Exploring the Paradoxes of Masculinity in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men: From a Cultural Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes945Keywords:
depression decade, John Steinbeck, masculinity, menAbstract
This article explores John Steinbeck’s portrayal of men and their problematic masculinities in Of Mice and Men, by using masculinity studies and the novella’s cultural context. It argues that the represented men attempt but fail to secure traditional masculine traits during the 1930s in America. This struggle is shared among all the male characters regardless of their strength, resilience, marital position, or social background. Steinbeck represents the muscular Lennie as behaving like a child. Slim, the charismatic character, embodies a “new masculinity” that challenges traditional roles like starting and financing a family while displaying emotional intimacy with other men (Falabella 2000: 64). George, who supports Lennie, is likewise weakened by his single status, working-class background, and failure to achieve the American Dream. Curley, a middle-class man, exhibits a lack of virility, financial independence, and physical strength. He also shows insecurity when subjugating his wife and workers. Crooks, the African American worker, has problems in performing masculinity traits, especially when Curley’s wife insults him. The article discusses how the social construction of masculinity attributed contradictory traits to men. It concludes that masculinity is disrupted under class and racial oppression, highlighting how men struggled to maintain their identities during the Depression.
References
Adams, James T. (1931). The Epic of America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Armengol, Josep. (2014). ‘Gendering the great depression: Rethinking the male body in 1930s American culture and literature’. Journal of Gender Studies, 23(1): 59-68.
Bashar, Khair UI. and Alam Zeb. (2019). ‘Binary opposition of the characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men: From Derridean perspective’. International Journal of English Research, 5(2):5154.
Bashar, Khair UI, Alam Zeb and Hakeen Khan. (2019). ‘Stereotyping of Curley’s wife in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men: From Derridean perspective’. Linguistics and Literature Studies, 7 (3): 95-99.
Butler, Judith. (1989). ‘Gendering the body: Beauvoir’s philosophical contribution’. In Ann Garry and Marilyn Pearsall (eds.) Women, and Reality, 253 -262. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Carroll, Bret. (2003). American Masculinities: A Historical Encyclopedia. California: Sage Publications.
Cornwall, Andrea. (2000). ‘Men, masculinity and ‘gender development’’. In Caroline Sweetman (ed.), Men and Masculinity, 8-13. Oxford: Oxfam.
Covais, Samantha. (2022). We know what we got: Subversive masculinity in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Villanova University, USA.
Dickstein, Morris. (1996). ‘Depression culture: The dream of mobility’. In Bill V. Mullen and Sherry Linkon (eds.), Radical Revisions: Rereading 1930s Culture, 225-263. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Emery, Jean. (1992). ‘Manhood beset: Misogyny in Of Mice and Men’. In Michael J Meyer (ed.), The Essential Criticism of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, 125-133. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
Falabella, Gonzalo. (2000). ‘New masculinity: A different route’. In Caroline Sweetman (ed.), Men and Masculinity, 62-64. Oxford: Oxfam.
Friedan, Betty. (1963). The Feminine Mystique. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
Gladstein, Mimi R. (2004). ‘Masculine sexuality and the objectification of women: Steinbeck’s perspective’, The Steinbeck Review, 1 (1): 109-123.
Gold, Mike. (2007). ‘Go left, young writers!’, In Nicholas Coles and Janet Zandy (eds.), American Working-Class Literature: An Anthology, 382 383. New York: Oxford UP.
Grice, Herbert. (1975). ‘Logic and conversation’. In Peter Cole and Jerry L. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and Semantics, 41-58. New York: Academic Press.
Hart, Ricahrd E. (2004). ‘Moral experience in Of Mice and Men: Challenges and reflection’, The Steinbeck Review, 1(2): 31-44.
Kimmel, Michael S. (2006). Manhood in America: A Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press.
McKay, Claude. (1937). A Long Way from Home. New York: George H. Doran Company.
McLean, Christopher. (2018). ‘The politics of men’s pain’. In Christopher McLean, Maggie Carey and Cheryl White (eds.). Men’s Ways of Being, 62-73. New York: Routledge.
Person Jr., Leland S. (2009). ‘Of Mice and Men: Steinbeck’s speculations in manhood’. In Michael J. Meyer (ed.), The Essential Criticism of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, 150 - 157. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
Rotundo, Anthony E. (1993). American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the Modern Era. New York: Basic Books.
Sandström, Abigail P. (2024). ‘A guy got sometimes’: Hegemonic masculinity and male homosociality in Of Mice and Men. Unpublished B-level Thesis, University of Gävle, Sweden.
Steinbeck, John. (1937). Of Mice and Men. New York: Covici Firede.
