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CURLEY'S WIFE - Coggle Diagram
CURLEY'S WIFE
THROUGH THE EYES OF MEN
OBJECT Sexualized by others “Hey, good lookin’” – Treated as an object.
VICTIMISED George calls her “a rattrap” “ tart” “jailbait” – Misogynistic attitude, sexist society
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TROUBLE MAKERS Steinbeck depicts women as trouble makers, who drive men mad – Curley’s bad temper has worsened since the wedding "ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain't no place for a girl, specially like her"
NO NAME Never given a name, suggesting she is owned by Curley
CONTEXT ranch life in late 1920's very male dominated, few women would have featured as hard and difficult, no power, lonely, isolated men travelling from place to place with no roots, no settling
CONTEXT 2 - CW experiences all of the above - married, uneducated (not proper English), lack of individuality or freedom
APPEARANCE
BODY LANGUAGE Provocative body language “Leaned against the doorframe, so that her body was thrown forward” – Knows the effect she has on men, uses to get attention, which she lacks
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RED when first introduced to CW, her appearance immediately signals the type of woman she is - Use of red “rouged lips … red mules … finger nails were red” – Colour imagery, connotations of passion and danger
VOICE “Nasal” voice, brittleness and fragility – hidden vulnerability behind the confidence
cw's appearance is central to her character, giving her both POWER and indicating her less obvious FRAGILITY
AMERICAN DREAM
MOVIE STAR Her future plans are far less achievable.She dreams of being a movie star - pure escapism from the misery and loneliness of life on the ranch - being married to the bullying Curley, and having no other women to talk to.
VULNERABLE Although JS is actually quite critical of CW, when compared with his portrayal of the men, he does give her a vulnerability which creates a more positive angle
VALIDATE Curley's Wife uses her dream to show off and to validate herself to others. However her plans are all unachievable as grounded in the past. Blames everyone except herself "ol' lady" took it away..... Dream makes her more complex and vulnerable
HOLLYWOOD Hollywood on the rise in the 1920s. Film mass entertainment. Learnt how to do colour and sound. Film stars very glamourous, household names. Decade of the Picture Palace
OPENING PARA
One of the main characters that he turns to for this is that of CW - an isolated woman on a ranch full of men
through her experiences and dreams he is able to explore not just the social theme of mysogyny and the role of women in 1920's America, but also key themes of the novel such as isolation, power and even racism.
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CONCLUSION
Entrance of CW “A rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off” – idea of hope being cut off, foreshadowing her death, gives the idea that she is a bad omen
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POWER
MISUSES However when she is given power, she uses it in the wrong way - Recurring theme throughout the novel, where weak people, prey on weaker people to make themselves feel better
RACISM Threatens Crooks and abuses her power – she could get Crooks lynched “Strung up a tree” (also racism theme – white women has more power than a black man)
POWER OVER MEN Uses her sexuality and men;'s perceptions of her to give her the little power she has
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Power one of the key ways in which JS explores the main themes of the novel - allows CW to open up a wider range of topics such as racism and American Dream
CONTEXT Society very patriarchal (life controlled by men, ie men head of the household) Roles for men and women were very conservative ( men went out to work, women looked after children, cooked and cleaned).