...Introduction: In An Inspector Calls, Eva Smith dies a horrible death, she drinks a strong disinfectant which gives her a painful death. The fact that she is not actually presented in the play by Priestly gives an impression that people don’t really care about and don’t treat her well. On the other hand Steinbeck gives Curley’s wife a peaceful death in Of Mice and Men. But the fact that she isn’t given her own name shows that she was a possession of Curley, and it also makes us feel that No-one sees her as a person and Steinbeck didn’t want the reader to either. Also she died because she was enjoying having someone to talk to and someone to pay attention to her, which means that no one wanted to listen to her or talk to her, which can make her feel rejected/depressed and nobody cares about her. Section 1: Of Mice and Men was published in 1937 just before the Second World War and a couple years after the Great Depression which swept the world in to poverty and decline. The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic downfall proceeding up to the Second World War. It varied across many nations and started in the 1930s and ended during the late 1930s up or the middle of 1940s. The Depression originated in the U.S. when the fall of the stock market prices fell dramatically and trade plunged by 50% along with personal tax, tax revenue and other tax related money expenditures dropped, as well as that the unemployment in the U.S. rose by 25%. Everybody was hit hard and...
Words: 1760 - Pages: 8
...In John Steinbeck’s Novel, Of Mice and Men, the character, Curley’s Wife, is a misunderstood woman, as were most women during The Great Depression. Everyone is basically judging her like people judge a book by its cover, which leads to her acting out in ways to get attention because the loneliness and depression is eating away at her. Curley’s wife may seem like there is nothing to her. Some might think she just stands for a promiscuous person, but that is the thing. So many people judge before they really think or get to know a person. Yes, Curley’s wife does act like what people see her as sometimes, but she has reasons as to why she acts this way. During the Great Depression, women were treated as objects, or should I say sex objects. Curley’s wife is a prime example of what women had to do to get some attention during this time. Desperation drove them to become these dolls in society who would do anything to feel the least bit of love....
Words: 544 - Pages: 3
...Curley’s wife is introduced as desperate for attention as she is segregated from every other character due to being the only woman on the ranch. She strives to gain attention in many ways, including flirting and beautifully presenting herself. Curley’s wife’s flirtatious manner is obviously noticed by George and Lennie when she ‘…leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward’. Her body language here exemplifies her way of exposing her character to gain attention from the men on the ranch. This is highlighted when: ‘Lennie’s eyes moved down over her body’. This suggests that Curley’s wife, like many other women during the Great Depression (1929-1939) were widely disrespected and portrayed as a possession. However, it is apparent that Curley's wife enjoys male...
Words: 573 - Pages: 3
...Steinbeck depicts Curley’s wife not as a villain, but rather as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a better life. She's the only female character in the novel, and she's never given a name and is only referred to in reference to her husband. The men on the farm refer to her as a “tramp,” a “tart,” and a “looloo.” Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. How is Curley's wife presented and developed throughout the novel? Curley's wife is an example of how our perception of a character can change without the character actually changing. She is portrayed as both a villain and victim throughout the course of the novel. Despite Steinbeck's rendering she emerges as a relatively complex and intricate character who through the course of the novel, our feelings become sympathetic towards. Throughout the novel she is shown in different lights, as from section 2 to section 5 in the novel, her character evolves and her sweeter and more vulnerable side is shown in contrast to her first appearance which portrays her as imposing and a trouble maker. Throughout the course of the novel, it appears women are treated with contempt and Steinbeck generally depicts women as trouble-makers who bring ruin on men and drive them mad. Aside from wearisome wives "Of Mice and Men" offers limited rather misogynistic descriptions of women who are either dead, maternal figures or prostitutes...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...things, is blindly devoted to George and their vision of the farm, and possesses incredible physical strength. Nearly every scene in which Lennie appears confirms these and only these characteristics. Although Steinbeck’s insistent repetition of these characteristics makes Lennie a rather flat character, Lennie’s simplicity is central to Steinbeck’s conception of the novel. Of Mice and Men is a very short work that manages to build up an extremely powerful impact. Since the tragedy depends upon the outcome seeming to be inevitable, the reader must know from the start that Lennie is doomed, and must be sympathetic to him. Steinbeck achieves these two feats by creating a protagonist who earns the reader’s sympathy because of his utter helplessness in the face of the events that unfold. Lennie is totally defenseless. He cannot avoid the dangers presented by Curley, Curley’s wife, or the world at large. His innocence raises him to a standard of pure goodness that is more poetic and literary than realistic. His enthusiasm for the vision of their future farm proves contagious as he convinces George, Candy, Crooks, and the reader that such a paradise might be possible. But he is a character whom Steinbeck sets up for disaster, a character whose innocence only seems to ensure his inevitable destruction. George Like Lennie, George can be defined by a few distinct characteristics. He is short-tempered but a loving and devoted friend, whose frequent protests against life with Lennie never...
Words: 2401 - Pages: 10
...Explore Steinbeck’s portrayal of Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men Of mice and men was set in America during the 1930’s when the whole country was going through the great depression so no one had much money and it became hard for men to find jobs and keep them. This is why it is strange at the start of the novel when we are introduced to George and Lennie traveling together to find work. It was hard for men to find jobs alone and even harder for two men to find jobs together. During the great depression, women had no freedom and they couldn’t get jobs like the men tried to because the men had more power over them and controlled them. The men weren’t used to women being around them and the women were trying to look for jobs like the men and everyone wanted a well-paid job but it was really hard to find one. The American dream was present at this time and people had their own dreams they wanted to reach. All the characters in the novel have dreams they want to reach but throughout the novel we see that some of the main characters: Curley’s wife, George and Lennie all have dreams but they don’t reach them as they work on a ranch and don’t get paid enough. At the start of chapter 2, Candy, the swamper starts to talk about Curley’s wife. At this stage in the novel, we have actually met her yet but the men on the ranch are gossiping about her. The impression that Steinbeck gives the readers is negative about Curley’s wife because they don’t talk about her in a positive way...
Words: 1503 - Pages: 7
...core of the novel, and although Steinbeck idealizes and perhaps exaggerates it, he never questions its sincerity. From Lennie’s perspective, George is the most important person in his life, his guardian and only friend. Every time he does anything that he knows is wrong, his first thought is of George’s disapproval. He doesn’t defend himself from Curley because of George’s stern instruction for him to stay out of trouble, and when he mistakenly kills his puppy and then Curley’s wife, his only thought is how to quell George’s anger. He has a childlike faith that George will always be there for him, a faith that seems justified, given their long history together. George, on the other hand, thinks of Lennie as a constant source of frustration. He has assumed responsibility for Lennie’s welfare and has, several times, been forced to run because of trouble Lennie has inadvertently caused. Life with Lennie is not easy. However, despite George’s frequent bouts of anger and frustration, and his long speeches about how much easier life would be without Lennie, George is clearly devoted to his friend. He flees from town to town not to escape the trouble Lennie has caused, but to protect Lennie from its consequences. The men are uncommonly united by their shared dream of a better life on a farm where they can “live off the fatta the lan’,” as Lennie puts it. George articulates this vision by repeatedly telling the “story” of the future farm to his companion. Lennie believes unquestioningly...
Words: 3789 - Pages: 16
...Of Mice and Men top quotes Chapter 1 · "A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool." – Steinbeck uses vivid images to create the setting; the setting is idyllic, perfect and untouched. · “On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones." – Simile adds to the timeless feel but suggests that this is a real place, the rabbits are scared and stay still like stones, emphasizes the quiet setting, Personification. · "Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. . . . With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin' in our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us." - Steinbeck idealizes male friendships, suggesting that they are the most dignified and satisfying way to overcome the loneliness that overtakes the world. Shows the closeness of Lennie & George. · "...and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." – metaphor, bear like, animal imagery – Metaphor, makes Lennie’s bear-like qualities clear (strong), only described this way because of his looks his...
Words: 1461 - Pages: 6
...How does the setting of Of Mice and Men influence the book's thematic development? In answering, consider the connection between the novel's setting and the characters' vocations. Also, how does Steinbeck signal the importance of setting in his choice of place names? Though the novel is more famous for its characters than its setting, Of Mice and Men could not have been set elsewhere than in the rural Salinas valley of California. The problems of the novel are intimately tied to the rhythms and frustrations of the itinerant worker's life. Shifting from ranch to ranch, from one menial job to another, the Californian itinerant worker risked a life of meaningless labor - of pure, cynical sustenance. George and Lennie, with their dream of acquiring a farm, represent an attempt to stand against such perpetual loneliness. Even the name of the city near which the novel is set - Soledad, which is Spanish for "solitude" - resonates with this theme of loneliness. The title, Of Mice and Men, is an allusion to a Robert Burns poem. How is this allusion meaningful in the novel? Consider some similarities and differences between Burns and Steinbeck's works. Robert Burns' poem, "To a Mouse," is the source of the famous quotation: "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men / Gang aft agley" ("often go awry"). And, indeed, Of Mice and Men features two men with a scheme - to escape their lives of menial, temporary employment - that goes awry. Beyond this simple plot similarity,...
Words: 1553 - Pages: 7
...futile. How far do you agree with this representation of the text and its key themes? To first answer the question we need to define a key element, what are dreams? When we dream we contemplate the possibility of doing something or indulging in fantasies about something greatly desired. Yet they are necessary to keep the levels of hope high in people to stand for what they believe in whether it be the inadequacies of society or something else. Furthermore without incorporating dreams and having something to achieve in our life will result in an endless stream of days that have little connection or meaning. The representation of dreams occurs via prejudice and stereotypes- Crooks, because he is black in a racist culture- seems to be no hope for him; Curley’s wife, only woman on the farm and regarded as a tart- will never feel wanted, another hopeless situation; Candy, one-handed- can’t do the same work as the others and is old- can’t socialize with anyone, lonely and isolated. These situations give reason for dreaming as it becomes a paradise for those who wish for something more in their life and acts as a beacon of hope yet over time dreams either materialize or they question reality and in the book no one achieves or has achieved their dream- Lennie and George, Curley’s wife and Curley. Dreams will always be a source of hope but if they are not achieved you begin to realise that they are futile which is why to some extent I agree with the statement. The killing of Curley’s wife...
Words: 1516 - Pages: 7
...Both Steinbeck and Miller have mastered description of setting and location. In a novel or a play, having the skill to be able to set a scene is fundamental, it allows the author to illustrate a certain image or location through words. They intricately describe contemporary America, following the Wall Street Crash. Both authors have their own ways of conveying an image, Miller uses stage directions to illustrate important settings whilst Steinbeck implements evocative vocabulary to carefully describe each significant location to the reader. Miller’s first description portrays Brooklyn, the setting of the Loman household with a gentle flute melody playing in the background, ‘it is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon’. The house is described as being ‘small and fragile-seeming’ with ‘towering angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides’. This detailed description conveys to the reader that there is a sense of claustrophobia and inferiority, suggesting that this house is out of place in the daunting city. The opening location of Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ serves as a foil to ‘Death of a Salesman’, as it outlines the beauty of the Salinas River in rural California. There are however some links between the two introductions; the Salinas River is described as ‘twinkling over the yellow sands in the moonlight’, which directly opposes the description of Brooklyn ‘an angry glow of orange’ in scene one of ‘Death of a Salesman’. Rural California seems...
Words: 1597 - Pages: 7
...him. Just as the dog held no real usefulness to Candy except companionship, it was the same to George, who constantly had to travel because Lennie kept causing trouble. As discussed in the previous paragraph, Lennie was seen useless to the ranchers because of his lack of intelligence; the final nail in the coffin being that he killed Curley’s wife. The death of Curley’s wife and the “stink” that bothered the ranchers could be compared. Both annoyed the ranchers to the point where they wanted to kill the source of...
Words: 1163 - Pages: 5
