Please take some time to post two responses to Of Mice and Men before you return to class on January 4. Each post should be at least 100 words long and should include direct references to the text you are discussing. Even if you are responding to a quote in the prompt, you should bolster your own response with other references. Those references should include internal citations to note where you are in the book (p. #). When you make a post, please read all other posts for that question so that you are participating in a conversation. Please do not repeat what other students have already said. There are many questions from which to choose, so you should be able to discuss your ideas somewhere without being redundant. Remember to make some post-it notations about symbols and archetypes, along with any other ideas you would like to discuss when we get back to class.
Feel free to respond to as many prompts as you would like. If you respond to more than two, please asterisk the responses that are NOT for evaluation. Be sure your name appears on each comment, so I can see who you are. I think you will need to log in to your Google account as you work. If you can, please post with your school Google identity. If you post as "Anonymous" without your name, you will not be able to receive credit for your work, so be sure your name appears within the comment if you do that.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Gender Bias
Comment on gender bias you see in the novel. Be clear about whether is is Steinbeck's bias or his characters and HOW you know.
The gender bias in the novel is Steinbeck's bias. While talking to Lennie in the barn, Curley's wife says, "'Well, I wasn't gonna stay no place where I couldn't get nowhere or make something of myself, an' where they stole your letters...So I married Curley. Met him out to the Riverside Dance Palace that same night...I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella,'" (88-9). Curley's wife felt pressured to marry, even though she had potential to become a performer. The stereotypical role for women is to be a housewife, and this was especially "popular" during the time Steinbeck wrote this book. Curley's wife didn't pursue her dreams and instead married a man she barely knew because of that pressure to fit this stereotype. George says, "'Why'n't you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?'" He, and the other men, believe women should stay at home because they don't belong anywhere else. Making remarks like these is degrading and insulting to women, especially Curley's wife because these comments are targeted towards her.
As Grace had previously said, there is evidence in the novel that implies a gender bias. Building off of Grace and her idea that women were supposed to be good housewives, women at the time were also viewed as mindless creatures who spent their days waiting for their husbands return. When Crooks, Candy, and Lennie tell Curley’s wife that they have not seen her husband, she replies, “‘ Think I don’t know where they all went?” (Steinbeck 77). In this scene, Curley leaving his wife for a Saturday out in town shows that men thought their wives were unaware of what was going on around them. This also shows that the husbands were quite inconsiderate, as they never took into account that women could get bored too, thus giving motive for Curley’s wife to chat with other people, which in this case happen to be men. In this case of gender bias, where women were viewed as inferior, the bias comes from Steinbeck’s characters. The reasoning for this is that Steinbeck clearly shows that Curley’s wife is not clueless, unlike Curley, who thought his wife was oblivious to his actions.
Agreeing with others, most of the gender bias in this novel is Steinbeck’s bias because it gives us an insight on how women were treated during that time period. When playing cards with some other workers, they bring up Curley’s wife, and George says, “She’s gonna make a mess. They’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger. That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her” (51). This quote shows a stereotype on how because Curley’s wife is a women, so she is constantly degraded. George showed a lack of respect towards her and suggests that a woman is not capable to cope on the ranch. Readdressing, it is true that during that time period, men believed that women should stay home, and women were constantly pressured to be a housewife instead of doing what they want. This is why there is more men mentioned in this novel than women, because women were not as important. As stated, throughout this novel, women were not treated right and come off as trouble towards men.
Reflecting on a time period where women were supposed to be submissive housewives, Steinbeck's bias toward men is fairly obvious. First and foremost, although practically all, if not all male characters are given distinct names, Curley's wife is never given an actual name and she is only referred to as "Curley's wife" as if she is his property. This was not uncommon in Steinbeck's time where often times a married woman's first name was hardly used and instead she was referred to, for example, as "Mrs. John Smith." Furthermore, Curley's wife is given little-to-no respect from the male characters. While with other males, George says, "She's gonna make a mess. They're gonna be a bad mess about her. She's jail bait all set on the trigger, That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain't no place for a girl, specially like her," (51). Women were expected to be housewives and they had no place in the business world. It didn't matter if a female desired higher education and a paying job because this used to be seen as something only a male could accomplish. Curley's wife never causes any actual harm to any character throughout the novel, yet the males act like she is going around causing all sorts of trouble all because she doesn't want to be cooped up in her house all day with no one to talk to. The time period in which Steinbeck grew up clearly influenced him to have a gender bias toward males.
The gender bias in the novel is Steinbeck's bias. While talking to Lennie in the barn, Curley's wife says, "'Well, I wasn't gonna stay no place where I couldn't get nowhere or make something of myself, an' where they stole your letters...So I married Curley. Met him out to the Riverside Dance Palace that same night...I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella,'" (88-9). Curley's wife felt pressured to marry, even though she had potential to become a performer. The stereotypical role for women is to be a housewife, and this was especially "popular" during the time Steinbeck wrote this book. Curley's wife didn't pursue her dreams and instead married a man she barely knew because of that pressure to fit this stereotype. George says, "'Why'n't you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?'" He, and the other men, believe women should stay at home because they don't belong anywhere else. Making remarks like these is degrading and insulting to women, especially Curley's wife because these comments are targeted towards her.
ReplyDeleteAs Grace had previously said, there is evidence in the novel that implies a gender bias. Building off of Grace and her idea that women were supposed to be good housewives, women at the time were also viewed as mindless creatures who spent their days waiting for their husbands return. When Crooks, Candy, and Lennie tell Curley’s wife that they have not seen her husband, she replies, “‘ Think I don’t know where they all went?” (Steinbeck 77). In this scene, Curley leaving his wife for a Saturday out in town shows that men thought their wives were unaware of what was going on around them. This also shows that the husbands were quite inconsiderate, as they never took into account that women could get bored too, thus giving motive for Curley’s wife to chat with other people, which in this case happen to be men. In this case of gender bias, where women were viewed as inferior, the bias comes from Steinbeck’s characters. The reasoning for this is that Steinbeck clearly shows that Curley’s wife is not clueless, unlike Curley, who thought his wife was oblivious to his actions.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with others, most of the gender bias in this novel is Steinbeck’s bias because it gives us an insight on how women were treated during that time period. When playing cards with some other workers, they bring up Curley’s wife, and George says, “She’s gonna make a mess. They’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger. That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her” (51). This quote shows a stereotype on how because Curley’s wife is a women, so she is constantly degraded. George showed a lack of respect towards her and suggests that a woman is not capable to cope on the ranch. Readdressing, it is true that during that time period, men believed that women should stay home, and women were constantly pressured to be a housewife instead of doing what they want. This is why there is more men mentioned in this novel than women, because women were not as important. As stated, throughout this novel, women were not treated right and come off as trouble towards men.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReflecting on a time period where women were supposed to be submissive housewives, Steinbeck's bias toward men is fairly obvious. First and foremost, although practically all, if not all male characters are given distinct names, Curley's wife is never given an actual name and she is only referred to as "Curley's wife" as if she is his property. This was not uncommon in Steinbeck's time where often times a married woman's first name was hardly used and instead she was referred to, for example, as "Mrs. John Smith." Furthermore, Curley's wife is given little-to-no respect from the male characters. While with other males, George says, "She's gonna make a mess. They're gonna be a bad mess about her. She's jail bait all set on the trigger, That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain't no place for a girl, specially like her," (51). Women were expected to be housewives and they had no place in the business world. It didn't matter if a female desired higher education and a paying job because this used to be seen as something only a male could accomplish. Curley's wife never causes any actual harm to any character throughout the novel, yet the males act like she is going around causing all sorts of trouble all because she doesn't want to be cooped up in her house all day with no one to talk to. The time period in which Steinbeck grew up clearly influenced him to have a gender bias toward males.
ReplyDelete"She's jail bait all set on the trigger." *
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