Curley's Wife of Mice and Men
English Homework – Section B Exam Questions Zeinab Dafalla
I HAVE USED MY NOTES TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
Part A) What methods does Steinbeck use to present Curley’s wife?
In the passage the first words that Steinbeck uses are that “Both men glanced up,” and through this we are introduced to Curley’s wife through her effect on men and not through any notion of herself, which Steinbeck does to show us she is only worthy for the use of men. Not so long after in the sentence we are told “the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway way cut off.” Here, Steinbeck uses the light symbolically to highlight how imposing she is and present the idea that she is the obstacle to a better life. It soon becomes apparent that Curley’s wife is an outsider of the group when it states, “A girl was standing there looking in.” which is a metaphor for the isolation she feels. It could be reflective of the gender roles at the time; women were only wanted for men’s sexual desires rather than their company. One could also interpret it as how similarly to a ‘girl’, (which she ironically is no longer), she is seeking attention and wishes all eyes to be on her by standing in the view of everyone and could be seen as trying to listen in on their conversation – both very childish manoeuvres.
Next, Steinbeck presents her as having “full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up.” As well as wearing “…a cotton house dress and red mules” and both the heavy make up and flattering outfit make her incongruous to the nature of a manual labour working ranch and her well-cared for appearance also suggests that she doesn’t want to be there and longs for a more luxurious lifestyle – where it would be more appropriate. On the other hand, one could feel sympathy toward her for having to go to all this effort to gain attention from other males seen as her own husband isn’t interested and as the make-up is used to cover up, it is clear that she isn’t confident
I HAVE USED MY NOTES TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
Part A) What methods does Steinbeck use to present Curley’s wife?
In the passage the first words that Steinbeck uses are that “Both men glanced up,” and through this we are introduced to Curley’s wife through her effect on men and not through any notion of herself, which Steinbeck does to show us she is only worthy for the use of men. Not so long after in the sentence we are told “the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway way cut off.” Here, Steinbeck uses the light symbolically to highlight how imposing she is and present the idea that she is the obstacle to a better life. It soon becomes apparent that Curley’s wife is an outsider of the group when it states, “A girl was standing there looking in.” which is a metaphor for the isolation she feels. It could be reflective of the gender roles at the time; women were only wanted for men’s sexual desires rather than their company. One could also interpret it as how similarly to a ‘girl’, (which she ironically is no longer), she is seeking attention and wishes all eyes to be on her by standing in the view of everyone and could be seen as trying to listen in on their conversation – both very childish manoeuvres.
Next, Steinbeck presents her as having “full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up.” As well as wearing “…a cotton house dress and red mules” and both the heavy make up and flattering outfit make her incongruous to the nature of a manual labour working ranch and her well-cared for appearance also suggests that she doesn’t want to be there and longs for a more luxurious lifestyle – where it would be more appropriate. On the other hand, one could feel sympathy toward her for having to go to all this effort to gain attention from other males seen as her own husband isn’t interested and as the make-up is used to cover up, it is clear that she isn’t confident