Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife
John Steinbeck’s famous novella Of Mice and Men depicts the harsh and repressive treatment faced by women, people of color, farm workers and those with mental handicaps in the 1930s. Curley’s wife, the only prominent female character in the novel, is looked down upon by the farmworkers, who see her as trouble and a tart. The curls of her hair are described twice as being like “little sausages” subtly alluding to the fact the women of her time were viewed as pieces of meat. They were commodities, bought and sold from father to husband. She is never even given a name, being constantly referred using the possessive noun “Curley’s” signifying her relationship to a man who all but owns her. Her lack of a name serves to further impress upon the reader that she is not her own person, and
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reinforces the idea that this was a common way of thinking in the 1930s. Though, as powerless as she is, she is still capable of lording over Crooks, the only black man on the farm. Because of the color of his skin, he is ostracized by the other workers and faces constant verbal abuse from his boss. When he tries to stand up to Curley’s wife, she threatens to have him lynched. “Well you keep your place then nigger. I could get you strung up so easy it ain’t even funny.” (page 81).
The word of a white person, even a woman’s, was valued far above that of a black person’s. Crooks would have never been able to defend himself from the wrath of a biased sheriff, even if Curley’s wife was lying. The book also deals with attitudes towards the handicapped. Steinbeck uses specific words in order to further accentuate Lennie’s mental state, often relating his actions to those of an animal. “His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool: drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.” (page 3). In the 1930s, illnesses of the mind were not understood in the way they are now. People were marginalized because of their perceived ineptitude and forced to work menial jobs just to get by. Lennie himself was often bullied, even by George, who he considered a friend. Throughout Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck displays an in-depth understanding of the drawbacks of society’s prejudiced ways of thinking. The irony of the reality and double-standards people faced was not lost on him, and much of how he saw discrimination was represented in this
novel.
reinforces the idea that this was a common way of thinking in the 1930s. Though, as powerless as she is, she is still capable of lording over Crooks, the only black man on the farm. Because of the color of his skin, he is ostracized by the other workers and faces constant verbal abuse from his boss. When he tries to stand up to Curley’s wife, she threatens to have him lynched. “Well you keep your place then nigger. I could get you strung up so easy it ain’t even funny.” (page 81).
The word of a white person, even a woman’s, was valued far above that of a black person’s. Crooks would have never been able to defend himself from the wrath of a biased sheriff, even if Curley’s wife was lying. The book also deals with attitudes towards the handicapped. Steinbeck uses specific words in order to further accentuate Lennie’s mental state, often relating his actions to those of an animal. “His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool: drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.” (page 3). In the 1930s, illnesses of the mind were not understood in the way they are now. People were marginalized because of their perceived ineptitude and forced to work menial jobs just to get by. Lennie himself was often bullied, even by George, who he considered a friend. Throughout Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck displays an in-depth understanding of the drawbacks of society’s prejudiced ways of thinking. The irony of the reality and double-standards people faced was not lost on him, and much of how he saw discrimination was represented in this
novel.