OMAM Essay Flashcards
Introduction TAGLS
‘OMAM’ by John Steinbeck is a novel which contains a character whom the reader has strong feelings for.
The novel is about two migrant farm workers who move to a ranch in Salinas Valley, California, where they encounter many characters including a woman who is named Curley’s wife. Her real name is never mentioned in the novel which from the very start creates a feeling of sympathy for her. This is also felt throughout the novel as she is always referred to disrespectfully by the male workers, she is only allowed to talk to Curley and eventually, she gets killed.
PEEL 1 - 1
The first reason the reader feels sympathy for CW, is the fact that she is always referred to disrespectfully by the men on the ranch. She is the only woman in the novel and yet we never learn her actual name as she is only written in the story as Curley, her husband’s, wife. Although her real name fails to be mentioned, she is labelled throughout the novel using much harsher derogatory ones. Such as when Candy is first describing her to to L and G, he says, “well I think Curleys married a tart”. This shows that CW is treated unfairly as Candy infers she is a promiscuous woman. Although he doesn’t know CW well enough to say that, he is still quick to judge her based on her appearance and how he thinks she comes across.
PEEL 1 - 2
Another example, is after one of G and Ls first encounters with CW he says “Jesus what a tramp”. Here we can see how disrespectful the language used by some men towards women in the 1930s could be. Calling CW a “tramp”, also indicates the start of George’s low opinion of her, which continues throughout the novel. This helps the reader feel sympathy for CW as the only people that surround CW at the ranch are also the ones that think so lowly of her. This makes the reader think about how some people are so quick to judge, and how often people judge by appearance first before knowing their true character.
PEEL 2 - 1
A further reason why the reader would feel sympathy for Curley’s wife is because she is only allowed to talk to Curley. She is treated not only as an object, but also as Curley’s possession. This gives the reader an insight into how controlling Curley can be. When Curley’s wife is opening up to Lenny she says, “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad.” This tells the reader that Curley has restricted his wife from speaking to anybody but him, which only adds to his dominating behaviour and points out the insecurities in his character. This also shows that if Curley’s wife does not behave by his strict rules, he will be angry, which shows that Curley is a man quick to temper.
PEEL 2 - 2
Another quote which shows this is when Curley’s wife says, “How’d you not like to talk to anybody”, this reveals Curley’s wife’s frustration at the situation and how she presumably had no choice in the matter. This causes the reader to feel sympathy for Curley’s wife as this unearths the feeling of entrapment. This makes the reader think about how important it is for people to have a voice in what they want and how hard it must be to be around such a controlling person.
PEEL 3 - 1
Another reason as to why the reader feels sympathy for Curley’s wife is because she is lonely. All she endures because of being so secluded from others would leave her in a state of isolation. She admits this during her discussion with Lenny, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” This shows how Curley’s wishes leave her unhappy. This causes her to go as far as talking to lenny, who is a stranger, but to her is much better than nobody.
PEEL 3 - 2
However, this is not the first time she admits she is lonely as she also says, “I get lonely.” This shows that even she can admit that she is lonely because of the lack of people and life around her, as well as the restriction of not even being able to talk to other people, which could all have a detrimental effect on her health, enduring a life with no freedom but filled with solitude. This makes the reader feel sympathy for Curley’s wife as it is difficult to live an isolated live which makes the reader consider how good it is to have a life surrounded by people.
PEEL 4 - 1
The final reason why the reader feels sympathy for Curley’s wife is because she is killed in the penultimate chapter. This is a big indicator to how unfortunate Curley’s wife has been. Her death is caused by a broken neck as described, “…and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lenny had broken her neck.” This tells us the unfortunate circumstances that have happened and it also tells the reader everything has taken a turn for the worst. She is the symbol of the failed American dream, as her death brings an end of George and Lennys dream of having their own land as well as her own of becoming an actress. This makes the reader feel sympathy for Curley’s wife as she did not deserve such an unjustifiable and early death. This causes the reader to think about how many peoples dreams stay dreams until their end, while only few achieve their greatest ambitions.
Conclusion STAKE
In conclusion, ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck is a novel which contains a character with whom the reader feels sympathy for. This can be seen as Curley’s wife is always referred to disrespectfully, she can only talk to Curley, she is lonely and in the end she gets killed. Overall, the reader feels sorrow for Curley’s wife due to the unfortunate nature of her life and because she did not deserve the end she received. Steinbeck successfully highlights the amount of sexism there was in society at that time. The novel also shows how much the situation has improved for women today although there is still a distance to go.
