OMAM failure / loss Flashcards
(10 cards)
intro
- a tragic consequence of a society that constantly limits individual potential
- Steinbeck poignantly critiques the idea of The American Dream, showing how the oppressive forces of discrimination and economic hardship destroy the hopes of all
- Failure is the unfortunate result of the relentless hardships of The Great Depression
topic sentence 1
Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife as a symbol of failure, showing how her aspirations for a better life are crushed by the isolation and oppression she faces as a woman in a male-dominated society, leaving her with nothing but a yearning for attention and validation.
topic sentence 1 quotes
‘coulda been in the movies’ - plants a seed of ambition into her, we see her in a more sympathetic light as her vision of paradise was cruelly snatched away from her
‘she was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young’ - in death she has been reduced to the perfect ideal of feminine identity with stereotypical traits of feminine beauty - no description of her strength or personality,
topic sentence 1 context
symbolises the rise of Hollywood in the 1930s where the films were dominated with images of The American Dream which had long since vanished after The Wall Street Crash.
her death symbolises failed dreams as she is the way she is because of her failed dream, and with death she causes Lennie and George’s dream to fail -> femme fatale
bleak depiction of femininity, St uses it as a scathing indictment of society to give a problematic portrayal of femininity in the 1930s, St is a politically aware writer so uses CW to shine a light on the harsh treatment of women
topic sentence 2
Crooks’ failure to achieve his dream of equality and belonging highlights the brutal impact of racial prejudice, as his isolation and disillusionment expose the unrelenting barriers he faces in a society that dehumanizes him.
topic sentence 2 quotes
‘I wouldn’t want to go no place like that’ - he realises he can never truly escape the marginalisation he experiences on the ranch
‘reduced to nothing.’ - sombre tone, her words have emptied Crooks of all human emotion as he knows there is nothing he can do as it was the normalised societal view
topic sentence 2 context
Steinbeck uses Crooks to show the pointlessness of dreams and aspirations for the marginalised members of society
Crooks has his own chapter where St can fully depict the hardships he faces; his chapter is disconnected from the rest of the novel to symbolise the isolation and inevitable failure black Americans faced from the rest of society
topic sentence 3
Steinbeck uses George and Lennie’s shared dream of owning land to symbolize hope and ambition, but their ultimate failure to achieve it highlights the harsh reality of the American Dream, revealing how disenfranchised individuals are doomed to failure in a society shaped by inequality and instability.
topic sentence 3 quotes
‘I seen hundreds of men come by … that same damn thing in their heads’ - crooks deflates their dream
‘living offa the fatta the lan’ - they have ambition to be self-sufficient, their dream gives them confidence in difficult times and a sense of purpose
topic sentence 3 context
symbolizes the American dream but their failures highlight the unattainability of it during the Great Depression. St argues the American Dream is a myth
their dream of self sufficiency contrasts against the other workers lack of goals, steinbeck having worked on ranches would have seen the monotonous, purposeless lives of workers
St named his novel after Robert Burn’s poem, its most famous line (…..) highlights man is doomed but not only because of obstacles like poverty and exploitation but also human nature;
despite the inevitable loss of the dream just the concept of it gave George and Lennie motivation which other workers lacked - Steinbeck saw this first hand as he had experience working on a ranch
