Curley Wife
Controlled Assessment – Curley’s Wife
Women in 1930s America were treated as ‘2nd class’ to the men. They were in charge of household duties, especially when the men went to war. Women did not have the rights the men had, such as: voting and working. A traditional 1930 American woman would usually be owned by their father and passed on to their husband when married. This relates to Curley’s wife because she had no name throughout the novel. This name ‘Curley’s Wife ‘suggest that she was Curley’s possession and did not have freedom to life. Curley’s wife death makes me feel sympathy for her because she is described as ‘’simple, pretty, sweet and young’’. This reminds the reader that she still had many years to live, and all of the pain she has been through for a short amount of time. However, I don’t feel sympathy for her when Steinbeck says that ‘’her reddened lips made her seem alive’’, which reminds the reader that she lived most of her life trying to impress men, to get attention, and it also signifies the importance of it to her.
Before the reader meets Curley’s wife, Candy’s opinion of her is prejudged and formed on her looks rather than her personality. His past experience of her enables him to speak negatively about her to George and Lennie; as he says ‘’I think Curley’s married a tart’’. Steinbeck uses the word ‘tart’ to show candy opinion of her as a flirt and a loose woman. This is a prejudged opinion because Candy did not allow George and Lennie to get their opinion of her first, as he knowing that this will corrupt their minds against her and make them speak negatively of her. It also makes the reader prejudge against her without meeting her. This makes me have and feel sympathy for Curley’s wife because all of the men speak badly of her. Candy’s gossip of her would not fully allow George and Lennie to make up their own minds.
In comparison with the previous paragraph, when Candy expresses his opinion of Curley’s Wife, we see from her first
Women in 1930s America were treated as ‘2nd class’ to the men. They were in charge of household duties, especially when the men went to war. Women did not have the rights the men had, such as: voting and working. A traditional 1930 American woman would usually be owned by their father and passed on to their husband when married. This relates to Curley’s wife because she had no name throughout the novel. This name ‘Curley’s Wife ‘suggest that she was Curley’s possession and did not have freedom to life. Curley’s wife death makes me feel sympathy for her because she is described as ‘’simple, pretty, sweet and young’’. This reminds the reader that she still had many years to live, and all of the pain she has been through for a short amount of time. However, I don’t feel sympathy for her when Steinbeck says that ‘’her reddened lips made her seem alive’’, which reminds the reader that she lived most of her life trying to impress men, to get attention, and it also signifies the importance of it to her.
Before the reader meets Curley’s wife, Candy’s opinion of her is prejudged and formed on her looks rather than her personality. His past experience of her enables him to speak negatively about her to George and Lennie; as he says ‘’I think Curley’s married a tart’’. Steinbeck uses the word ‘tart’ to show candy opinion of her as a flirt and a loose woman. This is a prejudged opinion because Candy did not allow George and Lennie to get their opinion of her first, as he knowing that this will corrupt their minds against her and make them speak negatively of her. It also makes the reader prejudge against her without meeting her. This makes me have and feel sympathy for Curley’s wife because all of the men speak badly of her. Candy’s gossip of her would not fully allow George and Lennie to make up their own minds.
In comparison with the previous paragraph, when Candy expresses his opinion of Curley’s Wife, we see from her first