How does Steinbeck use language to present the character of Curley’s wife in ‘of mice and men?’
How does Steinbeck use language to present the character of Curley’s wife in ‘of mice and men?’
Steinbeck uses a lot of stereotyping in his novella, ‘Of Mice and Men.’ He uses Crooks, a black man, to show how black people were treated in the 1930s and he uses Curley’s wife to show how insignificant women were in the 1930s. Steinbeck also uses the vernacular throughout the book to paint a more realistic picture and allow us to understand how people spoke to each other on the ranch. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ Steinbeck uses Curley’s as a vehicle to show the sad life of women on a ranch during the 1930s. Steinbeck uses the indefinite article ‘a girl’ to mirror and describe how insignificant she is on the ranch, she is not even known as a woman. Also, to show her insignificance on the ranch Curley’s wife is not even given a name throughout this novella. This suggests that Steinbeck wants us to think of her as an object: only know by her husband’s position, and that she is just a trophy for Curley. It also makes her seem more friendless and remote because she is only on the ranch for Curley. Even though the men on the ranch mention her regularly, they don’t talk about her character, they only talk about her in a promiscuous way. Steinbeck uses Candy as a vehicle to tell us about Curley’s wife even before we meet her. George asks Candy if she is ’purty?’ and Candy replies ‘yeah, purty…but-‘Steinbeck wants us to be biased and prejudiced against her before we even meet her. Candy continues talking about her, letting us know he sees her as a sexual object, just like all the itinerant workers see women. Also, by using ellipsis and hesitation as he speaks about her shows how unsure he is of how to describe her. This adds a sense of mystery which surrounds her. Steinbeck uses the theme of light and dark throughout ‘of Mice and Men.’ Light and sun symbolises hope and happiness whilst darkness
Steinbeck uses a lot of stereotyping in his novella, ‘Of Mice and Men.’ He uses Crooks, a black man, to show how black people were treated in the 1930s and he uses Curley’s wife to show how insignificant women were in the 1930s. Steinbeck also uses the vernacular throughout the book to paint a more realistic picture and allow us to understand how people spoke to each other on the ranch. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ Steinbeck uses Curley’s as a vehicle to show the sad life of women on a ranch during the 1930s. Steinbeck uses the indefinite article ‘a girl’ to mirror and describe how insignificant she is on the ranch, she is not even known as a woman. Also, to show her insignificance on the ranch Curley’s wife is not even given a name throughout this novella. This suggests that Steinbeck wants us to think of her as an object: only know by her husband’s position, and that she is just a trophy for Curley. It also makes her seem more friendless and remote because she is only on the ranch for Curley. Even though the men on the ranch mention her regularly, they don’t talk about her character, they only talk about her in a promiscuous way. Steinbeck uses Candy as a vehicle to tell us about Curley’s wife even before we meet her. George asks Candy if she is ’purty?’ and Candy replies ‘yeah, purty…but-‘Steinbeck wants us to be biased and prejudiced against her before we even meet her. Candy continues talking about her, letting us know he sees her as a sexual object, just like all the itinerant workers see women. Also, by using ellipsis and hesitation as he speaks about her shows how unsure he is of how to describe her. This adds a sense of mystery which surrounds her. Steinbeck uses the theme of light and dark throughout ‘of Mice and Men.’ Light and sun symbolises hope and happiness whilst darkness