steinbeck

    Read More

  • The Influences of Curley's Wife on the Development of John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Steinbeck introduces Curley's wife to the reader before the reader even meets her at the end of Chapter 2; when George and Lennie first meet Candy in the ranch, he mentions that "Curley has married… a tart," this shows how Curley's wife, even before being presented in the book, is spoken about in a very derogatory and gossipy manner. Steinbeck wishes to prepare the reader to meet Curley's wife by giving the reader a biased and influenced look about the way she acts; this early impression of Curley's wife entices the reader to have a negative look on Curley's wife by mentioning her as a "tart," which exemplifies comments that are repeated multiple times when speaking about her. That comment makes the reader believe she will be flirty and promiscuous, as well as prepares the reader to the problems that Curley's wife will bring to the novel.

    Read More

  • Exploring Discrimination in 'Of Mice and Men'

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    This time it’s directed at curley's wife. When George and Lennie arrive at the ranch, one of the first characters they meet is curley's wife. After meeting her, George says to lennie, “well, you keep away from her, ‘cause she's a rat trap if i've ever seen one. You let curley take the rap. He let himself in for it,” (32). Even after George and Lennie meet her for the first time, George is already calling her a “rat trap”. They had such a brief encounter that the two men are already talking about her is ridiculous. If that’s how they treat one women they barely know, imagine how awful she is treated by the rest of the men. Eventually, curley's wife took a turn for the worse. When she went to go talk to lennie, a simple conversation caused her death. After the death of curley’s wife, sexism is still shown when candy whispers, “you god damn tramp… you done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body knows you mess things up.” (95). Her death wasn’t even her fault, so when candy says that she's probably dead, it’s showing how much she was blamed for everything and how disliked she was. The men didn't try to hurt her, they ended up killing her. After all, she would have lived if it wasn't for how negatively she was treated. Steinbeck is able to show how women were treated, and how everything was their fault, thu the way curley's wife was treated throughout the

    Read More

  • Curley's Wife Sexism

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Steinbeck displays, Curley’s wife as more of an object to the men at the ranch. He conveys this idea through the description of her appearance. When Steinbeck introduces the reader and George and Lennie to Curley’s wife he takes a long time to describe her. “She had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her finger nails were red “. This quotation suggests that Curley’s wife is an object to men in society and that she is as worth as much as she is wearing. Not only does Steinbeck describe her appearance he also describes her actions when on the ranch and talking to the men. He does this to show the awareness that the men have towards her. “She puts her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward”. A lot of the men on the ranch try to ignore and do not want to start a conversation with her but through Steinbeck’s description of her actions the reader can see that she craves attention from the men on the

    Read More

  • Theme Of Dreams In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    Curley’s wife represents her broken dreams of becoming an actress. Lennie and George represent a dream in progress, it is uncertain if their plans will work out as intended or plummet before takeoff, even Crooks and Candy see the appeal in Lennie and George’s fantasy and join them. The dream in progress gives hope to Lennie and George and continued to even after losing previous jobs. Curley’s wife is constantly restricted, she married Curley so that she would no longer be alone but now is in the same state as before, just on a ranch of men. She tries to talk to the other men but she is then seen as "jail bait" and avoided, making her even lonelier. Her dream of being an actress has failed because she chose a quick way out and married Curley. She is now living in her failure and has no longer a dream to aim for. Perhaps the most important part of the story is the the part in which Lennie has accidentally killed the puppy given to him by Slim, and is grieving over him in the barn, “This ain’t no bad thing like I got to go hide in the brush. Oh! no. This ain’t. I’ll tell George I foun’ it dead.” He unburied the puppy and inspected it, and he stroked it from ears to tail. He went on sorrowfully, “But he’ll know. George always knows. He’ll say, ‘You done it. Don’t try to put nothing over on me.’ An’ he’ll say, ‘Now jus’ for that you don’t get to tend no rabbits!” (Steinbeck, 85) He feels powerless to his own strength, he believes that he will never achieve his dream because of his mistake. George and the other men are out once again and the only person who comes to his emotional aid is none other than Curley’s wife. “Don’t you worry about talkin’ to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four dollars bet in that tenement. None of them ain’t gonna leave till it’s over.” “If George sees me talkin’ to you he’ll give me hell,” Lennie said cautiously.” (Steinbeck, 85) He

    Read More

  • Without an Identity in John Stienbeck´s Of Mice and Men

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the book, Steinbeck shows similarities, differences, and an overall message about the treatment of African Americans and women in this time period through the characters of Crooks and Curley’s wife. In the beginning of the novel, these characters just appear to be flat characters that do not impact the story at all, but by the end a point is shown about the loneliness of African Americans and women in this time period. Although the similarities in the two characters may be hard to spot, they are definitely there. By using the characters in different ways, Steinbeck is able to get his message across very well. Without Crooks and Curley’s wife, the story would lose half of its meaning.

    Read More

  • Representation of Women in Mice and Men by John Steinbach

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Steinbeck also presents another view of Curley’s wife. In his omniscient description [form: overall writing technique] of her, he writes that she ‘bridles a little’ at Lennie’s attention; she is metaphorically shying away from the fixated attention. Steinbeck also unobtrusively mentions that she is a ‘girl’; both these observations suggest her innocence and vulnerability.

    Read More

  • Feminism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.” she’s called a “bitch,” a word most commonly used to “put women in their place.” They are telling lennie not to get involved with curley's wife because she's “trouble.” When John Steinbeck talks of what Curly's wife looks like, it is almost as if he is making this perfect woman, the way she

    Read More

  • Anger and Violence in Of Mice and Men

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also George and Lennie (and all the other ranch workers) have a dream, when this dream is broken and will never happen, all of the workers get angry and violent to others on the ranch showing their frustration and how they will never get a sense of security, comfort or companions. The first example we see of this, is when Carlson bullies Curley in forcing Curley to let his dog be killed and gotten rid of because “He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself.” Carlson feels important and in-charge, just like he wanted to be (...

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men - Curley's Wife

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about english

Open Document