Of mice and men Essay

Submitted By MohIslam
Words: 1018
Pages: 5
Open Document
In ‘Of mice and Men’ Steinbeck uses each character to portray many themes and ideas. Some of the main themes in this novel are loneliness, shattered dreams and isolation. Despite Curley’s wife not being a main character she represents most of these themes. She is presented as a flirtatious, promiscuous and trouble-some woman who is a danger to the men on the ranch. This essay will explore the writer’s ideas and how both dislike and sympathy are created for Curley’s wife between the first and last appearance. Insignificance
In Steinbeck’s of mice and men, before we even meets Curley’s wife we can learn that she is disliked and hated for being a danger and a threat to everyone on the ranch. The fact the she is not given a name and is only referred to as Curley’s wife relates to the 1930s when woman were just treated as a possession of their husbands. Steinbeck uses derogatory terms such as ‘jailbait’, ‘rat trap’ and ‘tart’ to describe Curley’s wife, this instantly makes the reader judge her morals and character and it also creates estrangement for her. Upon Curley’s wife’s first appearance, it is made clear that her sexuality is a major part of her character. We can learn this from the quote “both men looked up…”, Steinbeck wrote ‘men ‘ instead of George and Lennie’s names to imply that all men look at here in such a way that she is seen as a sexual object and the fact that they looked ‘up’ means that her sexuality gives her the advantage over men. Then it says “the rectangle of sunshine was cut off”, the word ‘sunshine’ represents many positive aspects of life such as happiness, friendship and dreams. At this point Curley’s wife’s back is towards the light, this indicates that all of her dreams and happiness is behind her and only existed and held value in the past. Another thing we can depict from this quote is that the sunshine ‘was cut off’ by Curley’s wife, from this Steinbeck could be foreshadowing her shattering all the other characters’ dreams. The use of ‘cut off’ instead of blocked foreshadows the fact that the dreams of the characters are suddenly shattered after progressing slightly. This relates to the circular structure of the novel - everyone has a dream then they pursue it, progress with it then it gets shattered and then it starts again. Also, hints of Curley’s wife’s isolation and loneliness can be depicted from this quote as it says that she was standing at ‘’the doorway’’, this is evidence that she is unwanted and disliked on the ranch. Disappointment
Steinbeck description of her appearance reveals a lot about her character and the writers ideas. He starts by describing her wit “full rouged lips, wide spread eyes and heavily made up”. Having ‘rouged lips’ represents the danger she is for men and the enticing yet repulsive lust she is trying to show. Curley’s wife dressing and behaving in this way expresses her loneliness, desperation and also the desire to have friends. The ‘wide spread eyes’ suggest that she is childlike and she is infantilised, this is a negative representation of women as their flirtatiousness and indecent decisions are compared to an innocent child’s mistakes and mentality. Curley’s wife wearing a lot of make-up could be because she is trying to gain a lot of attention by making herself look better. The reason she is attempting to attract the wrong type of attention is because of the views people had of young women in the 1930s, they weren’t very fond of having friendly relationships with women and therefore she tries to sexually attract them. Alternatively, being ‘heavily made up’ could suggest that she is trying to hide her inner emotions and her true self. Steinbeck presents all aspects of Curley’s wife’s femininity – including her ‘red fingernails’, ‘sausage like hair’, ‘cotton
Show More

Related Documents: Of mice and men Essay

Symbolism In Of Mice And Men

In the novel, “Of Mice and Men”, there are many objects of symbolism. Throughout the book, there is symbolism through people, animals and objects. These symbols create a deeper meaning, and a better understanding to the themes present in the novel. The mice, rabbits, dogs, Curley’s wife, and even George and Lennie’s dream farm represent symbolism for the duration of the book. The literary critic, A Teachable Good Book: Of Mice and Men, argues that “the characters, too, are simple yet significant…

Words 1015 - Pages 5

Of Mice And Men Essay

Of Mice and Men Literary Analysis Everyone at some point in their life has been or knows someone who has experienced loneliness. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the author Mr. Steinbeck incorporates many different themes. A major theme is how loneliness affects everyone is some type of way wether it is one of our main characters in George, a female in Curley's wife, or some one of a different race in Crooks. This comes to show loneliness affects everyone regardless of age, sex,…

Words 765 - Pages 4

Of Mice and Men and Assessment ‘of Mice Essay

English- Control Assessment ‘Of Mice and Men’ Of Mice and Men is a short novel written by the author John Steinbeck, in which he explores the themes of friendship and loneliness. Following the lives of the 1930s ranch workers, and the hope of achieving the ‘American Dream’ and how events can conspire against the realization of ones dreams. For, Steinbeck’s characters, the dream of land represents independence and honour, George and…

Words 507 - Pages 3

Of Mice and Men Essay

Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men is a book written by John Steinbeck in 1937. The book Of Mice and Men is about two men named George and Lennie. George is a smart but smaller man, whereas Lennie is very big and strong but has a mental disability. They find work at a ranch but soon find themselves in a dangerous situation when Lennie has accidentally killed the wife of Curley, who is their boss’s son. Curley vows to kill Lennie, but before he is able to do so George chooses to take the life of his…

Words 739 - Pages 3

of mice and men Essay

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Of Mice and Men (disambiguation). Page semi-protected Of Mice and Men OfMiceAndMen.jpg First edition cover Author John Steinbeck Cover artist Ross MacDonald Country United States Language English Publisher Covici Friede Publication date 1937 Pages 187pp. Of Mice and Men is a novella[1][2] written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937…

Words 4351 - Pages 18

Loneliness In 'Of Mice And Men'

famous book in 1937 by the name of “Of Mice And Men” .This book is a story about 2 male adults by the name of George and Lennie, Lennie however is child-like. George is devoted to Lennie because Lennie is immature and behaves like an 3 year old. John Steinbeck explains that George and Lennie move from place to place in search of a new job that would make their dream come true.The following essay will be about: who the loneliest characters in the book “Of Mice and Men”. Curley’s wife is a…

Words 549 - Pages 3

Of Mice and Men Essay

Tammy Truong Period 4 10/11/2011 Mr. Sabbagh In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, he introduces his audience to a band of characters that all want one thing: “The American Dream.” In this 1950s, the American dream was owning a house, having a dog, two kids, and a loving wife. During the 1930s, the dream was quite different –surviving was the dream. Using characters such as Lennie and George, as futile as it is, is extremely powerful because even though there is no chance that they can fulfill their…

Words 867 - Pages 4

Of Mice and Men Essay

Rehat Sekhon Mrs. Phillips English 9H 12 November 2013 The Friendship of George and Lennie Have you ever wondered what it’s like to loose your best friend? In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, friendship is an important theme. The friendship of George and Lennie is especially displayed. George and Lennie are best friends and are traveling together. They have known each other for a long time. George knew Lennie’s Aunt Clara before…

Words 829 - Pages 4

Of Mice and Men Essay

Warfield Pre-AP English II 21 October 2012 Of Mice and Men Every writer reveals their novel’s characters in different ways. Authors decide to show the characteristics of characters through either indirect or direct characterization. John Steinbeck wrote the famous book Of Mice and Men which is one of American literature’s tragic stories. Steinbeck does a good job in using indirect characterization to describe George Milton in his book Of Mice and Men. I would like touch on the subject of George Milton…

Words 344 - Pages 2

Of Mice And Men Analysis

Of mice and men The story “of mice and men” by John Steinbeck is about the great depression times. Times when people worked eleven hours or more. Back when people hustle work when possible, people lived on a hand to mouth life. When Lennie was kicked out of weed, Lennie and George went a few miles south where there are green hillsides, golden sands in the sunlight, and warm waters. George and Lennie worked in a field bucking barley under the hot sun. This area had plenty of sunshine but…

Words 325 - Pages 2