In this essay I am going to be assessing the character Curleys Wife from Steinbeck’s book Of Mice And Men. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression it features two farm workers called George and Lennie. The travel around together in search of work sharing a dream of a place of their own, a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. It tells the story of how violence may erupt to destroy those dreams. Curleys wife is a character in the book who from the brief encounters with her is presented in two ways. Firstly the dangerous, flirtatious character who isn’t trusted by the rest of the ranch workers but then later one we realize how she is just a victim of loneliness with her being the only girl on the ranch and how she too has an incomplete American Dream to pursue an acting career. Curleys wife is a very important character and is heavily involved in the outcome of the story when George ends up shooting Lennie however there is the question of her innocence.…
What George did to his friend Lennie was all that he could do and George had no other choice. In the story Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George has to kill his friend Lennie because there a mod coming after Lennie trying to kill him. George sees no other option but to kill him before the mob gets to him. Lennie has also hurt too many helpless things, he killed mice, a puppy, and now a human. Lennie has never been punished for his actions and unfortunately it had to come to this. What George did to Lennie was completely justified…
Not only did the men in Janie’s life oppress her self-growth and independence as a women, Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, was also another influential figure in Janie’s life who negatively shaped how she thought about marriage, gender stereotypes, and race. At a young age, Janie was lectured by Nanny when she tried to resist an arranged marriage to an older man, Logan Killicks. Nanny responded to her granddaughter’s refusal by slapping her and then telling her that "Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it's some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don't know nothin' but what we see…De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see" (Hurston 14). This advice, which not only dismissed African-Americans as being equals to people of white decent, but also objectified women, specifically black women like Janie herself, stuck with her for many years of her life. Janie’s hesitation to assert herself sooner in her toxic relationship with Joe Starks can be primarily credited to Nanny’s advice and how that impacted Janie’s character. The cause and effect that Nanny had on her can be shown following the death of…
Firstly, Elisa and Mrs. Mallard related in the fact that they both faced the sad reality that women in their time periods were unbearably unequal to men. For example, in "The Chrysanthemums," it was clear that women had no say in the business aspects of things such as running a ranch. This is evident when Steinbeck writes that "Elisa looked down across the yard and saw Henry talking to two men in business suits… Elisa watched them for a moment and then went back to her work" (229). It's obvious that Elisa's opinion on the business aspects of the ranch are completely disregarded. If her opinions did matter then she would be with her husband and the business men making decisions as a team. In addition, women could not be free to do things such as travel along the countryside. This becomes noticeable when Elisa tells the Tinker from "The Chrysanthemums" that living a travelers life must be nice and the tinker responds by saying "It ain't the right kind of a life for woman" (234). The way the Tinker responded clearly shows that the idea that society has about women in their time period is more of a housewife kind of idea. They don't see women as travelers or adventurers. Lastly, women could not live for themselves like Mrs. Mallard wished in Chopin's "The Story of an Hour." This is especially evident shortly after finding out her husband had passed away. Mrs. Mallard starts whispering to herself "Free, free, free!" (169). Clearly women in her time period were not allowed to do anything they wanted. They had to stay at home,…
Gilman and Hurston both portrayed vastly different marriages that shared themes of control and oppression of women by their husbands. The traditional idea of the husband being the dominant partner who has control of every aspect of marriage, including his wife, and the wife being the submissive and obedient partner is a very toxic and misogynist mindset to possess. Marriage should instead be a contract between two individuals of equal standing who make a commitment to each other to love, cherish, and most importantly respect one…
“The greatest gift of life is friendship,” (Hubert H. Humphrey) and George and Lennie both receive that through each other. This brotherhood is essential to their achievements as well as their failures throughout Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.” the pairing of George and Lennie lets the reader see George Milton as smart, the leader, a hero. Linnie Small comes off as being mentally handicapped, and hard working, and the troublemaker. An odd pairing but one that is necessary and one that is essential to the story’s plot.…
In society, especially in older eras, women did not do any work besides easy housework and cleaning. In Of Mice and Men, Curly and all his workers work hard out in the fields, while his wife is stuck, inside alone doing nothing all day besides sitting and housework. Steinbeck portrays Curly’s wife as a bitter and coy overall, but at first he is especially blunt about her impotence. Through dialogue and characterization he creates a tone to tell how powerless and lonely Curly’s wife is. “…None of them cares how I gotta live,” (Steinbeck 88). He shows the character’s reluctance to become friendly or welcoming of her presence. This is especially true when Lennie, another minority, is thought of with interest from Curly’s wife. The overall impotence towards women is created in Of Mice and Men because of Steinbeck’s…
In the early 1700’s the lives of men and women were very different. Social equality was not extended to the women in the household. Wealth, intelligence, and social status were not of importance when it came to be head of the household. They were taught that their husbands were above then and that it was a “wife’s duty” to “love and reverence them,” (Henretta 97).…
What do Steinbeck’s first description of George and Lennie tell us about their characters? Discuss this in the regards to the role/relationship of Itinerant workers in the 1930’s Great Depression:…
“The novel Of Mice and Men is more than just the tragedy of Lennie; it shows the sadness and suffering of many individuals in a harsh world.” Discuss this statement, making close reference to the text.…
Jig and Louise shared many similarities and differences throughout each story. A similarity that they shared is they are both young, and with a person that they show affection towards. Another similarity is both women face domination of men. Moreover, they face heartaches from hearing news from the person they love or from someone close to them. The difference between Jig and Louise is Jig wants the American, but he does not want to settle with her. Whereas Brently Mallard adores his wife, but his wife wants to be free seeing the relationship became distant. Another is both women are striving for different types of freedom. In addition, both stories explain the struggle that both women faced with…
Everyone has heard the stories of a woman doing anything for love or enduring anything to keep the man she feels she is in love with. Although this still does happen now, this was happening way more in the 1900s, when women was really dependent on men for mostly everything. During that time, men lead the household making all the decisions in the relationship. They were dominant over their wives and their was no questions asked. Women took a backseat to their men because they were blinded by love and powerless by male dominance. Men loved the fact that they could control their wives. In Zora Neale Hurston, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Janie is the character that is blinded by her wanting love. In the critical essay, “ I Love the Way Janie Crawford Left Her Husbands,” Washington talks about how Janie is “made powerless by her three husbands” and this essay will talk about the extent of this in reference to Tea Cake, her third husband.…
Have you ever witnessed someone being mistreated because they are not the same as everyone else? If you saw that person was belittled, made fun of, how would you react? In the novel Of Mice and Men how Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife are marginalized is what conveys the meaning of what it’s like to be put down for such unnecessary reasons.…
It is unfortunate for both Lennie and Curley’s wife that she suffers this fate. Th novella explores the theme of destiny and fate and no more so than in Curley’s wife. She was destined for death but she believed that fate would carry her to the ‘pictures’. As the men played out life with a game of cards, her life is played out in a similar fashion. In her last moments the readers are given a glimpse into her dreams, her life and her kind and honest personality. Even in her death she ‘flopped like a fish’. This description is incredibally peculiar and perhaps insights more sympathy from the reader. However after this dark demise Steinbeck masterfully offers some light. The meanness and the planning and the discontent were all you see from her face’. The list of three and repetition of the word and creates a sense of flow and momentum. It is almost like she is exonerated from the cruelty and malice that plagued her life. The reader at this stage would start re-assessing their opinions of Curley’s wife. Whilst they are doing so Steinbeck informs us that ‘the curly little tiny sasusages were spread out on the hay. We see Steinbeck manipulate the cyclical narrative but with one key difference. He purges her character and shows a young girls that was taken before her time. Time is yet another theme that is explored within the novella and it is a concept that is against all of the characters.…
* The relationships between the Glavin family members are strained. The hostility that exists between Mena and her mother-in-law, Nanna, is obvious from the very beginning of the play. The dialogue between these two characters shows the hatred that they feel for each other. Nanna is an old woman who enjoys smoking her pipe by the fire but she cannot even have that little pleasure without Mena complaining “There’s a smell of smoke” Nanna claims it’s from the open fire but Mena replies disrespectfully “Not turf smoke, oul’ woman, tobacco smoke” Nanna can give as good as she gets and tells Mena “’twas a sore day my son took you for a wife” Nanna is able to use the fact that Mena and her husband Mike have no children as a way of insulting her daughter-in-law – She tells Mena “Tis hard enough for a lonely old woman without a child to rock in the cradle” Mena replies viciously “the back of my hand to you for an oul’ hag!”…