A comparative study of Curley’s Wife in Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men and Sophy Twycott in Hardy’s “The Son’s Veto”.

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GCSE English Coursework Rory Franklin

C19th & C20th Prose Comparison 25/01/2002

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A comparative study of Curley's Wife in Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men and Sophy Twycott in Hardy's "The Son's Veto".

Of Mice And Men and "The Son's Veto" are two texts which share some very similar ideas, whilst, at the same time, beings very different in terms of location. Of Mice And Men is set in America during the period of the depression years and depicts the tragedy of two workers trying to fulfil the American dream of having their own house and farm. The story is set on a ranch in rural California which holds a small group of stereotypical characters. The character that this account will focus on, Curley's Wife, is presented to us with a little background but what information the reader is given, her background was tragic with a lost opportunity that she squandered when she was younger which led her to be cut off from society. It shows that she does not take the initiative to go out and follow her dreams. She is portrayed as being an isolated figure, trapped on the male-dominated ranch, with nowhere to go, and nothing she can do to try to improve her life due to the remoteness of the ranch.

She is separated from society, from the companionship of other women. Steinbeck puts the entire novella into a period of a few days. In this time he gives a large amount of information about the various characters through 'informants' who supply information to other characters, but at the same time to the reader. Curley's Wife plays a very subsidiary role for most of the novella, but becomes more important towards the final scene, during which she dies. Her role in the story is more subtle, with her being referred to by most characters, but taking a backseat role to the two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small.

Tomas Hardy's "The Son's Veto" is focused on Sophy Twycott, the lonely, country-bred girl brought to London. It is mainly based in London, with reminiscence's of her birth place in the countryside. Hardy provides lots of information about Sophy's background when she recalls how she came o be living in London. It is set in 19th century England in London and a small village called Albrickham. They are two contrasting settings, one an example of an urban dwelling, and the other a rural location. This short story examines the life of Sophy, an uneducated widow of a Reverend, surrounded by the sophisticated upper-class of London. She is trapped between the upper-class and her own son, who had the benefit of an excellent education. She is confined to her house by a crippled foot, forbidding any kind of release from the aristocracy and the dreary life of suburban London. The short story takes place over years, with Sophy's beginnings in Albrickham to her death in London.
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Both characters are presented in different ways by the writes with Steinbeck giving a fragmentary account of Curley's Wife, and Hardy giving a full history. Steinbeck is very neutral in his account, whilst Hardy is less objective stirring greater sympathy in the reader. Hardy's account is much more personal, with him taking the role of narrator. He even takes a direct role as a narrator to show his sympathy:

"And she had done it herself, poor thing."

[Hardy, 1st page]

Steinbeck never takes such a role in OMM; all information is provided by Candy the ...

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