Curley’s wife- how does Steinbeck present her in the novella
As readers’ we first hear of her pessimistically through gossip and Candy says she’s a ‘tart’, Steinbeck here presents her in a negative way even before she is introduced in the novel. Steinbeck first introduces her with ‘the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off’, as readers we could interpret this as her being the darkness that blots out the light, so she could be seen as a dark and dangerous character, ‘sunshine represents hope and she cuts this off showing that she is their to crush people dreams. “The rectangle in the doorway was cut off” strongly shows the changing mood of the room as it changes to a darker light. The idea that Curley’s wife has “cut off” the light from entering the bunkhouse predicts that she will possibly bring darkness to George and Lennie’s life. The blocking of the light changes the mood of the bunkhouse and the men and creates a foreboding atmosphere yet again foreshadowing the trouble to come. Steinbeck then uses the noun: “a girl” to describe Curley’s wife. Steinbeck uses third person narration to show his opinion of her. “Girl” connotes images of someone innocent and almost childish. The way Steinbeck has described her contrasts hugely with Candy’s perspective of her- “tramp.”
Steinbeck describes her as having ‘rouged lips’, ‘red mules’ and ‘red’ fingernails and ‘red’ ostrich feathers. Perhaps Steinbeck wants to show her as a character who is deeply concerned about her looks or maybe the use of the adjective ‘red’ implies something, as readers we know the red is used to symbolise danger and violence, but also love and passion. Maybe Steinbeck wants us to realise that she is a dangerous character and shouldn’t be associated with. Steinbeck describes her as ‘heavily made up’, the adjective ‘heavily could show that she has not just put a little make up to look pretty but has plastered it on like a mask, this could show that she’s hiding her insecurities or maybe true personality under a mask. Or maybe ‘heavily’ could show that she has a lot of time to put on this make up and dress attractively, maybe she has a lot of time because she’s lonely and bored and hasn’t got much else to do.
The Report on How Does Steinbeck Present the Character of Curley’s Wife?
HOW DOES STEINBECK PRESENT THE CHARACTER OF CURLEY’S WIFE? Curley’s wife is one of the main characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ and is heavily involved in the outcome of the story when George ends up shooting Lennie. She is a character that is talked about a lot by the other characters and is portrayed as a bit of a tart. Curley’s wife is trying to get attention a lot of the time she appears in the ...
She is then described as leaning against the door frame ‘so that her body was thrown forward’. This suggests she is provocative and uses her physical features to get attention as she is surrounded by a ranch full of men. As readers we view her negatively and she is also called ‘jail bait’ by George, as readers we grow to like Candy and George so when they view her as evil and a trouble maker we pre-judge her as readers.
She is always looking for Curley, but is this so she doesn’t get caught flirting with the ranch hands or is she genuinely looking for Curley, or maybe is this her alibi if Curley caught her. In section 4 of the novel ‘she breathed strongly, as if she had been running’, this may suggest her desperation to escape isolation and loneliness as she is shunned by all the ranch hands and isolated because she is a woman, she isn’t even given a name. This suggests how insuperior women were treated compared to men and were seen as objects and possessions for their husbands and male relatives. Steinbeck describes her as ‘rubbing the nails of one hand with the thumb and forefinger of the other’; the verb ‘rubbing’ suggests she is nervous perhaps about talking to Candy, Crooks and Lennie this or perhaps Steinbeck wants us to realise that she is thinking and scheming. She says ‘they left all the weak ones here’ and they are insulted, perhaps she doesn’t purposely insult them maybe she just doesn’t know how to communicate with others and tries to continue a conversation with anything that comes to mind. This also suggests that Candy and Crooks are physically ‘weak’ but in Lennie’s case mentally weak as he is mentally challenged, or perhaps she calls them weak to assert her authority and use her power status as Curley’s wife. Perhaps this show’s that she wants to be with people of power because of her high status, nevertheless she talks to them anyway, this reaffirms the idea we get that she is lonely and desperately wants attention.
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Steinbeck later presents her as a victim of sexism though at this time this was socially acceptable and as someone who is disrespected because she is a woman, Steinbeck may be trying to show us as readers that women were treated unequally men. She said ‘Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while?’ thinks make us sympathise with her as all she wanted was companionship and attention, so she can escape her world of loneliness and rejection. She is then presented as lonely and unloved even by her husband. When talking about Curley says ‘You all seen him. Swell guy, ain’t he?’ she says this with sarcasm. This may suggest that she doesn’t like Curley, maybe she’s always ‘heavily made up’ because he abuses her and she covers up her bruises with make-up. She has only been married two weeks and is already given other men ‘the eye’ perhaps Curley doesn’t give her the love and attention she seeks for. ‘Even Curley’ she says showing she knows Curley went to the cathouse, as readers we feel bad as we see now that maybe she is misunderstood and isn’t flirtatious to get others in a fight with Curley, we see that she has been a undermined and disrespected by others because she’s a woman.
Steinbeck also presents her as aggressive when talking to Crooks and Candy. She threatens crooks saying ‘I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny’. Perhaps she said this so she can assert the little authority she has as Curley’s wife. Or maybe she says this because she is tired of being segregated and so feels bad and wants others to feel what she is feeling. As readers we feel bad for Crooks and so don’t feel sympathy for her but instead despise her even more as she tries to belittle others. Maybe some readers would dislike her but also she was defending herself as they didn’t want her there, she doesn’t want to be treated unfairly.
In section 5 of the novel she is presented differently. ‘She came very quietly’ this may suggests her true demeanour because quietly can be associated with soft and king, this is a contrast to the aggressive character that we saw before; later when talking to Lennie said ‘What you got there, sonny boy?’, this seems a bit more playful and friendly as she not only uses colloquial language but also shows she cares about others by asking a question. As readers this challenges the idea that she only cares about herself but this may also contradict our earlier views on her. She then says ‘I never get to talk to nobody’ Steinbeck maybe suggesting that she is lonely and only seeks attention from others to escape loneliness, Steinbeck makes us sympathise with her as we feel sorry for her, maybe she’s been regarded harshly and unfairly and maybe she never gets to talk to anyone so we never get to know her, this could also link to being ‘heavily made up’ the adjective heavily may suggest that she’s put on make-up to hide her real personality. Perhaps Steinbeck is trying to show how women were treated in the 1930’s and how men in society treated women unfairly.
The Essay on Women Reader Attention Stephen King
What would be the first thing that comes up to your mind when you think about Stephen King With no doubt. Scary x, will be a first description that pops up in your mind. I remember, at young age, watching a movie named. IT x story written by Stephen King. As a young age I was so scared by the movie. But then I was so into the plot of the movie that when I arrived in the States, that was the first ...
