The Murder by John Steinbeck

A detailed Summary of The Murder by John Steinbeck

"The Murder" by John Steinbeck is a classic look at life in the rural United

States in the early nineteenth century. This story is a tale of a man and his wife from a foreign

country, and the differences of their cultures. Irony is very prominent in this story, and it helps to

illustrate a very poignant point on the anti-feminism during the time of the story. At this time,

spousal abuse was not uncommon, and was pretty much standard practice. However, "The

Murder" is neither pro-feminist or anti-feminist.

This story is not written with a bias, yet it is a commentary on the socialism of

the time, and allows the reader to be the judge of whether it is right or wrong. Jelka and Jim are

from two completely different cultures, this is evident in their behavior and attitudes. Jim is

social, while Jelka is under the impression that women's job is to be a slave to her husband.

her cousin, he is quite upset. He begins by firing a bullet into the head of her cousin, and then

cultures, and both have different ideas of how husbands and wives should act. They have no

Jelka has been taught that women should be seen and not heard. Jim cheats on his wife on

of that house, and begin in a new life with them. This story has a happy ending.

whipping her. Jim gets off for the murder, as cases such as that were usually dismissed in that

unfaithful. He was also under the impression that she just sits home by herself watching the stars.

that this marriage was ill-fated from the very beginning. These two people are from very different

Jim believes that there is a double standard, that it is fine for him to cheat, but

that his wife is clueless to his actions, but she knows that when he is sleeping out he is being

Approximate Word count = 601
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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