The short novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set in 1930s America, during the Dust Bowl disaster and the Great Depression. Curley’s wife is a lonely misunderstood character in a ranch surrounded by men who discriminate against her and see her as a possession as she does not even have a name. In the novel, Steinbeck’s descriptions of Curley’s wife as a character represents how women were treated, he expresses the pressures and loneliness they faced and their low position in society. Steinbeck confuses the reader by presenting Curley’s wife as a very complex character, exploring the different sides to her and describing how others thought of her. During the novel, Steinbeck presents women in the 1930s in only two ways: women that were housewives tending
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Even before the reader meets her, she is characterized by Candy when he speaks of her. He first outlined her to George when he says, ‘Well you look her over mister. You see if she ain’t a tart’. This suggests that the views of Curley's wife are discriminating and downgrading. The phrase ‘Look her over’ implies that she is objectified and is something to be seen rather than heard. Furthermore, Candy consistently uses the word ‘tart’, showing the casual use of derogatory language towards women in the 1930s. Overall, this introduction to Curley’s wife reflects the attitudes towards women in this time, as it’s very sexist it also mentions her as an object which was what women were to men. This image perhaps makes the reader pity her, but it also shows her as an unfaithful wife and therefore potentially …show more content…
When talking to Lennie she says that she “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes… and’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitches took of me”. This demonstrates the fact that she had big desires but may not have been able to achieve them. The reader throughout the novella has seen her as not really human, more of an object with no hopes or dreams and is always named as “Curley’s wife”. Despite seeing her like this throughout most of the story the reader is now encouraged to see her in a new light. The phrase “coulda” is repeated several times in this dialogue. This expresses the fact that she is looking back and regretting her current place and all the things she “coulda” done. Furthermore, this part of the story links back to the American Dream which was big idea at the time.
At her death, Steinbeck encourages us to feel sorry for Curley’s wife. He uses “the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face” to illustrate how she has changed through death. Like a moth transforming into a butterfly, she has had a mask of loneliness and jealousy removed to reveal the soft and innocent center. Furthermore, even when she is dead she is still referred to as “Curley’s wife” this makes the reader feel sorry for her as even after her life has ended she is still referred to as an object named “Curley’s
Even before the reader meets her, she is characterized by Candy when he speaks of her. He first outlined her to George when he says, ‘Well you look her over mister. You see if she ain’t a tart’. This suggests that the views of Curley's wife are discriminating and downgrading. The phrase ‘Look her over’ implies that she is objectified and is something to be seen rather than heard. Furthermore, Candy consistently uses the word ‘tart’, showing the casual use of derogatory language towards women in the 1930s. Overall, this introduction to Curley’s wife reflects the attitudes towards women in this time, as it’s very sexist it also mentions her as an object which was what women were to men. This image perhaps makes the reader pity her, but it also shows her as an unfaithful wife and therefore potentially …show more content…
When talking to Lennie she says that she “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes… and’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitches took of me”. This demonstrates the fact that she had big desires but may not have been able to achieve them. The reader throughout the novella has seen her as not really human, more of an object with no hopes or dreams and is always named as “Curley’s wife”. Despite seeing her like this throughout most of the story the reader is now encouraged to see her in a new light. The phrase “coulda” is repeated several times in this dialogue. This expresses the fact that she is looking back and regretting her current place and all the things she “coulda” done. Furthermore, this part of the story links back to the American Dream which was big idea at the time.
At her death, Steinbeck encourages us to feel sorry for Curley’s wife. He uses “the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face” to illustrate how she has changed through death. Like a moth transforming into a butterfly, she has had a mask of loneliness and jealousy removed to reveal the soft and innocent center. Furthermore, even when she is dead she is still referred to as “Curley’s wife” this makes the reader feel sorry for her as even after her life has ended she is still referred to as an object named “Curley’s