The American Dream has been an ongoing fantasy for years. It is a never ending want to achieve something greater that can never truly be grasped. The American Dream has been altered and changed for generations. It has been portrayed to many as unreachable. The characters throughout Mice and Men face struggle with facing these tough realities. The era that Steinbeck’s book took place, has a few similarities, but many more differences to that of the Modern Era.
The American Dream portrayed throughout Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” was very hard to achieve. Many lost everything due to the hardships of the Great Depression. George and Lennie were two hardworking men who went from one job to the next trying get money in order to get food
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They weren’t allowed to do specific jobs and didn’t have the same rights as men. Curley’s wife's in the book Of Mice and Men, seemed like a major flirt to all of the men. Little did they know that she was just very lonely being stuck in the house all of the time . The first part of Curley’s wife’s American Dream was to be treated equally. On page 82 it states, “I get lonely, she said. You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?” This quote from the book shows that Curley’s wife’s indeed doesn’t have the same rights because she doesn’t have the freedom of speech. The rest of Curley’s wife’s American Dream was to become a famous movie star. By doing this people would look up to her and she would have everything that she could ever dream of. On page 84 it states, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes - all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me.” Curley’s wife’s wanted so bad to become a famous movie star and get the whole package that came along with it, however her American Dream was …show more content…
In just 2 short years, I will be heading off to college. I want to get several scholarships that will help make the big cost more affordable for my parents and I. Getting these scholarships will make my life easier because I won’t have to worry and deal with paying off a huge amount of college debt that can be very depressing.The second part of my American Dream is my future income and job. My passion would be to open up my own Daycare/Preschool that will allow me to work with little children, as well as use my strengths of organization and creativity. By doing this I will be enjoying something I love, all while making a income to support my future family. I believe that having the opportunity to choose my future career, that I would like to pursue is a huge part of the American Dream because in the end, I will be happy and satisfied. This is very different to George and Lennie. Their American Dream of income never became a true reality. They were very close with the help of Candy, but couldn’t truly grasp onto the opportunity. They didn’t get to choose a place to work, instead they had to take whatever was in front of them in order to survive the tough times of the Great
In the Poem “To A Mouse,” Robert Burns writes about how a mouse spent the bulk of his year building a house to protect the mouse from the cold, frail winter. A farmer accidentally plows the tiny house over while working in the fields. The farmer states “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”(Burns). About two hundred years later John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men. Through the title referencing the the poem an audience can infer that this is an allusion that foreshadow plans ending badly. In this case the widely established American dream is
Everyone dreams about something. However, it is important to know when the right time to dream is, and when to wake up. A major theme that Steinbeck conveys in the book Of Mice and Men is the pursuit of the American Dream. The book tells the story of two men trying to earn a better life. Their American Dream was to get their own place somewhere and live together. Although, through the characterization of Lennie, the symbolism of rabbits, and the setting of the book, Steinbeck is trying to convey that people cannot continue to live in a dream.
...r say anything. So she is stuck at a ranch where all the members there avoid her because she is trouble and can’t even run away because of her being a female in the early 1900’s made it almost impossible to survive on her own. She dresses a certain way to live out the American Dream the only way she can. She doesn’t dress that way to show off her body, she wants to feel like she is living her dream. She realizes that she is good looking and she uses that to her advantage to talk to some of the people at the ranch like Lennie. The only way she got to talk to Lennie was by letting him touch her hair. Steinbeck let Curley’s Wife die in such a peaceful way; I didn’t even realize she was dead until I read over the section multiple times. He left her there in the barn describing her beauty, showing the reader through Curley’s Wife that even the worst of us have humanity.
The American Dream is what everyone so desperately desired for in the 1930’s. Many come to America for the American Dream, to be successful, have freedom, and support their families by the better opportunities given. In Of Mice and Men the movie the setting sets in the 1930’s where Lennie and George become farm workers for Curley’s dad. Working in these conditions in the 1930’s must of been difficult as shown in the movie when Lennie and George face problems in their journey together. What’s your American Dream?
their perfect ranch that they worked so hard for. Despite the bond between the paternal George and the child-like Lennie and their seemingly indestructible determination and will, they were still unable to grasp the great American dream that so many migrant workers fantasized. The struggles of bei...
Curley’s wife could be considered an outcast in society. Women were not supposed to be adventurous, talkative, and mischievous; she was the opposite of what women were supposed to be in society. Every member on the ranch seen her as trouble and
The American Dream is a thought that everyone has at some point. Some are bigger than others and some are harder than others, but everyone hopes to accomplish their American Dream. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows that the American Dream is a myth, not a reality. John Steinbeck shows the American Dream being a myth through a few of the characters in Of Mice and Men. For example, Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Candy all have American Dreams, but they also have some obstacles that stop them from completing their American Dream.
Curley’s wife has lost her dream and she lives an unhappy life. “An’ a guy tol’ me he could put me in pitches…” (Steinbeck 78). You can tell her dreams were crushed by her mom. By this she is unhappy and hates her life right now. ‘“I never got that letter,”’ “I always thought my ol’ lady stole it” ( 88). The director didn’t write to her. She gave up on her chances to be in the movies. “I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella” (89). She is living an unhappy life. She is very lonely since Curly is the only person she has to talk with.
The American dream ideally constitutes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as stated by America's forefathers in the Declaration of Independence. This vision has been extremely warped in the 20th century to fit the new breed of Americans, which are greedy and self-centered. The main characters opinions in the novel Of Mice and Men of The American Dream substantially differs from each other, and from today's society.
Although she seems very friendly and talkative, Curley’s wife is nothing more than a careless self-obsessed character. At every chance, this deceptive lady talks about her lost opportunities. She speaks of a traveling actor who told her she could join their show at Hollywood. Unfortunately, Curley’s wife never made the “cut”. She convinces herself that her mother stole the letter instead of believing the truth that they weren't interested in her talent. This type of thinking and disregard is very different from a typical lady in the 1930’s. Because times were hard, there was never enough food or clothing to go around. In order to fix these disparities, the mother typically cared for others and took the role of the “sharer”. Curley’s wife seems to be nothing more than someone who carelessly acts without thinking about the consequences it may on others. In fact, she flirts deliberately with all of the workers for two main reasons. Indirectly, she ensures that they suffer Curley's belligerent wrath which only makes Curley feel even worse about hims...
The American Dream started off as propaganda in order to make the American people of the early twentieth century work harder to build a successful economy. The idea of the American Dream is that every American citizen has an equal opportunity of making money along with owning a large house, some land, and having a family with kids. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates that the American Dream, no matter how simple is impossible to achieve. As everyone has their own interpretation of the American Dream, Steinbeck uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife to demonstrate how the American Dream is impossible to achieve and how important the dream was for people so they could carry on with their lives.
With the setting as the Great Depression in the 1930s, George and Lennie of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men have overcome the adversity of being unemployed as they pursue work through Murray and Ready.In addition, they are bindle stiffs and are among other dispossessed males who must ride railroad cars and migrate from job to job. However, they are not alone like most of the other workers; due to the fact they have the friendship and trust of one another. In the beginning to the end George and Lennie share the hope of having a little farm of their own on which they can live on "the fat of the land" someday. (Citation) With this dream, they conquer the terrible alienation that men without homes encounter. Thus, George and Lennie overcome the adversities of poverty, alienation, and despair while staying true to their friendship.
She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaces eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (31). However, it is later discovered in the story that she is searching for innocent company with the men to make up for the little attention she gets from Curley. The men don’t want to get into trouble with Curley so they choose to avoid Curley’s wife at all costs. She doesn’t understand why the other men on the ranch don’t accept her offers when she tries to carry on conversations with them, so she dresses and makes herself up this way to keep her audience’s attention. Even after she passes away, Curley’s wife still exerts more power than some men on the ranch by stealing all of their dreams too: "You g** d*** tramp," he said viciously. You done it, di'n't you? I s'pose you're glad. Ever'body knowed you'd mess things up. You wasn't no good. You ain't no good now, you lousy tart"
But this is all taken away from her at a young age. Curley’s Wife’s Mom shut down Curley’s Wife’s dream long before Curley could ever imagine to. When offered a show spot by an actor that had been coming through, Curley’s Wife’s Mom immediately refused the offer, leaving Curley’s Wife to do nothing but watch it vanish before her own eyes.
Every American citizen has heard the term “American Dream.” We are taught from a young age that in America, we can make something of ourselves. Everyone has the dream of starting small and making it big. However this American Dream may not be as realistic as it is made out to be. The “American Dream” is defined as: “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative” by the dictionary.