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The American dream has been a great motivator for many. It is for every person to have a place of their own, to work and earn a position of respect, to become whatever his/her hard work and determination can make them. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck unmasks the harsh, and the vicious reality of the American dream. Set in Soledad, California during the 1930’s, the book is based on Steinbeck’s experience as a migrant worker when he took a summer off from writing. He writes a novel about the difficult lives of migrant workers in California as he knew the subject from personal experience.Throughout the novella, the migrant workers on the ranch embodies the struggle to live through the Great Depression with dreams and aspirations, …show more content…
however, all dreams are not fulfilled. Dreams that are a temporary source of happiness is a theme that Steinbeck portrays in his novel Of Mice and Men by using contrasts, parallels and repetition. Steinbeck shows the importance of character’s dreams through contrasting George’s and Lennie's dream with Curley’s wife dream.The story of George and Lennie's ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the nature of dreams, dignity, and sacrifice. Ultimately, Lennie is mentally handicapped, who makes George's dream of owning his own ranch worthwhile, and ironically becomes the greatest obstacle to achieving that dream. Lennie is mentally disabled and George travels with him and takes care of him. They dream of one day owning their own farm and hope that they will be their own bosses and live off of the land.“O.K Someday we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple acres an’ a cow and some pig and.” “An’ live off the fatta the lan’,”Lennie shouted. “An’ have rabbits”(Steinbeck 15).This shows that the idea of having their own land and farm excites Lennie very much. He dreams of taking care of the rabbits and other animals. George hopes this dream comes true so that he can lead a "better" life. Meanwhile,Curley’s wife dreams to become an actress.” Coulda been in the movies,an’ had nice clothes all the nice clothes like they wear.”.Her dream is important because steinbeck wants to show that everyone has some forces behind their attitudes and to not judge anyone unless we know all of the details of the person's story. Dreams are very important and they are the thing the keeps the person alive and gives life its taste. Steinbeck uses parallels to show both Lennie and Curley’s wife’s dream is ever realized.
In chapter five, when Lennie kills the puppy, Curley's wife tells Lennie of her life and her missed opportunity to be a star. Lennie responds with concern about his dream farm and the rabbits he will have. Following his comment, Curley's wife chatters on, explaining more about her lost chance to become an actress and how she met Curley. As she talks, she moves closer, confiding in him about the life she might have had. She's important in building the theme of the american dream because she talks about how she could have made it big as an actress, she seems hopeless and this links to the relationships built in the novel. She tries to relate to Lennie, but of course that doesn't turn out well. All occur because of the meeting in the barn between Lennie and Curley's wife, a meeting that seals forever the fates of all involved.George clearly accepts the end of his and Lennie's dream. Without Lennie, the dream is gone and perhaps never really existed except in the words that made Lennie's happiness complete.Gone goes the dream. Gone are the complaints about what he could do if he did not have Lennie around his neck.Curley himself is one of the main causes of this as he is the one who prevents her from being free to follow her dreams and prevents her from even experiencing happiness as he forces her to stay at home and to not talk to the other people on the ranch. The American Dream was …show more content…
ultimately the same for everyone, everyone wanted to become rich, be successful in life and own their own possessions. The American Dream isn’t shown successfully in “Of Mice and Men” because not everyone was able to obtain what he or she wanted; the dream is represented as if it is futile(hopeless). Steinbeck uses the repetition of chapter one and six to show the theme of dream.
Therefore, in chapter six George retells the dream, but now with even more chances to succeed because of Candy's money, " . . .We gonna get a little place... a cow... a pig...you...tend the rabbits." Lennie consequently gets very distracted and George takes the opportunity to shoot him, right "where the spine and skull were joined". This was foreshadowed before, by how Carlson killed Candy's dog, on the back of the head and with the same weapon. ? In conclusion, the repetition of the opening lines in the choosing lines makes the character look more nervous, desperate and anxious. The author repeats the natural imagery and conversations from time to time to make the ambience look more dramatic and even more realistic by showing how humans would react too. This use of repetition by Steinbeck is an extremely effective way of making the dream seem impossible and reinforcing the theme of thwarted dreams as it repeats over and over again that the American dream wanted by so many is obtained by so few. This repetition works by making the goal of getting their own land seem almost like a story or a far off fantasy than an attainable goal. By making their dreams almost a work of fiction it discredits it and forces the reader to see it as
futile.
The American dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Even though the dream does not discriminate, people during the 1930s did. During this time period multiple groups of individuals were excluded from this iconic dream. In John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men he exposes the ageism, sexism, racism, and ableism in the 1930s. Steinbeck’s use of allusion, metaphor, symbolism, and juxtaposition create archetypes of the most commonly discriminated against people during the 1930s.
“The best laid schemes o’ mice and men, Gang aft agley often go wrong, And leave us nought but grief and pain, For promised joy!” Robert Burn’s quote makes us believe that even the best laid out plans for joy often go wrong and brings us grief and pain. George and Lennie’s plan was for a better future. The future where they didn’t take commands from someone; where they took care of themselves. As George and Lennie keep talking about the farm and more people joining in on the plan, it looks like it might happen. But with the foreshadowing through this quote: “Look, Lennie. I want you to look around here. You can remember this place, can’t you? The ranch is about a quarter mile up that way. Just follow the river. (15)” This quote foreshadows Lennie messing up and it creating a larger gap between the dream farm and them. When Lennie kills Curley's wife, the idea of the dream farm slowly starts to disappear. As George finds out about what had happen, he realizes that plan for a farm was just an idea, an illusion. “—I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would”
The biggest dream throughout the story is for George and Lennie to have enough money to go and buy a farm of their own. But then Lennie does something that he can’t change back or hide from, and all hope is lost for him and George to have a farm when George does what he never thought he’d do. “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger… Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.” (page 106) This one final scene symbolized all of George’s aspirations, hopes, dreams, ambitions, anything he had, diminishing before his eyes. He made a point earlier in the book, “ I was feelin’ pretty smart. I turns to Lennie and says, ‘jump in.’... well I ain’t done nothin like that no more” (40). He promised himself he wouldn’t hurt Lennie again, he took it upon himself to keep Lennie safe. But George fired that last bullet and killed Lennie, stripping himself of all his hope and ambitions. The other main ambition that was crushed in this story has to do with Lennie and his rabbits. “We’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs… An’ have rabbits!...” (14) This is a recurring event throughout the book; they talk about their future dreams, and Lennie tells everyone he meets about the rabbits he's gonna have, but again that all changes when Lennie messes up badly and kills Curley’s wife. The story displays the reader the visual of, “She struggled violently under his hands… “Don’t you go yellin’,” he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (91) This visual can help you see where Lennie’s dream of ever handling another living being again diminishes because if he can’t keep an
George and Lennie live in a hopeless present but they somehow try to keep a foot in an idealized future. They dream of one day running their own ranch, safe and answerable to no one. Others such as Curley's wife dreams of being a movie star, Crooks, of hoeing his own patch and Candy's couple of acres'.The dream ends with the death of Lennie.
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?
Every person has an American dream, no matter how big or small, everyone has one. Their dreams however, vary from person to person, based on past experiences. While some people will chose to try to own a small farm in California, others will want to go to Hollywood and become an actress. Though American dreams are commonly found in living people they are also able to be within fictional characters as well; such as in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Only American dreams can go astray due to problems that were not foreseen. In Of Mice and y Men, Lennie was the unforeseen problem with George, Candy, and his American dream because of his ableism. His mental ableism made him love to touch soft things such as hair, even though he could end
In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck reflects the conception of the fleeting American dream in the characters of George, Lennie, and Crooks. Steinbeck depicts the harsh reality that migrant workers, most likely, would not achieve their dream through George and Lennie’s failure to gain
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.
During the 1930’s many Americans went to California in order to have a financially stable life, at this point, the Great depression caused a loss of jobs and home; however, the American dream promises to give everyone the opportunity to achieve anything as long as they are willing to put in the effort. In his novel “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck depicts many characters who have dreams of being someone greater and are willing to work for it. The main characters; George and Lennie, want to buy a piece of land to live on but their dream shortly collapsed. Steinbeck uses characters to reflect defects of society during the 1930’s being the American dream is just and illusion and will stay dreams because they live in a corrupted culture of exploitation,
George and Lennie depended on their dream as motivation to live on and work. They've been working all their life to accomplish their dream. While taking a break by a pond on the way to another ranch, Lennie asked George to tell him why they are working and saving money. "Guys like us got nothing; they work up a stack and blow it in the town. But we're different, we got a future " (14). Most workers back then just live on day by day, without a goal. But George and Lennie are different, they got a dream to work and live for. Lennie kept on wanting to be told about their dream a few times in the story, indicating that it's really important to them. George depends on the dream to save up money and take care of Lennie instead of using all the money like all the other workers. While staying in the cabin, Lennie asked George about their dream. "George, how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' live on the fatta the land and rabbits" (56). George and Lennie's dream has been repeated several times in the story. Each time they describe it, it gives them more will to work and try to accomplish the dream. The dream keeps George and Lennie together so they can work toward their dream. Without the dream, George and Lennie would be different from what they are now. George would be like the other workers, spending all the money right after getting them. And Lennie might be in jail for accused of rape or get bullied by other workers.
A dream that had at one point been something of a fantasy bedtime story that he would tell Lennie to keep him happy had finally almost been turned into a reality. Him, Lennie and Candy all had finally gotten the money to turn their fantasy into a reality, but then circumstance took over and once again snatched someone’s dream right out of their hands much like it seems to so often happen. It very well demonstrates the real impossibility of the American dream back then. At one point George says, “-I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.” (Steinbeck 94). He knew that it was pointless to hope for something that was so unlikely to happen and yet he let himself do it anyways because it was so important to him to keep his best friend happy and full of hope, no matter how much of a pain he was at times. By getting in trouble again Lennie may have brought their dreams crumbling down, but George still never truly got mad at him. I honestly believe that George cared more about his friendship with Lennie than their dream of living off their own piece of land, and that George’s own dream had more to do with living happily with Lennie rather than going around working at all of those lonely ranches. their friendship can be demonstrated be this quote, “Lennie said, “I thought you was mad at me George.”... “No,” said George. “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.” (Steinbeck 106). George had everything going for him then had it all crushed by his circumstances. In the end George is forced to take his own friend’s life and is not only left with a crushed dream, but more grief and pain than any one person should have to
The cool breeze stroked my skin as I flew through the cozy clouds. I was flying above rocky mountains, vast oceans, and colossal skyscrapers, but when I opened my eyes, I was in a classroom chained to a sturdy desk, hearing my second grade teacher give a lecture about American history. While humans tend to anticipate for the day their dreams will become their reality, most people will struggle to accept the way their lives are because their most treasured dreams will only be alive in their fantasies.
John Steinbeck, in his essay America and Americans, uses many contradictions to explain his views on the American Dream. I have witnessed and experienced many of these contradictions in my life. Through my experiences, I have learned to believe that the American dream is no more than just a dream.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows American dream as an unreachable goal for the characters. Of Mice and Men is a novel based on two childhood friends, Lennie and George, who travel together in search of work. Lennie, the gentle giant, has a mental disability and an obsession of petting soft objects. One day, while stroking a girl’s hair, Lennie accidently kills her. And eventually by the end of the novel, George is forced to shoot Lennie. Steinbeck shows American Dream as an unreachable goal because of a character’s standing in the society, their dreams to be unreal and their dependency on other characters.
George and Lennie have to continue to move around the country looking for work until Lennie screws up again. The instability of work only makes it that much harder for them to complete their dream of a farm of their own. Candy’s participation in the dream of the farm upgrades the dream into a possible reality. As the tending of rabbits comes closer to happening fate curses them with the accidental death of Curley’s wife. The end of their wishful thinking is summed up by Candy’s question on page 104, “Then-it’s all off?”