Being on cloud nine is all fun and games until you’ve been hit with reality. Facing reality is a prominent theme in John Steinbeck's novel, Mice and Men. Ecstatic about owning a piece of land, Candy has to face reality that some things are too good to be true. “You God damn right we’re gonna do it. George says we are. We got the money right now” (Steinbeck 75-76). “Candy spoke his greatest fear. Before George answered, Candy dropped his head and looked down at the hay. He knew” (Steinbeck 94). Subsequently hearing George apprise Lennie about getting a piece of land together, Candy inquired George about the cost of the place, then soliciting him to become a part of their group. In view of the fact that Candy has $350 out of the $600 that is essential to acquire the piece of land, George and Lennie welcome him with open …show more content…
After an unforeseen event occurs before retrieving $250, the trio’s dream of getting a piece of land has demolished unspokenly. As George leaves with his solitaire hand, Candy is left to face reality. After the death of Curley’s wife, George faces reality that he and Lennie can’t live the life they dreamed of. “He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would” (Steinbeck 94) “And he tried to reassure himself. ‘Maybe they’ll lock him ‘im up an’ be nice to ‘im” (Steinbeck 94) Inadvertently snapping Curley’s wife’s neck, Lennie panics and flees to the brush where he was instructed to go to by George. Frowning upon the discovery of Curley’s wife dead, George realizes that he can’t untangle Lennie out of the knots he created. He faces reality that he is incapable of being Lennie’s saviour each time he does unintentional harm. As dreams are shattered, George has the knowledge that locking Lennie up will only cause pain thus saving Lennie from himself by ending his life. Deaths threats by Curley’s wife has forced Crooks to face reality that no man of color will have substantial
As we journey through life, we must make difficult decisions, even when few options exist and the situation is grim. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the decision George faces after Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife is complicated, as none of his choices are good. The importance of his relationship with Lennie forces George to look at the big picture and act in Lennie’s best interests, even though the action he must finally take will result in a weight that he will carry forever.
Candy thought "I am not going to no one for help. This ranchers was thrilled to kill Lennie and now they don't even care about George who was caught in their place."
In fact, near the ending of the story, he unintentionally snapped Curley’s wife’s neck trying to quiet her (91). Failing to recognize his own strength, Lennie accidentally took her life, proving that he was perilous. By shooting Lennie, George prevented Lennie from accidentally injuring or killing anyone ever again. His verdict was correct in view of the fact that he sacrificed his friend’s life with the intention to protect the lives of others. Furthermore, George’s decision protected Lennie. As a punishment for his deeds, The workers wanted Lennie executed. George realized this and told candy, “Curley’s gon’ta wanta get ‘i'm lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed,” (94). In consequence of killing Curley’s wife, Lennie unknowingly put himself in harm's way. Curley’s motive for wanting to kill Lennie was spite and revenge. So, instead of allowing Lennie to be murdered alone and afraid, George took matters into his own hands and made sure his friend died knowing he was cared for and full of hope. Through it's ironic, George’s choice protected Lennie from the malice of others, thus keeping him unafraid and unharmed. However, others may believe
George is almost certain is will happen, as he wishes for 'a little house' with a 'few acres' of land to grow their own food. This is also important as it shows that in 1930s America, the main goal was to achieve stability, to be able to rely on yourself and not be worried about getting 'canned' everyday and to live, not only survive on the bare minimum. However, even George's simple dreams seem incredibly unrealistic and Crooks sums this up the best as he says 'nobody never gets to heaven and nobody never gets no land' which shows how many people attempted to acheive the same thing, to achieve stability, however no one ever did. At the end of the novel, George's dream comes to an abrupt stop as he has to kill Lennie. These final moments show how short life in 1930s America was, and how unfair situations were. Even though Candy still offered to give George his savings, George chose the solitude life of a ranch worker as Lennie was part of his dream, and how he couldn't even seem to reconsider living the American dream without him shows the reader how much Lennie meant to him.
Steinbeck describes Candy right after the men hear the shot that kills the dog. Candy's loneliness over the loss of his dog is short lived as he becomes part of George's and Lennie's plan to get their own farm. In fact, Candy makes the dream seem almost possible because he has saved $300 which he will contribute to the price of the property George can buy. The three men believe that one day they will up and leave the ranch and go live on their own "little piece of land." In the end, however, Candy is plunged back into despair and loneliness after he discovers Lennie has killed Curley's wife. The dream is shattered. He poignantly communicates his feelings over the loss at the end of chapter five: “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.” He sniveled, and his voice shook. “I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys.” He paused, and then went on in a singsong. And he repeated the old words: “If they was a circus or a baseball game .
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
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.
Curley’s wife represents her broken dreams of becoming an actress. Lennie and George represent a dream in progress, it is uncertain if their plans will work out as intended or plummet before takeoff, even Crooks and Candy see the appeal in Lennie and George’s fantasy and join them. The dream in progress gives hope to Lennie and George and continued to even after losing previous jobs. Curley’s wife is constantly restricted, she married Curley so that she would no longer be alone but now is in the same state as before, just on a ranch of men. She tries to talk to the other men but she is then seen as "jail bait" and avoided, making her even lonelier. Her dream of being an actress has failed because she chose a quick way out and married Curley. She is now living in her failure and has no longer a dream to aim for. Perhaps the most important part of the story is the the part in which Lennie has accidentally killed the puppy given to him by Slim, and is grieving over him in the barn, “This ain’t no bad thing like I got to go hide in the brush. Oh! no. This ain’t. I’ll tell George I foun’ it dead.” He unburied the puppy and inspected it, and he stroked it from ears to tail. He went on sorrowfully, “But he’ll know. George always knows. He’ll say, ‘You done it. Don’t try to put nothing over on me.’ An’ he’ll say, ‘Now jus’ for that you don’t get to tend no rabbits!” (Steinbeck, 85) He feels powerless to his own strength, he believes that he will never achieve his dream because of his mistake. George and the other men are out once again and the only person who comes to his emotional aid is none other than Curley’s wife. “Don’t you worry about talkin’ to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four dollars bet in that tenement. None of them ain’t gonna leave till it’s over.” “If George sees me talkin’ to you he’ll give me hell,” Lennie said cautiously.” (Steinbeck, 85) He
Also, the theme of the American Dream is presented in Of Mice and Men through the character of Candy. Candy is an old farm hand who is becoming of not much use around the farm anymore. Candy knows that desperate times call for desperate measures so he goes in on George and Lennie’s plan to buy a little farm. This is shown when candy says “It’ll be our own place.”(Steinbeck,60) Candy shows great spirit throughout the book and really shows off the good aspects of the American Dream. It is only until the end of the book until the plan to go away starts to be questioned. He starts saying questions like ”You an’ me can get that little place cant we, George?”(Steinbeck,94) This denial was once again recognized my Kevin Attell, who said “George and Lennie’s dream is specifically necessitated by and responds to the limitations played on their lives.”(Attell) By using Candy as a character striving for the American Dream, the fact that the dream is attainable to all is presente...
Although George is angry with Lennie, he reassures Lennie all is well and retells him the story of their farm. George relinquishes the American dream of owning a farm and the chance of a better life with Lennie. He is now fully aware that all of his plans and dreams amount to nothing. George also realizes he is just a lowly migrant worker with no future; he will never own a little piece of land to call home sweet home. Lennie gives George a sense of meaning and purpose in life. The death of Lennie gives way to the death of their American dream
Candy is an elderly man working on the farm with his dog who was killed tragically because the men on the farm perceived the dog as useless. With the passing of his dog, Candy grew mindful of death and yearned to die happy and have something to call his own before death. After overhearing Lennie and George plan to buy land, Candy wanted to be a part of the plan. Candy declared,"I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain't got no relatives or nothing…" (Steinbeck 59). Candy was willing to give money despite the fact that he might not live to see the day where the men got their own land. He had no relatives but had felt a need to help these men achieve their dreams. At this stage in his life, Candy understood the significance that family played in the day to day life and wanted to have a chance to be happy. Candy’s actions gave George and Lennie hope they'd never had before. ENDING
John Steinbeck highlights the theme of hope in his novel Of Mice and Men to show how difficult it was to keep hope during the Great Depression. This is shown through four characters, Lennie, George, Crooks and Candy. During most of the book, George and Lennie have hope for getting some land. Lennie always wants to talk about it, always trying to squeeze it into conversation. He is always making George tell the story, always making George repeat himself. “We gonna get a little place. We’ll have a cow an’ we’ll have maybe a pig and chickens...an’ down the flat we’ll have a little piece of alfalfa…” (Steinbeck, 1937, p. 105). He is constantly cheering on himself and George about getting that plot of land, making sure they both keep hope through the tough times.
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?”
Candy was old and had little left to live for, but buying the farm with George and Lennie kept him motivated. “You an’ me can get that little place, can’t
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men conveys the theme of the “American Dream” and explores it’s plausibility for the beaten, downtrodden members of society. The novel’s theme of the “American Dream” is conveyed through Gorge and Lennie’s constant pursuit of “the farm” and a stabile life. The companionship between Gorge and Lennie is symbolic of hope and belief in the “American Dream”. Steinbeck portrays to American dream as being on the verge of fruition, but just out of reach due to factors beyond their control. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is symbolic of the American Dream and the pursuit of security.