Of Mice And Men Curley's wife

Name: Thanos Emmanuel

Date: 10.01.2011

Class: 4 White

Task Number: 3

Title: ‘Of Mice and Men’

Number of words excluding quotes: 1100

"Well, stick around and keep your eyes open. You'll see plenty. She ain't concealin nothing. I never seen nobody like her. She got the eye goin' all the time on everybody. I bet she gives the stable buck the eye. I don't know what the hell she wants".

Discuss the way in which you as a reader respond to Steinbeck's presentation of Curley's wife. You need to look closely at the way in which he uses language to achieve effect.

Steinbeck in his book “Of mice and men” has predominantly used animals to present the other side of human beings that is normally found in animals. He clearly brought in the common characteristics of animals that are possessed by men and each character in this book gives the imagery of an animal. For the purpose of this assignment we shall explore the various characteristics and methods that the writer uses to describe Curley’s wife.

The writer has made use of language in several occasions to draw meaning and give more sense to the piece of work and the most notable and obvious is the kind of language used which is so casual and local portraying the setting where the characters are acting in as well as their status in the society. The use of the phrase ” I never seen nobody like her” in the above opening quotation is really non standard English that possibly points at the level of education of the characters and their role in the society and clearly demonstrates that they are really casuals in a farm though they have endeavored to dream for a better future.

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The writer has made use of figures of speech in reference to Curley’s wife and in that effect has brought about her true character in this book. He has mainly used metaphors in chapter four in reference to Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife came to look for her husband in place where Crooks and George were having some discussions the writer described her as follows: “her face was heavily made up and her lips slightly parted”. This was just an indirect reference to her frustrations and increasing concerns about her husband which the writer described using her appearance. Another metaphor just in the same chapter is the description of her gesture at the men whom she found there and her perception of them. The writer says that ” her eyes traveled from one face to another” which basically referred to her looking at the men who were there at that time that she considered weak and useless and this was a major source of conflict with other characters as they perceived her as a trouble maker. Her description of Candy as a “funny thing” is equally metaphoric and points at her disregard for men and how tough she was on men that she considered to be only confident while they were in groups, but could not make any statement as an individual. As she continued to look at the men, after provoking them she realized that “all their faces were closed against her” meaning that nobody among all the men were interested in listening to her or hearing anything from her.

In her argument with the men she reached a point that she became defensive of her husband, that all the other men were accusing and in that effect she refers to them as “a bunch of bindle stiffs” possibly referring them as people who are quite traditional and against the advice of women and therefore making them feminists. This was a perfect example of similes as under normal circumstances men cannot be compared with bindles. She also goes ahead to compare them with the sheep that are known to be stiff naked.

Curley’s wife remains a unique character in this book as she is the only woman in the book that is dominated by men and as such she has become a victim of circumstances and is seen to suffer from all kinds of oppression leveled against her by the men. She depicts the negative picture of women in a male sexist society where women have no place and are only known for their destructive tendencies. She is often referred to as “trampt”,’bitch” and “tart” which basically qualifiers her as a destructive character and one who destabilizes the status of men in that society. As a female character in a group dominated by men she will obviously be expected to support her own rights and this she does alone but the male characters in this book would rather prefer to gag her and ensure that she remains under their command. She has also proved to be a very sharp character in this play that is more human and interactive than any other character in this book.

Her behavior and character therefore tries to tackle the challenges that the females are really facing in the modern society in their efforts to break the barriers set by male chauvinists. Being the only women in the story clearly points out at the gender insensitivity that still exists and ignorance of the role that the females can play in the society especially in decision making. This is also an indicator of continued male domination in major activities in the society. However her persistence in trying to match the males who are the majority in this setting is a positive move in promoting equality and it is also a clear sign that change can come and the status can be abolished.

The use of personification is also evident in this book in the same chapter where as Curley’s wife disappeared the writer explains that the “halter chains rattled and some horse snorted and some stamped their feet” this is in clear reference to the relieve that her disappearance brought to the men whom are referred as horses in that quotation. Another personification can be witnessed in her second coming and discussion with Lenny where she refers to the “pup” as like a human being, by saying that “He is dead”.

She also uses flashback in her discussion with Lennie and showing her other side of being a very humble and hospitable lady with a lot of talents and even shows what she could manage if given time. A show came through and I met one of the actors……….

The writer has therefore made use of figures of speech like metaphors, similes, flashbacks and personifications in portraying the characters of Curley’s wife and illustrates her as a strong woman who has positively represented women as a whole in the novel, with main emphasis in chapter 4 and 5 of the book.

Curley’s wife has demonstrated herself as a strong woman who is not willing to negotiate her honesty and true feeling for anything. Her kind nature is clearly brought by the fact that she is willing to listen and understand the problems of the low class citizens of the society like Lennie; who are incidentally grouped in the same category of women and given all sorts of names like infirm, old, rejected, feeble and lifeless; but they are able to develop a unique bond that arises from their circumstances. Therefore Curley’s wife represents women as people who are social and can get along with almost everybody, unlike men who lack this trait.

Females are therefore lowly rated by males yet they have enormous potentials that even men cannot match.

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

sydneyhopcroft

5th of Mar 2012

Quality of writing

The Quality of Written Communication shown here is average. There are moments when a misuse (or overuse) of the words "just", "basically" and "really" give the answer quite a flippant feel, like the candidate is downplaying Steinbeck's novel, and this should be avoided by ignoring the aforementioned modifiers and writing in a standard grammatical format without colloquialisms.

Level of analysis

There is plenty of analysis here, and the potential for a candidate to receive a strong B grade though, what limits them from doing so is evidence of a lack of proper understanding about the novel. Curley's wife is certainly not symbolic of "women as people who are social and can get along with almost everybody, unlike men who lack this trait", or "a strong woman who has positively represented women as a whole in the novel." This is quite clearly wrong, as Steinbeck wrote Curley's wife as the traditional subordinated woman in a patricarchal society who is stuck on the ranch permanently, with an unnatainable dream that she is oppressed from achieving. Candidates will do well to realise this as it is a key element of the novel. A further issue preventing this answer from the top marks region is the digression from what the question actually asks. There is a vague appraoch to it, but very little specific detail is offered. The presentation of Steinbeck's language is key to understanding Curley's wife. She is seen as something of a social superior in marriage to Curley but it is she who elevates her status higher than she should, and this is shown in the way she speaks - her dialect and accent are identical to the ranch-hands and this shows her cultural ties with the bottom of society; that she can never hope to improve her situation by actnig more prestigious than she should.

Response to question

This essay response is directed at a question asking candidates to discuss the character of Curley's wife in John Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men'. In it, the candidate fairly successfully addresses a number of scenes whereby the character of Curley's wife is conveyed by Steinbeck's use of metaphors and how Curley's wife interacts with the other characters. Though, almost all their analytical comments are erroneous. Let it no be said that there are right and wrong answers here but if analysis from the candidate clearly juxtaposes the intentions of the writer, then the examiners become aware that the candidate in question lacks sufficient knowledge about the novel and the authorial intentions of it's plot and characters to answer the question with sensible analysis.

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