Comparing Steinbeck And Shakespeare's Presentation Of Women
Compare how Steinbeck and Shakespeare present women?
In the books ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘Macbeth’ both author/writer have presented women through the corresponding eras of where the setting of the book is and the time when the author wrote and published these two books. Steinbeck showed us how women were treated in 1930s using the character Curley’s Wife, whilst Shakespeare uses the character Lady Macbeth to present women in the 1600s. In this essay I will explain how these characters and women at the time have been presented by their author/play-writers.
Even though these books were set at different times, the theme of power is shown through the character Curley’s Wife. When she is being threatened she will act very defensive, ‘Listen nigger
you know what I can do if you open your trap’. This quote shows us that Curley’s Wife is powerful, when she needs to be. The language of the quote used is a reference to how black people were treated in 1930s, as white people were more ‘supreme’ than black people. The word ‘nigger’ really gives us the idea of how black people were treated, and how powerful Curley’s Wife can be. This makes the reader feel condemn towards Curley’s wife, but also understanding how defensive she can be. Steinbeck does this to show how black people were treated by white people (by using Curley’s Wife against Crooks). Another interpretation is that Curley’s Wife has no power, as being the only female in the ranch. Like her husband she will seize power at any moment. So her being cruel to crooks may be a reference to it. Steinbeck does this to show how women were treated in 1930s by using Curley’s Wife as a representation of them.
In the character Lady Macbeth, her power changes dramatically from shocking the Jacobean audience to her guilt, which leads her to her death. In Act 1 scene 5, when Lady Macbeth reads the letter Macbeth wrote after the battle
In the books ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘Macbeth’ both author/writer have presented women through the corresponding eras of where the setting of the book is and the time when the author wrote and published these two books. Steinbeck showed us how women were treated in 1930s using the character Curley’s Wife, whilst Shakespeare uses the character Lady Macbeth to present women in the 1600s. In this essay I will explain how these characters and women at the time have been presented by their author/play-writers.
Even though these books were set at different times, the theme of power is shown through the character Curley’s Wife. When she is being threatened she will act very defensive, ‘Listen nigger
you know what I can do if you open your trap’. This quote shows us that Curley’s Wife is powerful, when she needs to be. The language of the quote used is a reference to how black people were treated in 1930s, as white people were more ‘supreme’ than black people. The word ‘nigger’ really gives us the idea of how black people were treated, and how powerful Curley’s Wife can be. This makes the reader feel condemn towards Curley’s wife, but also understanding how defensive she can be. Steinbeck does this to show how black people were treated by white people (by using Curley’s Wife against Crooks). Another interpretation is that Curley’s Wife has no power, as being the only female in the ranch. Like her husband she will seize power at any moment. So her being cruel to crooks may be a reference to it. Steinbeck does this to show how women were treated in 1930s by using Curley’s Wife as a representation of them.
In the character Lady Macbeth, her power changes dramatically from shocking the Jacobean audience to her guilt, which leads her to her death. In Act 1 scene 5, when Lady Macbeth reads the letter Macbeth wrote after the battle