The American Dream knows no limits, nor can it be confined to one simple definition. It is clear that the author, John Steinbeck, wants to emphasize to his audience the various desires of Americans and the relationship between his characters and their version of the American Dream. Of Mice and Men is a novella that depicts the tale of two farm hands working through the adversities of the Great Depression, an economic crisis impacting every American from 1929 to 1939. This economic depression made it nearly impossible for any American to achieve financial security, or their dream. George and Lennie, the main protagonists, encounter a man named Crooks, a lonely stable worker. John Steinbeck explores the theme of yearning for the American Dream …show more content…
“We'd just live there. We'd be there for you. There wouldn't be no more runnin' round the country and gettin' fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we'd have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunt house.” (Steinbeck, 58) George explains his vision of his desired life to one of his fellow farmhands, Candy. George’s American dream is to finally have a place where he belongs after living a lonely nomadic lifestyle for such a long while. This theme and reasoning is also explored in another quote, "I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me every’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst.” (Steinbeck, 11) George is clearly bothered by having to worry about Lennie getting in trouble and having to constantly run away from conflict. It becomes evident to the reader that all George wants to do is live a stable life and be free from having to work for others. Although not impossible, it will take hard work from George to be able to afford his American …show more content…
“'Cause I'm black. They play cards there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” (Steinbeck, 68) Crooks is a solitary stable worker on the farm who comes off as rude to Lennie upon first meeting him due to his experiences with racism and segregation on the farm. He opens up to Lennie and tells him that the only reason why he isn’t with the other men is because of his skin colour. He is out of control in his situation, and never once alludes to choosing not to have friends; he simply cannot have them due to him being considered an
The theme that John Steinbeck amits from the novel Of Mice and Men is not everyone’s american dream can come true because one wants it to. This alludes to a famous poem by Robert Burns called “To a Mouse”. The theme of this poem is the greatest schemes of mice and men often go astray. Meaning that things do not always go as one plans it to. The novel is set in the Great Depression (1929-1939) in Southern California (near Soledad). Characters in the novel such as George and Crooks have obstacles that hold them back from achieving their own american dreams. George is held back from his by having to care of Lennie, who cannot take care of himself. Crooks is held back from his american dream because of his skin color.
Thomas Hobbes in his Leviathan states that, "in the state of nature mans life is nasty, brutish and short". In depression era America, no greater truth could be said. There were millions unemployed, largely unskilled and living on the margins of society. The lowest of the low were the migrant labourers travelling from place to place trying to scratch a living. They often had to travel illegally by freight car with all its consequent dangers. Their life expectancy was low, crime was rampant and despair was a fellow traveller. This is the setting of John Steinbeck's, 'Of Mice and Men'.
The American Dream is a dream that everyone imagines to be picture perfect. The American Dream means having freedom, equality and opportunity’s to achieve the dream that you conceptualize to be right by you. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck did not want to just illustrate the American dream as being easy, but he wanted to point out the American Dream as being difficult too. Steinbeck made a work of art by composing a great novel to make the reader understand that life can be difficult and at times dreams are hard to achieve. Of Mice and Men was written and based on the settings of the Great Depression (Anderson). The Great Depression was a very dire time that left multiple of people despondent and the unavailing to move on with their lives. The Great Depression created a world where everyone had to seek and survive for themselves. In the novel Steinbeck wanted to explore and point out how powerless people where during the time of the Great Depression. Steinbeck purposely incorporated his characters to depict the life struggle of what people go through during grim times. In the novel, Steinbeck illustrated a great set of characters Lennie, George, Candy and Crooks. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck discusses handicaps, hardships, and friendships of the characters.
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
It is the natural inclination of all men and women to dream. In John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men,” the American dream is sought after by many different characters. However, the main theme in the story is how these dreams are unattainable, and how because of the Great Depression, all American dreams were dead. But what is the American dream? A unitary definition does not exist, however, the meaning of living the American dream is something that differs for everyone. For some people, the American dream might be acceptance and equality. On the other hand, for others, it might mean fame and fortune. In the short story called “Of Mice and Men” the American dream seems unreachable for a number of characters, such as George, Lennie, Curlie’s Wife, Crooks, and Candy. Although the characters dreams seem eclectic, they all aspire to grasp the same thing: the fulfillment of life. George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own land and to live independently crumbles because of Lennie’s stupidity and strength, which he knows not of. In contrast, Curley's wife dreams of becoming an actress l...
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
Of Mice and Men is a story set during the 1930's America, this was a
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.
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.
Motivation is the will to do something. Life has many different levels of motivation; achieving something, attempting to achieve something, and not trying it achieve something. Motivation can be applied to the American Dream. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the levels of motivation are clearly evident, this affects the process of how the characters achieve their dreams. Of Mice and Men is a story of two migrant workers, how they deal with their American Dream, and the troubles of working on a ranch during The Great Depression. The Characters of Of Mice and Men are going through these levels of motivation and achievement. Through the Characters George and Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks the stable buck, Steinbeck illustrates that the American Dream is achievable through hard work, dedication, and lots motivation.
John Steinbeck skillfully uses the characters in “Of mice and men” to reflect the problem with the American dream. Each character has or had a dream thinking they can do it as long as they put in the effort, however as it is shown many times throughout the novel it is not always true. George, Lennie, and Candy are hard workers but are never usually rewarded to enjoy the fruits of their labor, Crooks has seen many people out for the same dream but just couldn’t do it, and Curley’s Wife has been given so many opportunities to be famous or something greater but something was always stopping her. The definition of the American dream has been changed many times throughout history, during the setting of the story it was the pursuit of material benefits, but today it promises to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to pursue a personal vision that promotes faith and happiness, it was more corrupt in the 1930’s than it is today so it is not as big as a defect but instead has been almost
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” -To a Mouse by Robert Burns. This quote perfectly explains much of what happens in Of Mice and Men and the impossibility of the American dream. The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck takes place in the great depression and follows the characters George and Lennie in their attempt at achieving the American dream. George and Lennie work on a ranch and have traveled around working on different ranches as their main source of work. Lennie is mentally challenged and gets in trouble a lot, so George always has to save their necks. Their main goal in life is to eventually stop working on the ranches and eventually get their
The American Dream by default is a selfish and materialistic concept based on an individual having more than his neighbour; and always striving to have more, no matter how much they’ve gained. Of Mice and Men explores the American Dream as an individual seemingly impossible dream evolving into a communal, increasingly realistic future; reshaping the possibility of what the American Dream means to me. Throughout Of Mice and Men there is a multitude of different individual dreams that range in varying levels of stereotypical ideals to small innocent desires, however, when these dreams collide there suddenly becomes hope to even the most hopeless of characters. From the different dreams inside a shared dream – to “Live off the fatta the lan’”
The American Dream is an impractical feat to seize. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, two best friends discover the hardships of the Great Depression in Salinas Valley, California. George is a short, intelligent, hard worker. The foil to George’s character is his best friend, Lennie, who is tall, unintelligent, and mentally challenged. Lennie is holding George back from achieving the American Dream. As the novella continues, different views of individual’s dreams are revealed. Steinbeck uses a variety of themes throughout the novella but they all relate to the main theme; that the American Dream is unachievable.
Dreams, even those that are unrealistic, encompass and motivate everyone. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck each main characters possess their own dream to propel them forward and each of these dreams are cleverly utilized by Steinbeck to present his theme of the great depression ripping dreams asunder. In order to determine whether the major dreams were destroyed, one must analyze what each dream was, the realistic possibilities, the motivation for each and the opposing forces. George and Lennie’s dream of a future life seems quite possible as they are motivated and are close to their goal; however upon closer inspection it the impossibility of their quest is discovered. The second major dream Curley’s wife’s dream is presented as a failure and after investigation the reader comprehends why. Thus, each of the important dreams feature senses of reality due to their necessity to the character, but are easily suspended as the characters continue their path in life.