In the 1930’s women weren’t equal with men. They didn’t have the same opportunities that the men had. They couldn’t vote, they worked at home, and they weren’t allowed to have the same jobs as men. Lots of things that women tried to do were frowned upon by most. John Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to show us how her choices, like most women, were oppressed back then. One way Steinbeck showed us that woman weren’t equal was by using Curley’s wife and her life on the ranch. There was a part in the book where Curley’s wife was talking about her dreams and what she could’ve done. She said, “ I tell ya I could of went with shows. Not jus’ one, neither. An’ a guy tol’ me he could put me in pitchers….”(Steinbeck 78). Curley’s wife had a dream
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Their job options weren’t very large though and not very secure. If women were to get a job it would usually be a maid or a cook for someone. They also could get a “man’s job” but then again they could get fired at any moment. All of this was happening during the Great Depression as well. The Great Depression hit women, much like Curley’s wife, pretty hard. The Great Depression began after the stock market crashed and the economy went pummeling down. Women were accused of causing the Great Depression and causing unemployment. People thought that if women would have given up their jobs and stopped taking them away from men, the unemployment rate would go down. This shows that even though women had won the right to vote they were still treated like a minority in every way that people could get away with. One of the many ways people got away with putting woman, like Curley’s wife, down was the work they did and how much they worked for. Woman would work jobs for less pay that men wouldn’t even think twice about doing because of the amount that was given. Women worked as much as 50-55 hours a week and still only made $525 as an average. Men on the other hand worked less hours and made $1,027 as an average. These woman worked in poor working conditions and for low wages just to get enough money to get
Their job options weren’t very large though and not very secure. If women were to get a job it would usually be a maid or a cook for someone. They also could get a “man’s job” but then again they could get fired at any moment. All of this was happening during the Great Depression as well. The Great Depression hit women, much like Curley’s wife, pretty hard. The Great Depression began after the stock market crashed and the economy went pummeling down. Women were accused of causing the Great Depression and causing unemployment. People thought that if women would have given up their jobs and stopped taking them away from men, the unemployment rate would go down. This shows that even though women had won the right to vote they were still treated like a minority in every way that people could get away with. One of the many ways people got away with putting woman, like Curley’s wife, down was the work they did and how much they worked for. Woman would work jobs for less pay that men wouldn’t even think twice about doing because of the amount that was given. Women worked as much as 50-55 hours a week and still only made $525 as an average. Men on the other hand worked less hours and made $1,027 as an average. These woman worked in poor working conditions and for low wages just to get enough money to get