Curley’s wife in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Sophy Twycott in Hardy’s “The Son’s veto” Essay

It is my belief that Sophy Twycott and Curleys married woman ar both similar wo men young, good- grimaceing and oppressed in a male dominated society. However, they live in actu onlyy dissimilar environments. They both live and die disparate lives. Both writers try to make us feel sorrow for their characters. Curleys married woman is more in control of her destiny, but both women uphold humble, as both writers representm to be interested in the lives of normal people.Both women have been cruelly taunted and outraged by the injustice of emotional state, and never achieve their full potential. Curleys wife bankrupted from an early age, as a result of her mother giving no support or encouragement. This is imagen when she says A man came with a showbut my mamma said I couldnt goand having been let down by her dream of shooting to stardom in Hollywood. This failure causes her to run away and start a relationship with Curley, which was fate from the beginning, as she married o ut of fear of dying alone instead of love. Due to this, their relationship is plainly when rife with antagonism. Her beginning with Curley ultimately proves to be the end of her.Sophy is also a woman with a story. As with Steinbeck and Curleys wife, audacious is keen to explore the things which atomic number 18 blameless to her, and the things that oppose her in life. Firstly, she is innocent of the accident. She was non responsible for what happened, and has no control over her disability. She is humble, if a little unimportant. She is victimised, and is the star of many cathartic moments and the buttocks of much pathos. There are also things against her, such as her unloving family, the class stigma that she is punch into, and her symbolically as well as crippled status, symbolic, because she is oppressed and physical because of her bodily handicap.The biggest force debate Sophy is her son Randolph. The son is insensitive, arrogant and tactlessly ironic he is a mess, imp erfect in either way, therefore has no basis on which to abuse his mother, to abuse his veto.Both women are symbols, standing for their respective(prenominal) social classes and sex. Despite their many similarities, such as the parallel in their environments, they are also different women. They are both trapped by and shaped in the hands of fate, but where Sophy is neither tiny or self critical, and acts on orders rather than instinct, Curleys wife is a critic, and does what she wants, when she wants to do it. Sophie is presented as sad comedy, her life and death inspire pathos, and people mourn her, whereas Curleys wife is only slightly higher(prenominal) in the hierarchy of death than mice and dogs. And even when she does die, she dies alongside a dirty pup, and when she is found, no pathos is shown, and she is approximately immediately left alone again.Sophy is compliant with wishes of others, whereas Curleys wife is destructive and wild. Hardy establishes a restricting bond amongst Sophy and her dream of living with Sam in innocence in the countryside. We get the legal tender that, had she achieved her dream, her status as a crippled individual would not matter so much to her. Curleys wife is also deprived of her dream, but we feel no sympathy for her, as Steinbeck made no attempt to create pathos for her. Where Sophy is described as a,gentle creatureCurleys wife is symbolised by red, the colour of passion, blood and danger. Curleys wife is a disruptive element on the ranch, whereas Sophy is simple modesty. Hardys presentation of Sophy as a simple, country girl, with a nave frame of mind where life is concerned, her submissiveness and self consciences, make her weak, easily over powered by her son is accurate. Sophy existence shown as slenderly fastidious is an accurate description of women of his time. Both Sophy and Curleys wife represent much more than what we see of them. Two women represent two whole generations of oppressed, abused and infi rm women. Both women personify rejection. Both are offered opportunities in their youth, Sophy by Sam and Curleys wife by the Hollywood producer. The difference is that, where Sophy rejects Sams offer, Curleys wife accepts, but then gets spurned by the offer, as she never received her letter,I never did get it.Ill bet my old lady took itSophy is later pragmatic about her probability. She offers to give up her job for a life with Sam. She regrets not being impulsive or myopic when the opportunity first came along. Curleys wife is middling myopic, as she still longs for her dream even though it is dead. In fact, her dream, just like the American dream of owning a piece of land is polluted and doomed to fail. all told dreams, according to Crooks in chapter four of Of Mice And Men are doomed, Ive seen hundreds of guys come and gothey all look for a piece of landno one ever gets itjust like heaven. Sophys spousal to the vicar is the result of her accident. It is ironic that her acci dent should happen whilst she is caring for the vicar. She is the most giving of creatures, yet life sees ensure to punish her. We see that life is cruel to her, just as it is to Curleys wife. The accident symbolises the life and tallness of C19th women no independence, few opportunities and traditionally oppressed by society. All these phenomenons can also exercise to Curleys wife. Both womens lives are shrouded by themes of fate, entrapment. Where Sophy is denied mobility, which in turn takes away her opportunity, Curleys wife is denied the opportunity she feels she deserves, and so we see how the C19th and C20th woman are oppressed and secluded by gender women fail because they are womenMarriage for both characters is forced. Curleys wife marries to spite her mother, and Sophy marries the vicar because the vicar feels a sense of duty and viciousness towards her. Sophy marries him, not out of love, but because she is timid and expedient. Both authors are setting up romantica lly dry out marriages, which are fated from their depart. My mom said I couldnt goits all her displacementI met Curley down at the Riverside dance palace that same nightCurleys wife marries out of spite of her mother and fear of being alone. There is a time difference between the two stories. Hardys The discussions Veto, a short story, is set over a period of many years, whereas Steinbecks novel Of Mice And Men, last over a period of only a few weeks. There is also a difference of environments in the two works. Whereas Steinbeck bases his novel in and around the ranch, Hardy bases his story in different settings- the countryside and the inner city. Hardy uses these contrasting changes of environment to show that image, (the appealing innocence of and the seedy, smoky, industrial belly of London), is more important than character. This is also true of Sophy and Curleys wife. Curley marries his wife because of her looks, and the vicar does not marry Sophy due to her (somewhat simp le at times) character and intellect. He even educates her to prevent further embarrassment for himTowards the end of Of Mice And Men, Steinbecks voice becomes more present. This is also true of Hardy in The Sons Veto. Another thing that is comparable between our two women is the fact that death in and around their worlds is almost insignificant. In Sophys world, her life does not change even after her saves death. She is neither more trusted nor richer. She remains looking into society rather than becoming an supple part of it. Curleys wifes world is shrouded with death, her own as insignificant as that of mice and dogs. It is somewhat ironic the only time she finds peace and real beauty is at her own death, and even then, she cannot see her true beauty.She lay half covered in hay, all the meanness and discontent gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and youngBoth women are trapped, seeking release and a disclose life. However, many differen t forms of oppression stop them achieving their goals. They are both alone in their worlds, despite being surrounded by other people. They both have regret, Sophy of not having married Sam and Curleys wife of not having been made famous. Both writers try and make us feel pathos for these two women, by telling us they live miserable lonesome lives, and making them die without having achieved their goals. Both women lost men in their younger life which they reminisce about. Although the offers were different, both women rejected or got rejected by them In Sophys case, because the offer was not good enough, and in Curleys wifes case, the offer rejected her, as the offer was insincere.To conclude their comparison, there are three main points in which Curleys wife and Sophy differ. Where Sophy is shy and somewhat easily walked over, Curleys wife is very prominent and not at all easy to control. Sophy seeks to blend in, where Curleys wife longs to stand out and make a difference. And fina lly, whereas Sophy is unsure of herself, Curleys wife does not at all lack self- confidence, and volume to make her self heard.