Similarities Between Of Mice And Men

Is The American Dream Real?

Throughout the year the class has read books and watched movies, all with the common theme of the achieving the American dream. From Scotts Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, focusing on the dream of the wealthy, to Sylvester Stallone's epic film, Rocky, directing the dream from a rags to riches standpoint. A novel the perfectly portrays the reality of the American Dream, is John Steinbeck's, Of Mice and Men, the story of how two migrant workers give their all to reach everything they have always wanted. Sadly, though they tried their hardest, due to their given situation they failed to reach their dream. Many believe that the American dream is attainable with hard work, but in reality the dream is nearly

More specifically it argues the the American dream is a myth through the character of Lennie Smalls, with his disability, his social status, and finally his death. First off, is introduced into Of Mice and Men with a mental disability that sets him apart from everybody else. This disability causes him to have a bit of a speech impediment and to think differently, almost as if he is still very much a child. Lennie lives with this disability everyday and it sets at a large disadvantage, “ Guys like us...george!” (page 13, Steinbeck). This quote shows Lennie at his finest, being happy and looking toward the future, he is not afraid to work hard to finally reach his dream. Although Lennie works through his disability, it still oppresses him greatly. Not only does Lennie get set back by his disability, but it also affects the people around him as well. A prime example of

Lennie though, has a very rough because he's a migrant worker. During the great depression many people took on the role of being migrant workers, people who went place to place in search of jobs. As a migrant lennie’s status was the lowest of the low, people looked down on him, nobody would want to give him a hand in reaching his dream. The only person that could help was George, but he was also migrant worker so he couldn't do much for Lennie either. “What's your… slims team” (pages 21-23, Steinbeck) This quote shows many things, mainly how money was such a necessity in order to do anything. Everyone sought to make money, to steal money, so much so that the new boss thought that George was hustling Lennie, it was a common act. Obviously, George was not stealing money from Lennie, but the significance is that the boss would've been fine if George was stealing from Lennie because he knows in order to make money you had to do some drastic things. Money is the biggest statement in the American dream, it was in the 1930s and it still is now. “Most people… secure retirement” (alternet.org) The significance of money in the American dream is insane, it is almost as if that the whole dream is completely based on money. The meaning behind this is that having the most money was and continues to be the base point of the American dream. Since