Steinbeck presents her as a negative married woman. She has been presented first through the dialogue of ranch-hand Candy when he describes her to George. His opinion is very sexist towards Curley’s wife as he says “Curley married...a tart”. This shows Steinbeck presents her in a very crude manner. The word “tart” shows the immediate impression and effect Curley’s wife has on the other men on the ranch.
Examine how Charlotte Perkins Gilman challenges attitudes towards the role of women in society through her use of form, structure and language in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman challenges attitudes towards the role of women in society through her use of form, structure and language in numerous ways. The story is a fictionalized autobiographical account that illustrates the emotional and intellectual deterioration of the female narrator who is a wife as well as a mother. The woman, who seemingly is suffering from post-partum depression, searches for some sort of peace in her male dominated world. She is given a “cure” from her husband (a doctor) that requires strict bed rest and an enforced lack of any form of metal stimulation. As a result of her husbands control, the woman develops and obsessive attachment to the wallpaper which masks the walls of her bedroom.
The shared opinion by the men on the ranch is that they think ‘Curley’s married… a tart’ and that she is ‘giving men the eye’. Steinbeck uses this technique to create a biased opinion and set up the thoughts that men had of women in those days, calling her a ‘tart’ makes the reader think that she is unfaithful or prone to be, causing a disliking towards her. However given the fact that this is coming from gossip the reader realises it may be slightly exaggerated. Curley’s ‘glove fulla Vaseline’ make us pity Curley’s wife as it objectifies her as nothing but a sexual property to someone, which links in with her only ever being referred to as ‘Curley’s wife’ showing us that she is nothing but Curley’s property as she remains nameless throughout the whole novel. Even though we see a sense of power with Curley, we are then brought to the idea that she is ‘giving men the eye’ which makes us dislike her for we assume then that she is being unfaithful and portraying her as a floozy.
She is a lonely character constantly searching for attention, even if it is from ranch workers, cripples and the coloured. Curley's wife is made to show her disgust at married life by being 'married two weeks an' got the eye', this makes the ranch workers towards her bitter and unhappy as they see her as a tart who has no reason to be near them as she will only lead to trouble. Steinbeck uses Curley's wife's character along with others to show that many people of that time had dreams, hers was that she 'could be in the pitchers' we find out about her dream just before her death this heightens the impact of the news. She knows that she is no longer able to fulfil her own dream, as she is no longer her own person but Curley's, she turns her anger into the form of making Curley jealous by flirting with other men. Despite the fact that she wants to believe she had a chance in the pictures she knows she had no chance after the promised
Of mice and men is essentially a microcosm of the socio-economic problems faced throughout the great depression in America. The only definitive representation of women throughout the novella is Curley’s wife. Steinbeck was quite cruel in the way he portrayed Curleys wife in the novel, not even giving her a name or identity – this is because he is trying to get across to the reader the patriarchal society that this was. Curley’s wife appears three times in the book; the first time is in chapter 2 where the reader gets the initial impression that she is a “tart”. The second time we see her is in chapter 4 where we gain knowledge of her temperamental side.
Curley’s wife would always try to show more of herself, and of course the reaction of the men was to call her a “tramp” and a “rat trap”. This is also subtly changing the readers view. We can see that all the men on the Ranch feel the same way about her. Steinbeck almost puts you in the position of Lennie and George, so whenever she insults them, so also insults you, further exaggerating what you feel about Curley’s wife. For example, when she says “They left all the weak ones here” all the men ignore her to let her know that she isn’t wanted, and Crooks tells her to get out.
The word ‘coarsened’ implies that the women’s relationship with birth and life is tainted by munitions work and its association with death. It also maybe suggests about the ‘coarsening’ effect, both physical and moral that manual labour has on the finer features of women. In the poem, Gabrielle might be trying to suggest that war changed the role of women and portrayed them in a negative light too. Women are meant to bring new life, but instead these women were making weapons of destruction. In the poem ‘The Jingo woman, I think Hamilton was trying to reveal that British women were not a race at peace, but a race at war, along with the rest of British
Curley’s wife, who walks the ranch as a temptress, seems to be a prime example of this destructive tendency—Curley’s already bad temper has only worsened since their wedding. Aside from wearisome wives, Of Mice and Men offers limited, rather misogynistic, descriptions of women who are either dead maternal figures or prostitutes. Despite Steinbeck’s rendering, Curley’s wife emerges as a relatively complex and interesting character. Although her purpose is rather simple in the book’s opening pages—she is the “tramp,” “tart,” and “bitch” that threatens to destroy male happiness and longevity—her appearances later in the novella become more complex. When she confronts Lennie, Candy, and Crooks in the stable, she admits to feeling a kind of shameless dissatisfaction with her life.
Curley’s wife essay Throughout the novella, Steinbeck slowly presents the character of Curley’s wife in such a way that our opinions of her change. As Steinbeck fist prepares the reader for the entrance of Curley’s wife he is very begins to prepare the reader for her entrance. He begins to prejudice Curley’s wife making you thing she is a “floozy”. Steinbeck uses this this to introduce the ideas of America citizens at the time and the sexism of ranch workers in the 1930s. Her mannerisms do not help these misconceptions.
Women in the 1930’s were seen by men as scheming and devious. John Steinbeck perceived Curley’s wife as this woman that causes trouble on the farm, which is the cause for the Lennie’s ultimate end. However, we can see at the end of the novel that Curley’s wife is not just this “troublemaker” which the men perceive her as. She opens herself up to Lennie and shares her dreams in life. It shows that she too, like the men on the farm, has dreams too.