Of Mice and Men-
“Her body leaned forward”
"Feel right aroun' there an' see how soft it is." (Direct Attempt of Closeness and Temptation ultimately leads to her downfall – ‘Feel’)
Inspector Calls-
Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton- Absence throughout play. Lack of Clarity on her name “It’s a favourite haunt for women of the town” (Haunt-Evil and Sinister) Prostitutes
Big Idea-
Shows women are only for recreation (brothel houses present in both the books) and procreation (a married woman). If a woman is not married she is seen as a an object (a luxury possession to the them and have no status)
Frequent visits to the Brothel houses from the Ranch workers.
Biblical Allusions- Eve (Curley’s Wife) deters the men from acquiring their Eden (Hopes and Dreams)
OMAM- HC- Flappers- Women started to dress more provocatively. More disposable income before crash. Later on, they were shunned away as money was not widely available.
IC – HC- Working class single women of the time were completely at the clemency (kindness) of wealthy and powerful members of the society.
Eva Smith referred to as Eve to tempt Gerald away from his Eden- (his marriage to Sheila)
Actual- Suffragettes- Desperate Women (Work) did desperate things to survive. (Exploitation of the rich)
Morality- “They will be taught in blood, fire and anguish”- Will lead to man’s fall of paradise into hell if perceptions of society do not change.
Always women’s fault.
Lead on to Darwinian Theory
Point 2- Women’s Life in Enforced Class Systems
Of Mice and Men
“Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl”
Shows class systems of how a male dominated naturalist society conduct what happens and everybody avoids her as they do not want to get in trouble with the second highest character- Curley since his wife is his possession.
A Woman has no place in society- married (Curley’s Wife) or unmarried (Brothel house workers)
Oppression and Hostility Faced due to her Gender
HC- Economic Crash- Fluid movement of working men, women were expected to stay at home while the men earn money and in this transient working environment, women did not have a place and led to an isolation…
Inspector Calls
''Girls of that class'' (Said by Mrs Birling- Directed to Eva Smith)
Thinks she is socially and morally superior.
“That” suggests abhorrence of the working class
Without Mr Birling, Mrs Birling solidarity of her status could not be exercised. (Shunning away from helping Eva Smith)
Sheila uses her status and authority to get Eva sacked from her job at Milwards. How status can affect a person’s life- Just by “Verbal Command” Sheila can destruct a person’s dreams and ambitions with just a will.
For a raise in pay, Eva Smith (Perpetrated as the ring leader to protest about poor pay is made redundant by her action)
Big Idea
Darwinian Theory- Man’s Predatory Instinctive Nature causes class divide to sustain and sometimes elongate.
Curley exercises power over Wife and cannot tolerate her independence. Crude imagery- Curley = Master, Dog= Curley’s Wife. (Cannot tolerate dog being off the leash.)
Status is important in IC as marrying into same class is considered the norm and preferably into higher class therefore status divide keeps increasing. Welfare of workers is overlooked just for wealth.
Historical Context- War and Working Class Women – Only if you were poor, expected to work. Rich women just had to get married.
Point 3- Dreams and Work
Of Mice and Men
“Coulda been in the movies. Had nice clothes” – Curley’s Wife’s American Dream relates to the dreams of many other Americans in 1930s America during the Great Depression. It never materialises into an actual reality.
Standing on your own two feet independently- AMERICAN DREAM IDEOLOGY
An Inspector Calls-
Eva Smith(s) were not allowed to dream as employers strength were higher than labour power.
“Lower Costs and Higher Prices”
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