Naidely Pacheco Ms. Krzewski American Literature 21 February, 2018 Of Mice and Men Essay John Steinbeck is a famous American is a famous American author. He wrote many books that take place in the Salinas River during the Great Depression. His most famous book, Of Mice and Men talks about the failure of the American Dream. John Steinbeck uses George, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks to show the failure of the American Dream. First, John Steinbeck uses George to show the failure of the American Dream. George is a small, quick, dark of face, with strong features type of guy. He is a Migrant Worker that just moved away from his town Weed and is looking for a new job. In the story, George and his friend Lennie had ran away from Weed, that …show more content…
Curley’s wife is a beautiful woman she’s the wife of the bosses son and is often lonely because she’s the only woman in the ranch, so she talks with the other guys, and is always looked at as “trouble”. She goes into the barn one day and sees Lennie in there, it's just the two of them, she never has no one to talk to so she begins to tell Lennie about her dream. On page 88 Curley’s Wife says, “ I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’t let me. She says because i was only fifteen. This proves that her dream failed because her mom probably hid the letter and she got married to Curley. As we go into the story, while Curley’s wife is with Lennie in the barn and she tells her about her dream, she tells Lennie to touch her hair she grabs his hand and puts it on her head. Lennie loves to touch soft things so he starts doing it harder and harder so she start freaking out and screams. As Lennie tries to cover her mouth, he breaks her neck and she dies. This proves the American Dream will fail because this shows that anything can happen even when things are going right they can go wrong at anytime and then either you or the dream
into the movies. He said that he would write back however she never received that letter and her naiveté shows in her belief that her mother has stolen a letter (from her 'contact' in Hollywood) which was obviously never written; her immaturity appears in her instant reaction of marrying the loathsome Curley. Finally Curley's wife end up dead because Lennie's mistake, however when Curely's wife was found dead her appearance was not the same. By this I mean when the men found her dead Steinbeck describe her by saying 'and the meanness and the planning's and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.'
Shortly before her death, Curley’s wife shares her life story with Lennie and reveals how she is forced to marry a man she dislikes and give up all hope of achieving her dreams. This is all because she was conned by a boyfriend in the past and now must marry in order to survive. Throughout the novella, she is only known as Curley’s wife and we never learn what her own name is since she is referre...
Overall, John Steinbeck uses the character of George to represent the harshness of 1930s society and how rare companionship was, even though his companionship with Lennie ended
Curley’s wife shows her sympathetic side when she comforts Lennie after he kills the dog. She tells Lennie, “Don’t you worry none” (87). This quote demonstrates trying to connect with someone on the ranch; in this case it is Lennie. She tells him he is not a bad person and tries to keep his dream of tending the rabbits alive. She also says, “You can get another one easy” (87). This quote shows that she is a compassionate human being despite the constant judgment of her personality. Because Curley’s wife is comforting Lennie, he calms down and starts listening to her. Moreover, despite ...
Curley?s wife spent her whole life trying to grab attention. She was always labeled and ignored by everyone on the ranch, an example of this is when George tells Lennie that she was troubled and to stay away from her. Curley?s wife was ignored and used from early on, when she was given false intentions on being a movie star.
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.
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'.
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.
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?
Curley makes sure his wife doesn’t talk to anyone. She is a victim of herself because she married a man that she hardly even knew. She married him though, to have a companion. She killed herself and Lennie because of her need for companionship. She craves companionship because she is an attractive woman with a need for interaction.
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.
Even from the very start of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George’s character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life.
John Steinbeck describes a world where the American dream is simple, yet hard to achieve. In the novel Of Mice And Men, Steinbeck paints a tragic portrait of America in the 1930´s. Steinbeck reveals the struggles and obstacles people faced during the Great Depression. The novel had situations that were tragic as well as major conflicts. The novel is full of complicity and twisting.
For decades, Americans have disputed over the meaning of the American Dream as a whole. However, many have failed to come to the conclusion that there is no universal definition. Instead, the American dream is an amalgamation of diverse hopes and aspirations that vary from person to person depending on his/her morals and lifestyle.
Thus, through working against the pattern, this countermovement makes that pattern more credible by creating the necessary ingredient of free will.” (Licsa 75) This shows how despite it being technically possible to live the American Dream, it realistically won’t happen and our free will ends up messing up our plan. This is symbolic of how low workers potentially could save up, work hard, and improve their lot in life but it is an unrealistic goal and often despite being close to