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In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the main theme is revolved around the American Dream. The American Dream is if you come to America, and work hard, you can achieve anything you want in life. The author suggests through many dreams of the characters that the American Dream is unobtainable and a messed-up concept. Geroge and Lennie's dream for a better life, gives hope to both characters through the novel and is ultimately an example of an American Dream. First, as the Night progresses on their first stop to their new job, Lennie asks Geroge if he would tell about their dream because Lennie likes to her that he gets to tend the rabbits, so Geroge begins, "O.K. Someday- we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little …show more content…
house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs...” (15). This quote is their American Dream, and is what George and Lennie are striving for as they are trying to survive.
Their American Dream is what keeps the two of them together, and hopeful for the future each and every day. Next, after Candy showed Geroge Curly's wife lying face down on the ground dead, and they started talking George said, "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."(92). This quote is important because it shows how the American Dream is unobtainable to many people who are on the outskirts of society like Lennie and Geroge. In their society you cannot achieve your dream if you are in a society that doesn’t help disabled. Lennie has a disability which Steinbeck uses to criticize the American Dream. In Summery Steinbeck criticizes the American Dream through George and Lennie's …show more content…
Dreams. Candy and Crooks American Dream is to go with Geroge and Lennie and work on their farm and be accepted.
First, While Geroge and the crew were out Lennie and Crooks were talking about the farm and the rabbits when they started arguing and crooks said, "Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land (72). The importance of this quote is Crooks already knows that if you are on the outskirts of society you can't succeed. Crooks would love to be able to work on the farm with Geroge and Lennie but he already knows that’s not the case. Crooks explains to Lennie about how he has seen many people come by and they don’t succeed either, and figures if those people can't do it what are the odds of and African-American whose disabled could achieve success. Crooks mainly just wants to be accepted but he himself is on the outskirts of society. Crooks live in a racist society stereotyped for white males to succeed. It suggests in the book that he is knowledgeable describing certain books that owns but he can't use his smarts due to the society. Another character who is on the outskirts of society is Candy. After Carlson had shot Candy's dog Lennie asked Geroge to tell them how's it going to be, During the story candy started asking question and finally said,"S'pose I went in with you guys . . . I ain't much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some" (58). Candy is old, lonely, and can't do much of anything due to his hand, but he wants a home to settle down
and have some company all the time. Candy's last family was his dog but Carlson killed it so Candy has no one left that cares about him. Due to this Candy wants to join the dream so he can be cared for and have a secondary family. As Candy states previously, he'll probably get let go because he's disabled and old which puts him on the outskirts of society. Once he gets let go nobody will want him, Geroge and Lennie are his last hope.In Conclusion, the only characters in the novel that have success are Curly and his dad who own a ranch. Based in the Story Curly and his dad are the only two characters who meet the criteria to obtain success. The criteria based on the book are you have to be white rich males who are young and hard-working. Steinbeck uses this to show how restrictive the American Dream is and Steinbeck is making fun of the American Dream throughout all of the failure in the characters.
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
Dreams give people motivation and a sense of hope to not give up when life's hard conditions get in the way of success. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, George Milton has his own “American Dream” where he will live in a house, that he bought with his hard earned money, with Lennie. They will grow their own crops and own farm animals to feed themselves. This dream keeps George motivated to find new jobs when Lennie gets them into trouble. George does not want to give up on working hard and making money on ranches.
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.
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.
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.
In Of Mice and Men one of the main themes is the idea of the american dream. This is one of the more important themes in the book because it plays such a big role in how each character pursued life, and their dreams show a different side of who they are and what they want from life. Many of the characters talk about what their version of the american dream is. Curley’s wife talks about how she wanted to be a movie star. Candy and George both want to own their own land. Crooks dream is to work in lennie's garden. However it remains only a dream for them and they are awaken by the fact that they can't have the perfect american dream. Another way that this idea is used in the book and by characters is that Lennie and George keep faithful
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
The Significance of Dreams in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Works Cited Not Included The term "American Dream" became popular in the 17th century when the
The American Dream has been the ideal way of life to every citizen. Equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and persistence allows people to strive for The American Dream. For others, The Dream might have a different meaning to what the think is achievable. In the essay, “Is the American Dream even possible” John Steinbeck makes accusations about the American Dream and the credibility of it. The American Dream in Steinbeck's perspective is that in reality, The Dream is there to believe but not there to its full potential.
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.
...ing the farm, comfort, independence, more or less Lennie’s half of the dream. This all changes when George kills Lennie, at this point all hope of their dream is crumbled. Since they live in the time of the Great Depression, everyone lives in poverty. Accomplishing the American dream is nearly impossible as Steinbeck suggests, the author wants the reader to infer that the dream is unattainable, due to the time setting of the story, and the main character’s decisions throughout the novella. This American dream is envisioned into millions of peoples of minds, where they believe that anyone can accomplish a better life through hard labor, and ultimately finding happiness when the dream is fulfilled. Each human-being strives to accomplish and fulfill this American dream of theirs. A dream cannot be achieved by wishful thinking, but with hard work and absolute dedication.
Other than being a topic of the novel, The American dream identify with a few characters. Lennie and George's fantasy of owning their little homestead and rabbits with Candy was a case of what a normal American dream was amid the 1930s Great Depression. The Great Depression has changed throughout the year relying upon the condition of the country. Amid the Great Depression the normal dream was simply singular fulfillment. To fulfill one's self amid the Great Depression was distinctive. Getting another or surprisingly better occupation was restricted of gaining fulfillment, yet the place where there is fresh chances to succeed was filled with emergency after the share trading system smashed. The American dream had lost its impact on America amid the 1930s, yet was still vivacious when men like George and Lennie sought after a superior and distinctive life and perpetual miracle into the desire for the better of individual
Throughout the novel many conflicts occur. George and Lennie are often faced with issues. George states, “’ ’Course Lennie’s a god damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him’” (Steinbeck 41). Here, George is referring to the troubles Lennie causes and even though George has this knowledge of Lennie causing trouble, he chooses to stay by his side. This is much like many Americans seeking the American Dream; they know someone will keep them from their dreams by causing trouble but they choose to deal with it. In addition to this, Lennie is forced to muddle through his internal conflicts. George verbalizes, “’Say it over to yourself, Lennie, so you won’t forget it’” (Steinbeck 29). At this point, George reveals Lennie’s mental disability. The internal conflict the disability causes within Lennie often stands in the way of his dreams. Other characters also face conflicts in the novel stopping them from attaining their dreams. One example would be the character Crooks. Crooks states, “’Cause I’m black. They play cards in there but I can’t play because I’m black.’” (...
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.
In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck illustrates the dreams of George,Lennie, and other characters and how these dreams are unrealistic and unattainable .Their dreams were the reason that these characters kept moving forward but because of difficult circumstances the dreams of George,Lennie,Candy and Curley's wife are shattered , they knew that their dream was never really attainable but they still had hope but because they were so greatly impacted by Lennies actions their dreams are never accomplished.