Women in Of
Mice and Men
compared to
Women in 2013
Mrs. Soucy & Ms. Chevrier
Theme
Women can bring trouble through dress and
behavior that causes men to mistrust them.
Theme
OF MICE AND MEN
o
o
o
o
Suspicion
George’s warnings
Fight with Curley
Crooks
MODERN
o
o
Bro-Code
Rape Culture
Theme – Contribution to the Novel
 Setting
 Era
 Conflict




The fight
Tension
Crooks
Lennie
Listen to me, you crazy b**t**d,” he
said fiercely. “Don’t you even take a
look at that b*tch. I don’t’ care what
she says and what she does. I seen
‘em poison before, but I never seen no
piece of jail bait worse than her. You
leave her be.” p.32
“Feel right aroun’ there an’ see how soft it
is.” p.90
Curley’s wife came around the end of
the last stall. She came very quietly, so
that Lennie didn’t see her. She wore
her bright cotton dress and the mules
with the red ostrich feathers. Her face
was made up and the little sausage
curls were all in place. p. 86
Rape Culture? What Rape Culture?
VOICES BEING HEARD

Surpya Dwivedi
 Rape culture is alive in
Canada
 Questions audience
 Makes comparisons
 Uses viral cases
VOICES NOT BEING HEARD

No one else
 Barbara Amiel
 Christie Blanchford
 St Mary’s leaders
 Parsons family
Point: Rape culture needs to be addressed! Don’t listen to those
other authors!
Article Strategies
 “laissez-faire”
attitude = promoting rape
The leaders “thought there was nothing wrong
with openly promoting sexual assault.”
Public Cases
- St Mary’s chant
- Rahtaeh Parsons
How else could the
message be conveyed?
Blog
Facebook
Opinion
Talk show
Video
Comparison
OF MICE AND MEN
 Curley’s wife
“RAPE CULTURE? WHAT RAPE CULTURE?”
Listen to me, you crazy
b**t**d,” he said fiercely.
“Don’t you even take a
look at that b*tch. I
don’t’ care what she
says and what she does.
I seen ‘em poison
before, but I never seen
no piece of jail bait
worse than her. You
leave her be.” (32)

Society can’t trust women who
claim to have been raped.
Tricks can cause confusion.
“Rape culture, however, can
be loosely defined as a
culture wherein the dominant
attitudes towards rape
facilitate, tolerate, and
excuse rapists while placing
blame and onus of rape
prevention onto the victims.”
Video – MANslater
Voices being heard
Voices NOT being heard
 Male
 Female
Narrator
 Women saying one
thing – translator
outputting another.
 Manslater
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=ezVib_giTFo
voice is not
expressed
independent of the
male perspective.
You can’t trust what women say!
 Men
require a translator to decode
 Men are simplistic and need “simple man
language”
 “Me not fine!”
This message could have been delivered through:
- Interview
- Opposite view (women’s view)
Techniques
 Confused
men
 Highlighting the contrast of women’s
words with their actions.
 Trick – “Do you think she is pretty?”
 Reversal – Manslator helps the men trick
women at their own game. (anniversary)
 Changing the voice – caveman to
sophisticated woman.
Message
o
o
o
Women trick men by not saying what they
mean.
Delivered with humor and stereotypes.
Audience = male
THINK ABOUT IT:
Although this plays on a stereotype that
DOES hold some truth…is this a small step
leading to a big problem?!
Ficton/Non-Fiction/Visual
Of Mice and
Men
- Theme
develops plot
and
characters.
- Not reality –
remove
yourself.
Rape Culture?
MANslator
- Real stories
- Can’t deny
connection
- Seems more
factual
- Appears to
have
authority
- Humorous
tone
- Needs a
critical eye.
- Message
easy to
ignore by
laughing.
Final Question:
Curley’s wife is never given a name. Why?
How does this decision play with the
theme? How can the anonymous factor of
no name be compared to the descriptions
used in the article and video?