...Explore how Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ 1930’s America was the time of the Great Depression; there was lack of jobs and the lives of many families were destroyed as a result of severe poverty. Men would travel the roads searching for any work which could provide them with the means to live. These men were migrant workers and in Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are two such men on a ranch. Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch and the fact that she has no name symbolises the discrimination suffered by women in the 1930’s. During this time few women worked and therefore had little independence and instead relied on the support of their families or husbands. The first impression of Curley’s wife is profoundly negative. Candy describes her as a “tart” an suggests she is promiscuous, “she got the eye” and is disrespectful towards her husband even though she’s only been married two weeks. This leads the villain to believe she has been unfaithful and is the villain of the novel. However, Candy also says “Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife” could suggest that Curley sees her as a purely sexual object and takes advantage of her, without regard for romance, equality or respect. Because of Curley’s authority over the other workers his attitude and opinion towards his wife will influence the other men, creating generally biased opinions of her. This relates to the power of men at the time – Steinbeck is showing how men had the upper...
Words: 1170 - Pages: 5
...Courtney White Victim or Manipulator? How do Shakespeare in ‘Macbeth’ and Steinbeck in ‘Of Mice of Men’ present female characters? Both Shakespeare and Steinbeck have presented their characters in ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’ as women who possess the features of a manipulator and a victim. Both elements are a question of power; manipulation being able to overpower someone else, whereas a victim is a subject to someone else’s power. Lady Macbeth and Curley’s wife both manipulate men using their femininity: Curley’s wife shows this as she manipulates the men on the ranch using her appearance and Lady Macbeth uses her sexuality to persuade her husband to kill the king and by welcoming Duncan into her home, even though she was plotting to kill him. Alternatively, there are differences between the two women, as Curley’s wife is lonely and isolated on the ranch, her husband disrespects her and is disliked by all the men on the ranch and as a result, manipulates the men innocently to get some attention. Lady Macbeth desires power and fame, and acts manipulatively and selfishly to get what she wants. Lady Macbeth is upperclass, giving her more freedom to do what she wanted. She had status, wealth, glamour and equal partnership with her husband. This was very unusual for the time- Shakespeare has presented her as a very modern anti-heroine. The writers have also presented the women as victims of their gender. During the time each text was written women had restrictions placed on...
Words: 2728 - Pages: 11
...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
...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
...ending in order to evaluate how effective it really is. What is the main message of the novel? In your conclusion, you should draw together your thoughts and revisit the prompts listed opposite. How does the ending leave you feeling? Why? How convincing does it make the novel as a whole? How does it relate to today’s society? In your conclusion, you should draw together your thoughts and revisit the prompts listed opposite. How does the ending leave you feeling? Why? How convincing does it make the novel as a whole? How does it relate to today’s society? Perhaps Steinbeck intends the ending to signify how generic victims will never prosper, will continually be subverted/threatened, victimised and cruelly abused? If you disagree with this, state how it might be proved not to be the case… how might Lennie represent the plight/possible fate of other victims in the novella? (Candy? Crooks? Curley’s wife? etc.) Perhaps Steinbeck intends the ending to signify how generic victims will never prosper, will continually be subverted/threatened, victimised and cruelly abused? If you disagree with this, state how it might be proved not to be the case… how might Lennie represent the plight/possible fate of other victims in the novella? (Candy? Crooks? Curley’s wife? etc.) Prior to this, the dramatic and tragic...
Words: 1301 - Pages: 6
...Letter to the conflicted author of ‘Of Mice and Men’ Contemptible sympathy! Mr Steinbeck, Having read your novella “Of Mice and Men” I am both hugely disgusted and confused as to why you gave Curley’s Wife sympathy after her death. I find it very challenging to sympathise with a malcontent being that you ensured sought satisfaction in belittling and ridiculing others. Do you honestly think so little of your audience? That we would disregard her obstreperousness due to the fact that she is no longer living and in reality where she would feel at home; in hell with her father, “the old devil”. Understandably, you gave her a certain amount of respect and sympathy as it is traditionally, common courtesy to offer this to the dead; however, the whole manner in which it was given is quite satirical. She was slated and slandered throughout the novella and presented as a “tart”, yet as soon as she passed “her face was sweet” and her “ache” for attention disappeared. It is completely puzzling how one can be perceived as the devil’s offspring one minute, and the next have angelic qualities. It is only right I question your credibility as the first sign of your inner confliction surfaces. Surely removing this conflict of interest will ultimately benefit everybody, including your sincerity and reputation. You plead sympathy for a “pretty and simple” vixen who was simultaneously “heavily made up” with “red finger-nails”. Not only is pleading for sympathy utterly pathetic...
Words: 940 - Pages: 4
...were more normal to destroy than to build. In most ways, violence is a normal way for others to relieve the feeling of despair and limited possibilities that all go along with working on the ranch. For example, Lennie tends to be very violent when it comes to people making him angry. This tendency; however is watched over by George, who is supposed to make sure that he is safe and doesn’t get himself into trouble, but at the same time George is physically violent towards lennie because of his mental handicap. Curley, who is the husband of the only woman that lives on the ranch, tends to be very violent toward anyone that he sees as a threat to himself or his power, most of his rage however, is directed to Lennie because of his size. Curley's Wife is also the target of violence because she is seen as the tramp of the ranch for her flirtatious acts with the majority of the ranch men. With all these events in mind, we can paint a pretty clear picture of how violence was an everyday thing for the ranchers. With lennie suffering from a mental illness he is unable to make normal decisions like someone else would be able to. Therefore, he is forced to be under the protection of George, who was asked to look out for him and make sure he doesn’t get himself into trouble. Lennie; however, has a problem with touching things...
Words: 1433 - 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
...Year group: Title Extended Reading Language Unit 3 A Of Mice and Men 10 Unit description Candidates must make reference to the whole text. Tier ( Higher) Candidates must produce work totalling about 1200 words in a period of up to four hours CA task: Explore the ways sympathy and dislike of ‘Curley’s Wife’ is created in ‘Of Mice and Men.’ CA = Week starting 20 October 2014 (All 4 lessons this week) (Possibility of starting one lesson early at the end of week 6). Level or Grade A*-C Differentiate appropriately for the group that you teach and for individuals within that group th Length 7 weeks (To include CA) Learning objectives AO3 (See mark scheme for band descriptors) Interpretations of texts/understanding significant meanings of the text Engagement with writer’s ideas and attitudes Interpretation of ideas supported with evidence Understanding of features of language and structure Learning outcomes Close analysis of text extracts leading to development of reading skills Consideration of context and writer’s intentions/themes and ideas Speaking and Listening to show understanding of issues and empathy with character Writing a draft essay and set targets for the assessment Produce an analytical essay for CA (New Acronym = SMILE (Structure, Meanings, Ideas, Language, Evidence) Prior knowledge (Enter pre-requisite knowledge and skills.) Analytical essay – Year 9 KS3 reading skills National Framework for Secondary English Strands National Framework for...
Words: 2713 - Pages: 11
...Loneliness in “Of Mice and Men” Friends are needed in a person’s life for emotional stability whom without would lead to a life of loneliness and solitude. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the characters Crooks, Candy and Curly’s wife exhibit a form of loneliness. They are driven to George and Lennie’s friendship because they lack support and that emotional stability in their own lives."A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't matter no difference who the guy is, longs he with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick" (Steinbeck, 13). Throughout his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows that victims of isolation crave to fulfill a companionship to fill in that void of loneliness. Firstly, Crooks, a handicapped black man, experiences isolation because of his race and disability and seeks to be a part of someone’s life. Crooks is physically separated from the other men as he has his own room in the barn and has limited social contact because he tends the horses. Crooks’s loneliness forces him to translucently share his bottled thoughts to Lennie when he comes into his room, and asks to be a part of the dream George and Lennie share, "...If you...guys would want a hand to work for nothing--just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand..." (Steinbeck 88). This shows that Crooks wants to be engaged with other people in his life despite his inability to see beyond the prejudice and discrimination he has always experienced. Secondly, the character Candy...
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
...1. Discuss the relationship between George and Lennie. The friendship that George and Lennie share forms the 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...
Words: 3789 - Pages: 16
...contrast to the depression and discrimination of the other characters on the ranch. His consistency makes him a tool of comparison and gives him a unique judge-like authority. Slim is important to contextualise other characters on the ranch. Because Slim is describes with such zealous descriptions such as ‘God-like eyes’ he is quickly established as a character with an excellent moral conduct. In contrast, Curley is described as ‘alla time picking scraps with big guys’. With Slim, we can constantly compare characters with him, to intensify their weaknesses. For example, Slim has an ‘authority so great that his word was taken on any subject’, whilst Curley ‘wore high-heeled boots’ to superficially show power. This comparison highlights Curley’s inner insecurity as we see he has to dress for respect whilst this comes to Slim naturally. Slim is also a character assessor on the ranch – his judgement on Lennie is that ‘he’s not mean’. All the time leading up to this, we as readers have probably already arrived to this opinion, but by an authoritive figure like Slim repeating it we can be sure of the innocence of Lennie’s actions. Furthermore, Slim’s power on the ranch makes him a voice of justice throughout the novel. Because justice is so subjective, Slim’s views provide an objective way of evaluating George’s latter decisions in the novel. We are initially surprised when we learn that Slim ‘drowned four of [the puppies] right off’, as it would be seen as a form of murder. However...
Words: 829 - Pages: 4
...ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an accident and worries about his future on the ranch. Fearing that his age is making him useless, he seizes on George’s description of the farm he and Lennie will have, offering his life’s savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land. ❖ Curley’s wife - The only female character in the story, Curley’s wife is never given a name and is only mentioned 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. Steinbeck depicts Curley’s wife not as a villain, but rather as a victim. ❖ Crooks-crooks, the black stable-hand gets his name from his crooked back. Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of the colour of his skin. Despite himself, crooks becomes found of Lennie, and though he derisively claims to have seen countless men following empty dreams of buying their own land, he asks Lennie if he can go with them and hoe in the garden. ❖ Whit-a ranch-hand ❖ The boss-the stocky, well-dressed man in charge of the ranch, and Curley’s father. He is never named and appears only once, but seems to be a...
Words: 1758 - Pages: 8
...This essay is about how John Steinbeck represents human nature and the nice and unfavourable qualities people had during the American depression in the 1930s where the story ‘Of Mice and Men’ took place. The story shows the way different people will react diversely to various situations. In this case, living with the trouble of having to travel to faraway places to search for jobs. It shows how some people can behave overly difficult while others can be calm, friendly and easy to live with. The many characters in the story represent the many different combinations of worthy and unworthy qualities but this essay shall concentrate on three characters Slim, Curley and Crooks. In ‘Of Mice and Men’, John Steinbeck uses the character Slim to represent a man who has only the admirable qualities of human nature and seems to possess absolutely no unworthy traits whatsoever. John Steinbeck shows the ideal man who respects and is respected greatly in return. He is known as ‘the prince of the ranch’ suggesting that he has skill above all the other men in the ranch and able to do things others could not. He can ‘kill a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bull whip without touching the mule.’ This shows his precision and skill on the ranch supporting his title as the ‘prince of the ranch’. Furthermore, John Steinbeck shows how Slim is a born leader. His ‘godlike manner’ implies that he is like god, kind, respected and always listened to. Everything he does is done with ‘dignity’. People respect...
Words: 1254 - Pages: 6
...During the early and mid 1900’s, African Americans are endless victims of discrimination. They are seen as outcasts and are treated horribly. The events of discrimination are shown very well in the novels A Summer of Kings by Han Nolan and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Both of the books clearly show the themes of racism, segregation and gender inequality throughout the content of their storylines. Having these forms of discrimination in both of the novels, make the readers realize how much suffering these innocent people had to go through every single day of their lives because of the cruel societies around them. Both of the novels have events within them showing the segregation, racism and gender inequality that are associated with the theme of discrimination. The events that they endure every day are horrible and these events have made a mark on history. Every event that shows discrimination is embedded in history and in A Summer of Kings and Of Mice and Men, the authors have shown these events clearly and made the suffering real enough to clearly understand as the reader. In the book A Summer of Kings racism is a central issue. Han Nolan makes sure to inform the readers that the African-American people live in different cities than the white people do. King-Roy Johnston, who is a black man that has been accused of murdering a white man in Alabama. When he comes to live with her family, Esther’s neighbour Pip is not so happy about this when he says “You think...
Words: 2037 - Pages: 9
