Heroes and Villains: Explore the ways sympathy for and/or dislike of a character is created in the text you have studied. Essay

INTRODUCTION In the novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck has utilize many an(prenominal) incompatible language features in order to execute such a complex and sophisticated source whom I will be investigating Curleys married woman. Curleys wife is a pivotal concomitant. She has been presented as a villain in the early stages of the book and her character seems to unravel as we read on. As a reader, we comprehend the factors which had influenced her actions and how vivification in a misogynistic society has affected the counsel she behaves alternating the way we feel about this character and instead sympathy begins to develop, demolishing all the negativity that was created towards her in the offset printing half of the novella. In this essay I will be exploring the language techniques that Steinbeck uses in order to create both sympathy and dislike for Curleys wife.DISLIKE The first time we hear about Curleys wife is from an unfavourable insight of her when Candy is in c onversation with George and Lennie, which Steinbeck portrays by means of dialogue. We begin to perceive that Curleys wife is a mean and seductive temptress as she got they eye and it has only been the period of twain short weeks that she has been forced into a marital relationship with Curley, and is already beginning to commit signs of deceit. Due to Curleys wifes lack of power, she aims to attract the ranchers attention through her physical appearance as this is the only method of gaining any form of communication with a person on the ranch. This quotation could similarly suggest that Curleys wife is a whore and has a wondering eye therefore proclaiming that she is a flirtatious, self obsessed and an egotistical woman who has the power to trap men in her in truth admit spiraled web. However, during this time, women were seen as an object which held no power or dignity. They were degraded in their society and were only used for the purpose of sex, therefore, females were taught at an early age to behave in this manner to gain at least(prenominal) some form of attention. By demonstrating Curleys wifes actions through dialogue in this scene, Steinbeck precious to introduce the audience to the compulsion that women had to undergo as a result of them being lowly regarded in society.DISLIKE Additionally, Steinbeck again develops dislike towards Curleys Wifes character when she makes her very first appearance. He does this by using symbolism. When she was first presented in the book, the rectangle of sunshine in the gatewayway was cut off providing a strong indication that Curleys wife is an extreme threat to George and Lennies stereotypical Ameri fire breathing in. This can be infer trigger-happy as the word sunshine is referring to George and Lennies fantasy. However, when the violent phrase cut off is sequenced true(a) after the blissful word previously mentioned, negative vibes are echoed as this is symbolising that Curleys wife will surely cause the d estruction of living off the fatta the land, foreshadowing the writeity dangers that are yet to come. An alternative meaning to this quote may be that Curleys wife is the blockage that is impossible to overcome in order to accomplish their trance, which has been furnished with small but significant exposit time and time again. The reader begins to question whether there is an inevitability to the novellas end The scope that this is relating to is that the slightest of movements of women are powerful enough to completely demolish the good intentions that men may have had of them (which was exceedingly unlikely at the time). Steinbeck wanted the audience to know that Curleys wife is going to be the causality for George and Lennies bad fate that theyve been destined with. He wanted the audience to acknowledge that women were the only bulwark in the midst of a man and his dream. However, he also pursues the caprice of the futility of the American dream and reminds the reader that the dream will have been left a dream anyhow, and will never have transformed into reality, no matter how hard they try.DISLIKE In Section two, Curleys Wifes description is go along and from this, the author formates further antagonistic feelings towards her through the use of colour imagery and symbolism. She is described as having beat rouged lips and that her fingernails were red, and is also wearing a dress with red mules. Curleys wifes whole outfit is constantly referred to the colour red and Steinbeck has intentionally, repeatedly mentioned this colour in Curleys wifes description to emphasise the significance of it. This clarifies that Curleys wife is going to be a potential drop threat to George and Lennies dream. She is a sign of jeopardy and Steinbeck is foreshadowing that she will bring harm to George and Lennies dream. Thisidea can then be confirmed to be right generousy conceived as the colour red is also symbolic of danger, aggression and violence. This links t o the woman in weed who was also dressed in red, indicating that Lennie will attack Curleys wife as she is also dressed in red. Here, Steinbeck is foreshadowing the approaching of the book. Throughout the novel, we discover that George and Lennies dream is indeed shattered because of Curleys wife. Steinbeck is once again reiterating the futility of the American dream, reminding the audience that non all wishes come true.DISLIKE Another way in which Steinbeck stimulates dislike for this character is through the use of dialogue. In section four, she says, Listen, Nigger You know what I can do if you open up your trap? This quotation accentuates the fact that Curleys wife is by design making Crooks feel inferior righteous because he is a negro. During this time, dark skinned people had no respect or military position in society. They were equivalent to the invisible atmosphere. Meanwhile, women were also socially degraded and to be in the circumstance of living in a misogynistic society and being the only woman on a ranch full of men, it was not the ideal place for a woman. Hence, Crooks was the only person on the ranch that Curleys wife claimed more power over, which is the reason to her offensive behaviour. We feel hatred towards Curleys wife as she has deliberately singled Crooks out, threatened him, and is now humiliating him in front of people who already consider him to be of little existence. By portraying this negative aspect towards Curleys wife, Steinbeck wanted to show that the only person Curleys wife seemed the slightest of superior towards, was to the most degraded person on the ranch Crooks. The author also pursues the idea of power in this scene. sympathy Conversely, Curleys wife is also presented as lonely and isolated and Steinbeck depicts this through foreshadowing and animalistic imagery. When Curleys wife is first presented in the novella, it says that her dress is designed with little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. The fact that S teinbeck has included the word ostrich in his description of Curleys wifes first appearance, it proposes the idea that Curleys wife is trapped as an ostrich is a bird that is unequal to(p) of flight and Curleys wife too, is captured in a prison, from which she cannot escape. Steinbeck has chosento make a resemblance between Curleys wife and the ostrich to symbolise that she is in a relationship with an arrogant man and is in a bad way(p) with her life yet it is impossible to withdraw from, likewise the ostrich being unable to fly. This idea associates with the event of her death which takes place in Section five. The quote, a pigeon flew in through the open hay door is possibly suggesting that death was the only way of escaping her unfortunate and miserable life. This can be inferred as the author is now relating her to a pigeon which is a bird that can fly, therefore implying freedom.SYMPATHY Furthermore, Steinbeck again creates sympathy for Curleys wife by introducing her mater nal side when she is talking to Lennie in the barn. Steinbeck does this through the use of calm and console adjectives. In the novella, it states that she consoled him and she also moved closer to him and spoke soothingly. All the words utilised in this phrase are a clear portrayal that Curleys wife is in fact a very cordial and affectionate woman and is only forced to act the way she does due to her lonesomeness and desperation of the desire to speak to someone. An alternative meaning may be that she is genuinely a very nice person but cannot project her true character due to the perceptions that have already been do of her as she is a woman. Steinbeck wanted to show the audience that men in a misogynistic society had ever so been prejudice about women and women were disadvantaged as a result of that. They were unable to be seen as zipper but a tart or a bitch which is exactly how Curleys wife was viewed. She was brand with these titles and no one ever payed attention towards the consistence of her personality hidden beneath her physical appearance.SYMPATHY Steinbeck creates a compassionate feeling towards Curleys wife as we come to learn about her dream in Section five. She is illustrated as a very innocent character and Steinbeck does this through the use of dialogue. In the revelation of Curleys wifes dream, we learn that she wanted to be an actress. She says, He said he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural. This quotation indicates that Curleys wife was very naive as she was unaware that the man was only using her to fufil his own satisfactions. He had no intention of making her an actress and only if usedher for his desires. However, Curleys Wife was too innocent to understand disloyalty and deceit that she instead, blamed her mother for not receiving the letter she was promised. An alternative reason may be that she was too engrossed into her dream that she was in defense force to accept the fact that the repulsive man was a fraud with no sense of emotion, and had only taken advantage of her as she was vulnerable and young. The author creates sympathy for Curleys wife in this scene as she still believes that she would have been an actress if it werent for her mother. She is ignorant to the truth as a result of her innocence and is not ready to accept the facts. Steinbeck reiterates the idea of the futility of the American dream as once again, another dream has bygone down the drain. Steinbeck wants to show the audience that the American dream will always remain a dream regardless of how much effort is made to fulfil it.SYMPATHY The final departure of Curleys wife from the book is completed with a content description of her in death. Steinbeck creates affectionate emotions towards Curleys wife by using innocent descriptive words. She is described as pretty and naive and sweet and young and to be sleeping very lightly. The descriptive words in these quotes have been chosen under the specification of conten tment and offspring. We feel sympathy for Curleys wife as Steinbeck once again reminds the readers of Curleys wifes innocence which emphasises that Curleys wife did not truly deserve death. Alternatively, the words pretty and simple are often used to describe youthful people and for the first time in the book, Curleys wife was described like this, rather than a tart, therefore suggesting that Curleys wife is not what we had initially thought she was. This contrast is extremely significant as it shows us the transition of the two different perceptions that were made of her throughout the novel. However, even after the death of Curleys wife, the ranchers were only silent due to the devastate shock they had received. But within minutes, the silent mourning had ended as the men had realised that they compulsion to move on. Life during The Great Depression was like a cycle. If one worker was fired, another took his position. Similarly, Curleys wife was replaceable. Steinbeck wanted th e audience gain knowledge of the hardships of the women living in a misogynistic society, and of the men fight through The GreatDepression.CONCLUSION In conclusion, Steinbeck presents Curleys wife as both a hit man and villain. Steinbeck manipulates the readers making it seem as if Curleys wife is at fault. Before we even meet Curleys wife, snide comments are made by the ranchers. She is called a tart, looloo and shes got the eye. This shows that Steinbeck wants us as the reader to dislike her. However, it is only in section five that we learn about her maternal figure, youth and innocence. This leaves the reader with the option of whether to dislike or feel sympathy for her. Finally, we never learn her name, and this stops us from empathising with her, and we begin to develop sexist views that she is less than the other characters, which will have been perceived at the time.