No, this is not how I envisage Curley's Wife because in this photo, she looks too nice and friendly, not manipulative or flirtatious. She looks like she's having a nice, friendly conversation with someone, but that someone has to be one of the men, and they do not like having conversations with her, they'd rather scowl at her or avert their eyes. She also is not as heavily made up as I'd imagine her, because every time she enters a scene or situation, Steinbeck always comments on her make-up as she tries to impress the men. Here, she looks like a normal married woman.
I agree with the post above because the photo displays Curley's wife as seeming genuinely happy. She wears a friendly expression and has a slightly tilted head which seems to lean towards the other person (in the corner) with sympathy. She seems welcoming and approachable which contrasts Steinbeck's materialistic description of her. An example of this is when she is described as being "heavily made up". He doesn't paint a very favourable image of her, presenting Curley's wife as being quite shallow in character. Secondly, Steinbeck often emphasises how she wears red (e.g. "rouged lips...red mules...red ostrich feathers"). He portrays Curley's wife as a highly sexualised object, being very conspicuous among a crowd of men and acting meretriciously. However, in this photo, Curley's wife dresses in a plain white blouse which doesn't attract any particular attention to her.
I agree with this and I also think that the colour red is not as prominent all that is red is her lips and in the picture at the top even her lips aren't red. She seems happy and content not scowling at eveyone. She seems relaxed and not at all as though she wished she was somewhere else or that she didn't wish she were famous. In the video she seems much more flirtatious but in the picture she seems like a normal woman in a happy relationship
i also did not envisage curley's wife like this as in that picture she lok very motherly and natural whereas i imagened her to look much more fake and like she was trying very hard to be pretty, as steinbeck describes her as hevily made up. she aslo is wearing quite simple not very extravagent cloths, however as her dream was to be an actress and she is seeking attention i envisged her to wear clothes that were more eye catching and there is a lack of red.
No this is not how I envisaged Curley's wife. In this photo she is not all dressed in red which made the strong link to the girl in Weed and therefore foreshadowed Lennie's problem with Curley's wife. She also does not look made up and fake which was part of the reason that she was called a "tart" by the ranch men. The way she is standing and smiling in the picture makes her look like a normal person, not the flirtatious character that Steinbeck describes.
I agree with all the statements so far - this is not Curley's wife! Her hair don't curl like sausages. Is it just me who imagined her hair to be lighter? It should be done up and she should be wearing make up. Her dress is also too simple and sweet, not over done like with the osterich feathers. I agree with Tavia about not being the character Steinbeck described. Red is a prominant theme of Curley's wife when we first see her so it seems stupid that the producers chose to dress her in simple cotton dress. As others have said she looks too happy and genuine. The only thing I can give credit for is in clip where she keeps fiddling with her dress. This seems in character.
I disagree with the statements so far - I think that this is an accurate portrayal of Curley's wife, having read the whole book. Each of Steinbeck's descriptions (in the middle of the novella) are written from the perspectives of Lennie and George, as they experience life on the ranch for the first time. Therefore, when Curley's Wife is introduced in the book, Steinbeck goes to great lengths to portray her as a 'threat', because George and Lennie had previously had such bad experiences with women (the girl in weed). This physical description and George's use of words such as 'jailbait' give the reader a negative impression of her character from the start. However, I do not believe that Steinbeck was writing from a mysogonistic perspective in his description of Curley's wife, but rather, attempting to portray George's defensive attitudes towards women. Everybody seems to be commenting on the lack of red and promiscuity in the physical depiction of Curley's wife seen above, as if the initial description is her only identity in the novel. As readers, we can step away from George's materialistic impression of Curley's wife and see that she is more than a 'tart' with 'rouged lips' - she is a marginalised character with her own insecurities and coping mechanisms, and although she poses a threat, she has an identity and is not necessarily a 'bad person'. I do not think the physical descriptions of Curley's wife should be taken literally in this book, as they simply demonstrate the sexism on the ranch and portray CW through the eyes of the ranch workers. Steinbeck also reveals a positive side to her character - she is friendly towards Lennie, and in this scene, she is described differently. Her hair is not rolled like 'sausages', but is 'soft' and makes Lennie happy (at first). This shows that the physical descriptions of CW are not accurate, but based on the perspective Steinbeck was writing from at that particular moment. George is naturally defensive, so he would have seen Curley's wife as a 'tart' and a 'threat'. However, as readers, we can see that this is only one perspective, and in the end, we do sympathise with CW as a marginalised, isolated character. Also, George had not been in close contact with a woman for a long time, so what may have been subtle feminine makeup may have seemed much more lewd to him than it was in reality. As a reader who has seen the vulnerable, neglected side of CW's character (dreams of being an actress, confiding in Lennie, etc) I did not simply envisage her as the 'tramp' that Steinbeck describes through George's eyes in chapter 2. She could easily be an ordinary, if lonely, woman, described through the distorted perspective of George, a migrant worker whose first instinct is to protect himself and Lennie.
I agree! (mostly) When we first meet Curley's wife we see her as a threat or 'jailbait' as George later refers to her. She is provocative and flirtatious and seems to want to cause trouble for everyone. It is only later in the book that this is not her intention. When Steinbeck describes her, he only describes her appearence. As we discussed in class, the lack of description of her personality shows us that she is very shallow. However in this photo, she looks genuinely happy and to be enjoying herself. This does not match the Curley's wife we know from the book. However, she dreams of being an actress and is very good at manipulating her facial expressions to her advantage rather than showing her actual emotion. We know she was never happy on the ranch, but we also know she was told she could be a good actress so perhaps she is displaying her acting skills in this photo. Also, the only time Steinbeck actually describes her as pretty, is when she is dead; in this photo she is not dead. I think she is too pretty in this photo because the idea is that she is pretty when she is dead because she is not trying. The scene this photo was taken from was when she first met George and Lennie so she would have been trying to make an impression; therefore she is too pretty. Those are definitely not sausages on her head! I just almost deleted this by mistake so i am going to post this now before i actually do delte it all! Bye byeee
I agree with the posts above because Curley's wife has been portrayed in a very different way to how Steinbeck described her in the book. In this photo she has been brought across as a friendly and thoughtful character which contrasts her real personality of being flirtatious and forward with the men on the ranch. The colour red has not really been emphasised, especially because only her lips seem to be shown in this colour. She seems to be happy where she is and does not look like she is trying to cause any trouble. Through Steinbeck's words Curley's wife is described as a sexual object that is Curley's property, however here she looks like she is happy with her life with no problems in it.
I agree with the posts above because Curley's wife has been portrayed in a very different way to how Steinbeck described her in the book. In this photo she has been brought across as a friendly and thoughtful character which contrasts her real personality of being flirtatious and forward with the men on the ranch. The colour red has not really been emphasised, especially because only her lips seem to be shown in this colour. She seems to be happy where she is and does not look like she is trying to cause any trouble. Through Steinbeck's words Curley's wife is described as a sexual object that is Curley's property, however here she looks like she is happy with her life and that there are no problems in it.
I also agree with all the other posts that this is definitely not how I imagined Curley's Wife! Firstly, in the picture she looks completely different to how Steinbeck describes her when we first see her in chapter 2 'She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up' (page 53). In the picture, she seems to be smiling which shows that eventhough she was secluded, being the only woman on the ranch, she tried to associate with the other men on the ranch to make her feel included. However, I think that we cannot really judge what personality CW might have just by the description of her physical attributes. Steinbeck doesn't include much detail on CW's personality except for in chapter 4 when CW asserts her power and dominance over Crooks 'Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny' (page 113). We cannot judge CW at this point for being controlling over Crooks as her life on the ranch isn't easy. It was not her first choice to marry Curley and become someone's property, she had aspiring dreams to become an actress so I sympathise with her.
On the other hand, the video has a more accurate account of CW she seems to be very provocative playing with her dress and pushing her body forward when talking to George and Lennie. You can tell that CW was a threat to the ranch hands by George's reaction when Lennie says 'Gosh, she was purty' (page 54). That is how I imagined CW to be, a troublemaker and someone you shouldn't associate yourself with.
I think that the photo of Curley's wife does not portray how Steinbeck portrayed her in the beginning of the book. As others have said, she is supposed to be 'heavily made up', be not naturally beautiful and come across as overwhelmingly 'red'. The photo portrays her as natural and friendly; definitely not the 'red' she is supposed to be. However, if you compare this image to the whole book it becomes more appropriate. She is perhaps smiling because she wants to make friends with some of the workers due to her failing marriage. Lennie's first impressions of Curley's wife were that she was 'purty'; Lennie's innocent mind should be trusted to give an honest opinion of what somebody looks like. Also, when Curley's wife and Lennie are talking in the barn she comes across as friendly as shown in the photo.
I think that the video of Curley's wife is very different and very similar to the book description. She is wearing a 'cotton house dress' as described in the book and is definitely flirtatious (although not in the way described in the book). She is wearing a pink dress which, in my opinion, is very similar to red.
I agree with the statements above because in this picture, she looks very happy and sweet whereas Steinbeck portrays her to be very dangerous and promiscuous. He also associates her with the colour red, red is a colour of danger, anger, promiscuity and blood, in this picture she is wearing a plain white blouse which does not link to Curley's wife who was described 'heavily made up' and 'hair curled like sausages' because usually she is the centre of attention, a plain white blouse does not draw that same attention. Also, whoever she is smiling sweetly with and tilting her head towards does not come to mind for me because the only people she meets in the book which we see are the workers on the ranch and most of them are dismissive and cold towards her, including Curley, therefore it does not seem accurate.
This isn't really how I envisaged her as she looks quite normal compared to Steinbeck's description of her which portrays her as a dangerous and promiscuous woman with prostitute characteristics as she is "Heavily made up" and wears a lot of red .However she still has same flirtatious character in the film that she has in the book but in the picture she just looks quite innocent and reminds me of those typical classic American housewives .Then again in the novella, we find out that she just pretends to be happy and that's its all just a façade .
No, this is not how I envisaged curley's wife because in this picture she is portrayed as a nice person. She doesn't look like the character that is described in the book. In this picture her make up is very natural and simple unlike that of the video's. In the clip she has very dramatic make up on which does not complement that of the character shown in this picture. In the picture she looks like she is having a conversation with someone and she is smiling suggesting that she is happy. But she cannot have a conversation with anyone other than the men on the ranch who in the clip appear to be avoiding her because them fraternising with her will put them in trouble. In the clip she is portrayed as a dramatic, attention seeker whereas the picture shows her as a listener because she is smiling to someone who I assume she is having a conversation with. She does not come across as a person people wouldn't like but in the clip she is that person. In the picture she looks like a nice, classy lady whereas in the clip she is being flirtatious and over friendly with the men. In the picture she is wear a nice, simple outfit that is appropriate for a married woman and covers her up in the right place unlike in the clip where she is wearing a tight, body hugging dress that reveals every detail to her shape. The woman I see in the picture is a completely different to the one I see in the video. I did not envisage her this way because the clip contradicts the personality and ways of the character being shown in the picture.
No this is not how I envisaged CW because our first impression of her, even before her introduction into the novella was as a 'tart' and a 'tramp'. This picture displays none of these physical attributes but an innocent, friendly lady. CW was described as being 'young' and although this picture agrees with this, I would have thought she would be younger and more 'heavily made up'. Steinbeck makes the idea that she is associated with the colour red clear within her introduction suggesting its importance to her character. In this picture we see no signs of red, no red makeup, no red clothes, no 'full rouged lips' but a tint of pale red like normal coloured lips. I imagined this colour to be a main part of her appearance showing her promiscuity. However, again, in this picture we don't see this as she is laughing, being friendly and not inflicting danger on others. She looks warm and innocent, like a housewife, not a lonely 'heavily made up' girl who is a 'tramp' and disliked by other characters. CW is also described as lonely so I would imagine her as being sad and unfriendly however this picture contrasts the imagery brought across in the novella.
This is not how I envisaged Curley's wife as she looks far too natural in this picture compared to the 'heavily made up' description of her in the book. Although nearing the end of the book Steinbeck does show more sympathy for her character, the initial description of her shows her to be flirtatious and promiscuous which can definitely not be conveyed by this fairly plain picture. Curley's Wife's intention is to seek attention from the male workers so that they take notice of her therefore she purposefully dresses provocatively in order to please them, Steinbeck intended for her to be posed as a threat. While perhaps her body language during the video clip does express her rather dangerously flirtatious behaviour, the image shows her to be friendly and genuine, rather than 'nasal' and fake which does not reveal her true appearance in the introduction of her character. Secondly, if this was supposedly representing Curley's Wife's character later on in the book where Steinbeck was encouraging the reader to feel sympathetic toward her then her facial expression would be much more different. Rather than being happy and content, as she is shown in this image, she would be unhappy and miserable as it is at this point that she tells Lennie of her loneliness on the ranch and her failed dream of becoming an actress.
I think that this picture is both inaccurate and accurate in different ways. As mentioned before, Curley's wife is not a happy person and hates both her life and her husband, but this picture shows her smiling in a carefree way. This would seemingly be a huge misunderstanding of the character of CW. However, like Isla said, Steinbeck uses the biased descriptions of CW to influence his readers into thinking of her as a troublemaker and a 'tart', so the picture, which portrays her as a kind and sweet-looking woman, would automatically be considered by readers as a misrepresentation of CW. But when she is with Lennie, she seems to find him endearing at tells him about her life and her shattered dreams, baring herself to him. The picture represents her personality around Lennie as it shows her fondness for him.
I agree with Shana that this picture is both accurate and inaccurate. I think that it is inaccurate because it does not show CW how I would imagine her after Steinbeck's first description of her where she is described as having a "nasal, brittle" voice and comes across as fake. Again as many of you have already mentioned there is no prominent red in the picture which is a key part of her description, highlighting her danger. She does not seem lonely or unhappy as she comes across in the book but quite the opposite. She does not look regretful of her decisions about her life she looks happy and carefree. She is not "heavily made up" but quite natural. I thought she would be very over the top with her make up as she seems to be very attention seeking from all the male ranchers who all refer to her as a "tart" which suggests a different appearence form the one in the photo. However at the end of the book when she is dead "the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face, She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young." This picture could just be a reflection of her true self which we see again when she dies, like Isla said it is a picture of her not from Lennie or George's perspective.
No, this is not how I envisage Curley's Wife because in this photo, she looks too nice and friendly, not manipulative or flirtatious. She looks like she's having a nice, friendly conversation with someone, but that someone has to be one of the men, and they do not like having conversations with her, they'd rather scowl at her or avert their eyes. She also is not as heavily made up as I'd imagine her, because every time she enters a scene or situation, Steinbeck always comments on her make-up as she tries to impress the men. Here, she looks like a normal married woman.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the post above because the photo displays Curley's wife as seeming genuinely happy. She wears a friendly expression and has a slightly tilted head which seems to lean towards the other person (in the corner) with sympathy. She seems welcoming and approachable which contrasts Steinbeck's materialistic description of her. An example of this is when she is described as being "heavily made up". He doesn't paint a very favourable image of her, presenting Curley's wife as being quite shallow in character.
DeleteSecondly, Steinbeck often emphasises how she wears red (e.g. "rouged lips...red mules...red ostrich feathers"). He portrays Curley's wife as a highly sexualised object, being very conspicuous among a crowd of men and acting meretriciously. However, in this photo, Curley's wife dresses in a plain white blouse which doesn't attract any particular attention to her.
I agree with this and I also think that the colour red is not as prominent all that is red is her lips and in the picture at the top even her lips aren't red. She seems happy and content not scowling at eveyone. She seems relaxed and not at all as though she wished she was somewhere else or that she didn't wish she were famous. In the video she seems much more flirtatious but in the picture she seems like a normal woman in a happy relationship
ReplyDeletei also did not envisage curley's wife like this as in that picture she lok very motherly and natural whereas i imagened her to look much more fake and like she was trying very hard to be pretty, as steinbeck describes her as hevily made up. she aslo is wearing quite simple not very extravagent cloths, however as her dream was to be an actress and she is seeking attention i envisged her to wear clothes that were more eye catching and there is a lack of red.
ReplyDeleteNo this is not how I envisaged Curley's wife. In this photo she is not all dressed in red which made the strong link to the girl in Weed and therefore foreshadowed Lennie's problem with Curley's wife. She also does not look made up and fake which was part of the reason that she was called a "tart" by the ranch men. The way she is standing and smiling in the picture makes her look like a normal person, not the flirtatious character that Steinbeck describes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the statements so far - this is not Curley's wife! Her hair don't curl like sausages. Is it just me who imagined her hair to be lighter? It should be done up and she should be wearing make up. Her dress is also too simple and sweet, not over done like with the osterich feathers. I agree with Tavia about not being the character Steinbeck described. Red is a prominant theme of Curley's wife when we first see her so it seems stupid that the producers chose to dress her in simple cotton dress. As others have said she looks too happy and genuine. The only thing I can give credit for is in clip where she keeps fiddling with her dress. This seems in character.
DeleteI disagree with the statements so far - I think that this is an accurate portrayal of Curley's wife, having read the whole book. Each of Steinbeck's descriptions (in the middle of the novella) are written from the perspectives of Lennie and George, as they experience life on the ranch for the first time. Therefore, when Curley's Wife is introduced in the book, Steinbeck goes to great lengths to portray her as a 'threat', because George and Lennie had previously had such bad experiences with women (the girl in weed). This physical description and George's use of words such as 'jailbait' give the reader a negative impression of her character from the start. However, I do not believe that Steinbeck was writing from a mysogonistic perspective in his description of Curley's wife, but rather, attempting to portray George's defensive attitudes towards women. Everybody seems to be commenting on the lack of red and promiscuity in the physical depiction of Curley's wife seen above, as if the initial description is her only identity in the novel. As readers, we can step away from George's materialistic impression of Curley's wife and see that she is more than a 'tart' with 'rouged lips' - she is a marginalised character with her own insecurities and coping mechanisms, and although she poses a threat, she has an identity and is not necessarily a 'bad person'. I do not think the physical descriptions of Curley's wife should be taken literally in this book, as they simply demonstrate the sexism on the ranch and portray CW through the eyes of the ranch workers. Steinbeck also reveals a positive side to her character - she is friendly towards Lennie, and in this scene, she is described differently. Her hair is not rolled like 'sausages', but is 'soft' and makes Lennie happy (at first). This shows that the physical descriptions of CW are not accurate, but based on the perspective Steinbeck was writing from at that particular moment. George is naturally defensive, so he would have seen Curley's wife as a 'tart' and a 'threat'. However, as readers, we can see that this is only one perspective, and in the end, we do sympathise with CW as a marginalised, isolated character. Also, George had not been in close contact with a woman for a long time, so what may have been subtle feminine makeup may have seemed much more lewd to him than it was in reality. As a reader who has seen the vulnerable, neglected side of CW's character (dreams of being an actress, confiding in Lennie, etc) I did not simply envisage her as the 'tramp' that Steinbeck describes through George's eyes in chapter 2. She could easily be an ordinary, if lonely, woman, described through the distorted perspective of George, a migrant worker whose first instinct is to protect himself and Lennie.
DeleteI agree! (mostly) When we first meet Curley's wife we see her as a threat or 'jailbait' as George later refers to her. She is provocative and flirtatious and seems to want to cause trouble for everyone. It is only later in the book that this is not her intention. When Steinbeck describes her, he only describes her appearence. As we discussed in class, the lack of description of her personality shows us that she is very shallow. However in this photo, she looks genuinely happy and to be enjoying herself. This does not match the Curley's wife we know from the book. However, she dreams of being an actress and is very good at manipulating her facial expressions to her advantage rather than showing her actual emotion. We know she was never happy on the ranch, but we also know she was told she could be a good actress so perhaps she is displaying her acting skills in this photo. Also, the only time Steinbeck actually describes her as pretty, is when she is dead; in this photo she is not dead. I think she is too pretty in this photo because the idea is that she is pretty when she is dead because she is not trying. The scene this photo was taken from was when she first met George and Lennie so she would have been trying to make an impression; therefore she is too pretty. Those are definitely not sausages on her head! I just almost deleted this by mistake so i am going to post this now before i actually do delte it all! Bye byeee
ReplyDeletei think i leant on the enter button before i presses publish.. sorry guys!
DeleteI agree with the posts above because Curley's wife has been portrayed in a very different way to how Steinbeck described her in the book. In this photo she has been brought across as a friendly and thoughtful character which contrasts her real personality of being flirtatious and forward with the men on the ranch. The colour red has not really been emphasised, especially because only her lips seem to be shown in this colour. She seems to be happy where she is and does not look like she is trying to cause any trouble. Through Steinbeck's words Curley's wife is described as a sexual object that is Curley's property, however here she looks like she is happy with her life with no problems in it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the posts above because Curley's wife has been portrayed in a very different way to how Steinbeck described her in the book. In this photo she has been brought across as a friendly and thoughtful character which contrasts her real personality of being flirtatious and forward with the men on the ranch. The colour red has not really been emphasised, especially because only her lips seem to be shown in this colour. She seems to be happy where she is and does not look like she is trying to cause any trouble. Through Steinbeck's words Curley's wife is described as a sexual object that is Curley's property, however here she looks like she is happy with her life and that there are no problems in it.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with all the other posts that this is definitely not how I imagined Curley's Wife! Firstly, in the picture she looks completely different to how Steinbeck describes her when we first see her in chapter 2 'She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up' (page 53). In the picture, she seems to be smiling which shows that eventhough she was secluded, being the only woman on the ranch, she tried to associate with the other men on the ranch to make her feel included. However, I think that we cannot really judge what personality CW might have just by the description of her physical attributes. Steinbeck doesn't include much detail on CW's personality except for in chapter 4 when CW asserts her power and dominance over Crooks 'Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny' (page 113). We cannot judge CW at this point for being controlling over Crooks as her life on the ranch isn't easy. It was not her first choice to marry Curley and become someone's property, she had aspiring dreams to become an actress so I sympathise with her.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the video has a more accurate account of CW she seems to be very provocative playing with her dress and pushing her body forward when talking to George and Lennie. You can tell that CW was a threat to the ranch hands by George's reaction when Lennie says 'Gosh, she was purty' (page 54). That is how I imagined CW to be, a troublemaker and someone you shouldn't associate yourself with.
I think that the photo of Curley's wife does not portray how Steinbeck portrayed her in the beginning of the book. As others have said, she is supposed to be 'heavily made up', be not naturally beautiful and come across as overwhelmingly 'red'. The photo portrays her as natural and friendly; definitely not the 'red' she is supposed to be. However, if you compare this image to the whole book it becomes more appropriate. She is perhaps smiling because she wants to make friends with some of the workers due to her failing marriage. Lennie's first impressions of Curley's wife were that she was 'purty'; Lennie's innocent mind should be trusted to give an honest opinion of what somebody looks like. Also, when Curley's wife and Lennie are talking in the barn she comes across as friendly as shown in the photo.
ReplyDeleteI think that the video of Curley's wife is very different and very similar to the book description. She is wearing a 'cotton house dress' as described in the book and is definitely flirtatious (although not in the way described in the book). She is wearing a pink dress which, in my opinion, is very similar to red.
I agree with the statements above because in this picture, she looks very happy and sweet whereas Steinbeck portrays her to be very dangerous and promiscuous. He also associates her with the colour red, red is a colour of danger, anger, promiscuity and blood, in this picture she is wearing a plain white blouse which does not link to Curley's wife who was described 'heavily made up' and 'hair curled like sausages' because usually she is the centre of attention, a plain white blouse does not draw that same attention. Also, whoever she is smiling sweetly with and tilting her head towards does not come to mind for me because the only people she meets in the book which we see are the workers on the ranch and most of them are dismissive and cold towards her, including Curley, therefore it does not seem accurate.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't really how I envisaged her as she looks quite normal compared to Steinbeck's description of her which portrays her as a dangerous and promiscuous woman with prostitute characteristics as she is "Heavily made up" and wears a lot of red .However she still has same flirtatious character in the film that she has in the book but in the picture she just looks quite innocent and reminds me of those typical classic American housewives .Then again in the novella, we find out that she just pretends to be happy and that's its all just a façade .
ReplyDeleteNo, this is not how I envisaged curley's wife because in this picture she is portrayed as a nice person. She doesn't look like the character that is described in the book. In this picture her make up is very natural and simple unlike that of the video's. In the clip she has very dramatic make up on which does not complement that of the character shown in this picture. In the picture she looks like she is having a conversation with someone and she is smiling suggesting that she is happy. But she cannot have a conversation with anyone other than the men on the ranch who in the clip appear to be avoiding her because them fraternising with her will put them in trouble. In the clip she is portrayed as a dramatic, attention seeker whereas the picture shows her as a listener because she is smiling to someone who I assume she is having a conversation with. She does not come across as a person people wouldn't like but in the clip she is that person. In the picture she looks like a nice, classy lady whereas in the clip she is being flirtatious and over friendly with the men. In the picture she is wear a nice, simple outfit that is appropriate for a married woman and covers her up in the right place unlike in the clip where she is wearing a tight, body hugging dress that reveals every detail to her shape. The woman I see in the picture is a completely different to the one I see in the video. I did not envisage her this way because the clip contradicts the personality and ways of the character being shown in the picture.
ReplyDeleteNo this is not how I envisaged CW because our first impression of her, even before her introduction into the novella was as a 'tart' and a 'tramp'. This picture displays none of these physical attributes but an innocent, friendly lady. CW was described as being 'young' and although this picture agrees with this, I would have thought she would be younger and more 'heavily made up'. Steinbeck makes the idea that she is associated with the colour red clear within her introduction suggesting its importance to her character. In this picture we see no signs of red, no red makeup, no red clothes, no 'full rouged lips' but a tint of pale red like normal coloured lips. I imagined this colour to be a main part of her appearance showing her promiscuity. However, again, in this picture we don't see this as she is laughing, being friendly and not inflicting danger on others. She looks warm and innocent, like a housewife, not a lonely 'heavily made up' girl who is a 'tramp' and disliked by other characters. CW is also described as lonely so I would imagine her as being sad and unfriendly however this picture contrasts the imagery brought across in the novella.
ReplyDeleteThis is not how I envisaged Curley's wife as she looks far too natural in this picture compared to the 'heavily made up' description of her in the book. Although nearing the end of the book Steinbeck does show more sympathy for her character, the initial description of her shows her to be flirtatious and promiscuous which can definitely not be conveyed by this fairly plain picture. Curley's Wife's intention is to seek attention from the male workers so that they take notice of her therefore she purposefully dresses provocatively in order to please them, Steinbeck intended for her to be posed as a threat. While perhaps her body language during the video clip does express her rather dangerously flirtatious behaviour, the image shows her to be friendly and genuine, rather than 'nasal' and fake which does not reveal her true appearance in the introduction of her character.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, if this was supposedly representing Curley's Wife's character later on in the book where Steinbeck was encouraging the reader to feel sympathetic toward her then her facial expression would be much more different. Rather than being happy and content, as she is shown in this image, she would be unhappy and miserable as it is at this point that she tells Lennie of her loneliness on the ranch and her failed dream of becoming an actress.
I think that this picture is both inaccurate and accurate in different ways. As mentioned before, Curley's wife is not a happy person and hates both her life and her husband, but this picture shows her smiling in a carefree way. This would seemingly be a huge misunderstanding of the character of CW. However, like Isla said, Steinbeck uses the biased descriptions of CW to influence his readers into thinking of her as a troublemaker and a 'tart', so the picture, which portrays her as a kind and sweet-looking woman, would automatically be considered by readers as a misrepresentation of CW. But when she is with Lennie, she seems to find him endearing at tells him about her life and her shattered dreams, baring herself to him. The picture represents her personality around Lennie as it shows her fondness for him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shana that this picture is both accurate and inaccurate. I think that it is inaccurate because it does not show CW how I would imagine her after Steinbeck's first description of her where she is described as having a "nasal, brittle" voice and comes across as fake. Again as many of you have already mentioned there is no prominent red in the picture which is a key part of her description, highlighting her danger. She does not seem lonely or unhappy as she comes across in the book but quite the opposite. She does not look regretful of her decisions about her life she looks happy and carefree. She is not "heavily made up" but quite natural. I thought she would be very over the top with her make up as she seems to be very attention seeking from all the male ranchers who all refer to her as a "tart" which suggests a different appearence form the one in the photo. However at the end of the book when she is dead "the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face, She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young." This picture could just be a reflection of her true self which we see again when she dies, like Isla said it is a picture of her not from Lennie or George's perspective.
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