Of MIce and Men: Curley’s Wife Essay

Names have been an all important(p) facet of society for as long as Homo sapiens have existed. A look up is defined as a rallying cry or symbol utilize in logic to designate an entity. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck teaches a lesson about the nature of human existence and shows how austere and isolated people become without hope. Steinbeck neglects to address Curleys married womans theatrical role by cry in order to emphasize her face as a literary ele workforcet and provide commentary on society in the conviction period during which he lived. Curleys married woman is never named because Steinbeck wished to emphasize the ubiquitous dislike of her throughout the farm.Whilst reading the novella, it is implied that no one on the farm likes Curleys married woman. However, there isnt inescapably a flaw in her soulfulnessality from which this aversion to her stems. The personas avoid fundamental interaction with her because they fear retribution from her possessive, short- tempered keep up. The men on the farm fix to foster hatred toward her because her constant need for guardianship puts their livelihoods in danger. The men cant ever get too familiar with her because they ar distanced by the detail that she is Curleys wife.Steinbeck constantly reminds the readers and the characters in the book of this fact by denying her a proper name. Second in the litany of reasons why Curleys wife be unnamed throughout the entire novella is that Steinbeck wishes to put over the entire story the idea that she was a possession of Curleys and non an independent entity. During the course of the novella, we run across multiple instances in which Curley is angered by compensate the idea of his wife consorting with another(prenominal) men, even in a platonic manner.As previously stated, Curley would even haunt to firing men if he was unpleased with the way the interacted with his wife. The reader is able to tie beam a parallel between the way Curley treats an d acts toward his wife and the way someone would act when dealing with an object of theirs. It is very clear that she is expected (by Curley and the other men, save Lennie) to obey Curley at all times. At the period in time in which the novella is set, women atomic number 18 expected to submit to their husband wordlessly and this is thoroughly explored in Of Mice and Men through Curley and his wifes relationship.The zeitgeist of 1937(the year in which the book was published) and its subsequent influence on literary works written around that time period is another reason Curleys wife remains nameless. In that time, women were considered inferior to men and werent virtually as important in the public eye. One must look upon when reading Of Mice and Men that the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote only became an supplement in 1920. The novella was set during The Great Depression a time during which women did not have the amount of authority in society as they do tod ay.Curleys wife was used to depict women as troublemakers that disturb the flow of life for men. Steinbeck failed to assign Curleys wife a name because it was acceptable at the time for women to be undermined and overlooked. By constantly referring to her as Curleys wife Steinbeck undermines her character as an independent person because she is strained to always be associated to Curley. With this minor oversight Steinbeck was able to use her character in idiomatic ways to enhance his writing.As indicated previously, Steinbeck writes Curleys wife as a literary element to enhance the story as opposed to a character in the story. Almost humorously, one of the outcomes of refusing her a proper name (which I suspect was intentional) is that it caused the reader to direct to a greater extent attention to her than anyone else in the story. Steinbeck is commonly known as an author who utilizes descriptions as a way to portray his characters. Curley is often mentioned as the bosss son. S lim is introduced as the jerkline skinner. Crooks is solely referred to as the stable buck or simply nigger until chapter 4. Despite the fact that all these characters have names, they are relatively miniscule parts of the story when push comes to shove, the nameless wife is the one who causes things to happen and mandates attention from every angle, be it real or fictitious (by which I mean from both readers and characters within the story). The most convert reason yet as to why Curleys wife remains unnamed lays in something Steinbeck once said in an interview. Steinbeck described her character as a symbol.He was recorded to have said She has no function, except to be a foil and a danger to Lennie. She was the enemy who provided the main characters something to be anxious about she was the force that put up massive hurdles for the protagonists to overcome. A villain is defined as The person or thing responsible for specified trouble, harm, or damage. Inadvertently, such was the invention of Curleys wife. It wasnt her plan to end Lennies life. She simply act what she felt she deserved male attention. Her need to fill this desire for attention became so intense that it ultimately caused tragedy.In conclusion, Curleys wife not being assigned a name was not just a mere oversight at the hands of John Steinbeck. She was an instrument used to undermine the position of women in society. Steinbeck purposefully left out her name in order to enhance his writing, and address issues during the time period in which he lived. Curleys wife was used to depict women as the ones who menace the happiness and well-being of men. Denying Curleys wife a name was an full part in the writing of Of Mice and Men. (c) Raquel Bracey, December 2012