Greek and Shakespearean tragedy Essay Example For Students

Greek and Shakespearean tragedy Essay We now move onto Curleys wife, who has already played a part in this essay. Our first impressions of her are of a flirtatious woman, who dresses provocatively for the male ranch workers. We read of her full rouged lips, heavily made up her hair hung in little clusters. Also Steinbeck describes Curleys wife as wearing a lot of red, bringing in the idea of a femme fatal. We know the men on the ranch are very cautious towards her, again bringing forward her portrayal as a femme fatal, and on George and Lennies first encounter with her, Lennie is warned about her. Well you keep away from her cause shes a rat trap This quote foreshadows further encounters between Lennie and Curleys wife as we know of Lennies mental capacity, and his almost obsession with soft things. This therefore also foreshadows possibly misfortunes between these two characters, and again the femme fatal element of her is brought in by Steinbeck. In chapter four, some of Curleys wifes feelings towards her husband, and towards where she has ended up in her life, are revealed. Sure I gotta husband spends all his time sayin what hes gonnar do to guys Here we can understand some of Curleys wifes feelings, and have some sympathy with her. Her attitudes towards Curley also portray her as tragic, as we know of Curleys characteristics and the sexist treatment towards women. However, even though we sympathize with Curleys wife at some points in the novella, some of this sympathy is lost when we read of her treatment of Crooks. Steinbeck has already portrayed Curleys wife as lonely at this stage, as she us talking to the men in the first place Steinbeck also seems to show a link between loneliness and tragedy, and this is shown in Curleys wife. The story line is set in a place called Soledad and this can be linked to the word Solitaire, which means alone, and this is a metaphor for the loneliness of the characters in the novel. We can infer that Steinbeck has purposely used this place to show the loneliness in Curleys wife, and we see her need for companionship. Another tragic element can be found in Curleys wife based on this. We then read of her American Dream, I tell ya I could of went with the shows. This outburst from her arouses pity in the reader, as we know that these dreams would not be possible.  This can be perceived as tragic because how she is stuck in the sexist context of the times, and based on how lonely she is. Curleys wifes actual death is not very surprising due to Steinbecks use of foreshadowing, and the build up of dramatic tension. Curleys wifes death is firstly foreshadowed by the idea of her being a femme fatal. Every time she has an encounter with other characters in the novella, there is that hostility in the air which foreshadows events to come. The main use of this literary technique however is just before her actual death. We find Lennie in the barn after killing the puppy. As readers we know that that this killing has not been done on purpose, and this shows Lennies ignorance of his own strength. We read Suddenly his anger rose. God damn you, why do you got to get killed Lennie grows angry with the things he accidently kills, displaying his ignorance to the reader. The dress incident in Weed which we hear of, also foreshadows Curleys wifes death. Steinbeck uses dramatic tension with the description of the barn, and the outside. We draw comparisons between the quiet barn the hazy afternoon humming.. and the excitement of the games outdoors. Dramatic tension is also used after Curleys wife has died, The quiet of the afternoon was on the ranch.. This informs the reader of important events waiting to happen after the death. Based on this analysis, Curleys wife can be seen as a tragic figure, mainly because of how lonely, and almost ostracised she is, because of the social context. Also Curleys wife is killed without fulfilling any of her dreams, and she can be regarded as tragic based on this. The play which Shakespeare wrote was a romantic tragedy called 'Romeo and Juliet' EssayIn conclusion, this essay has looked at the extent to which three certain characters can be portrayed as tragic. As each character has been explored we have seen various reasons(which correspond with Greek and Shakespearean tragedy), for these characters to be deemed as tragic. We have seen Steinbecks use of various literary techniques such as foreshadowing, and dramatic tension, and these have been effective in portraying certain characters, and keeping the reader under a prolonged suspense. Furthermore, through Steinbecks portrayal of certain characters and how they have aroused empathy in the reader, we can assume that Steinbeck does not agree with the social context of these times, and he shows this through tragedy in the novella. Most of the characters in Of Mice and Men admit, at one point or another, to dreaming of a different life. The novella shows the harsh reality of the American Dream, as each character looked at in this essay have their own dream which is not fulfilled. All the characters that are developed by Steinbeck in the novella wish to change their lives, but none are capable of doing so, and Steinbeck portrays each character as tragic based on the idea of the American Dream. Lennie is, in my opinion, the most tragic character based on the fact that he provides an element of warmth and humour to the novella, but then goes on to commit a crime completely by accident, which leads to him being murdered by the one person who really understands him in the novel. Therefore even though Steinbeck provides evidence for other characters to be regarded as the most tragic figure (looking again at the sexism and racism in Crooks and Curleys wife) I think Lennie is the most tragic character. I also think Lennie is the most tragic figure because of how he walks his way through life completely oblivious to the dangers of the world holding on so tightly to the dream of someday owning a farm, but this dream is so quickly crushed in a instant, and in doing this Steinbeck portrays Lennie as the most tragic figure in the novella. We also see Lennies fatal ignorance of his own strength as his tragic flaw. Also his mental disabilities and the effect they have on himself and George provide reasons for him to be said to be the most tragic character. In closing, we refer back to the poem, as Robert Burns is proved correct, as Steinbeck shows through the novella that the the best laid schemes o mice and men really do gang aft agley, an leae us nought but grief an pain.