examine how John Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife
Throughout the course of this essay I am going to examine how Steinbeck presents the character of Curley’s wife in ‘Of mice and men’, through the way she is treated, spoken to and spoken about as well as her own dialogue and actions. Curley’s wife lives with and is married to Curley and is the only women on the ranch; therefore I will be using her as a representation of how women were treated and portrayed in the 1930s.
In of Mice and Men Steinbeck uses language to hint to the reader that Curley’s wife is seen as an item rather than a human. We know this because throughout the course of the book Curley’s wife is referred to as ‘Curley’s wife’ instead of her actual name. This suggests that she has no individualism as she is not presented as her own person but rather an asset of Curley’s just like his money, house and horses. The reference also suggests that the 1930s was a male dominated world, where men were the hierarchy in comparison to women, so the reason for this behaviour could have been due to culture and tradition of the time.
Steinbeck also uses symbolism to represent Curley’s wife as a sexual object, we know this because when George was new to the ranch and wanted to know about Curley, Candy told him “Well, that glove’s fulla Vaseline…Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife.” This quote suggests that Curley’s sexual relationship is very important to him to the point of sacrificing a whole hand and wearing a glove all day, even throughout the scorching summer sun! The first reference to the relationship between Curley and his wife is referred to a ‘physical’ one, which shows that he sees his wife as a sexual object rather than a partner in life. Steinbeck could have used a ring or necklace which would be a token of their love, but rather her uses the glove of Vaseline which is a token of their ‘sexual relationship’.
The author portrays Curley’s wife as an unhappy women, we know this because when Candy’s in a conversation with George before
In of Mice and Men Steinbeck uses language to hint to the reader that Curley’s wife is seen as an item rather than a human. We know this because throughout the course of the book Curley’s wife is referred to as ‘Curley’s wife’ instead of her actual name. This suggests that she has no individualism as she is not presented as her own person but rather an asset of Curley’s just like his money, house and horses. The reference also suggests that the 1930s was a male dominated world, where men were the hierarchy in comparison to women, so the reason for this behaviour could have been due to culture and tradition of the time.
Steinbeck also uses symbolism to represent Curley’s wife as a sexual object, we know this because when George was new to the ranch and wanted to know about Curley, Candy told him “Well, that glove’s fulla Vaseline…Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife.” This quote suggests that Curley’s sexual relationship is very important to him to the point of sacrificing a whole hand and wearing a glove all day, even throughout the scorching summer sun! The first reference to the relationship between Curley and his wife is referred to a ‘physical’ one, which shows that he sees his wife as a sexual object rather than a partner in life. Steinbeck could have used a ring or necklace which would be a token of their love, but rather her uses the glove of Vaseline which is a token of their ‘sexual relationship’.
The author portrays Curley’s wife as an unhappy women, we know this because when Candy’s in a conversation with George before