How Does Lennie Reach For The American Dream

In the novel Of Mice and Men, the theme of reaching for the American Dream runs throughout the entire story. It is evident that all of the characters, especially George and Lennie, want to obtain some form of the American Dream. As they come in contact with other people at the ranch, their thoughts and ideas shift from what they originally set out to do. Multiple situations that occur throughout the story decrease the chances of most of the characters accomplishing the American Dream.
Lennie’s personality plays a large factor in his and George’s ability to reach the American Dream. Lennie is slow and does not act completely normal because he is mentally challenged. He is fond of things that other people would consider bizarre and uncanny.

Society would criticize anyone that has a mental condition like Lennie’s. In the text Lennie says, “I like to pet nice things with my fingers, sof’ things” (Steinbeck 90). This quotation shows that Lennie does have unnatural affections and his actions prove that Lennie is not like most other people. The quotation also lets on that Lennie’s fondness of petting things might lead to trouble. George knows this too because he designates a hiding place for Lennie to go to in case he got into trouble. Lennie also says, “Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice. I didn’t bounce you hard” (Steinbeck 85). Lennie pet the dog so roughly that he killed it. His behavior and subsequent thoughts are not what one would consider normal. Lennie’s flaws are not typically accepted by society and prove to be disadvantages to him that hinder the chances of him and George obtaining their dream.
A situation that minimizes the chances of the characters accomplishing the American Dream is when Lennie crushes Curley’s hand. Curley goes into the bunk house itching to pick a fight with anyone. Lennie ends up Curley’s victim. While fighting, Curley scares Lennie which causes Lennie to grab onto Curley’s hand and not let go. George and Slim eventually get Lennie to loosen his grip, but Curley’s hand ends up badly injured. By harming Curley, Lennie puts his and George’s future at the ranch at risk. If Curley were to inform his father about the incident, Lennie and George would be kicked off the ranch and their chances of achieving the American Dream would be ruined. In the text Slim says, “I think you got your han’ caught in a machine. If you don’t tell nobody what happened, we ain’t going to” (Steinbeck 64). This quotation shows that the other ranchers know as well as Lennie and George do what will result if Curley tells his father what happened. Slim’s command shows that if Curley tells anyone about what Lennie did, then the chances of achieving the American Dream for George and Lennie significantly decreases.
A situation that is even more important in decreasing the chances of reaching the American Dream is when George went into town and wasted his money with some of the other men. Even though George seems to want to save up his money to buy the farmhouse, when he goes into town, his actions prove otherwise. If George really wanted to save his money, he would have stayed back at the ranch with Lennie. In the story Crooks says, “An’ where’s George now? In town in a whore house. That’s where your money’s goin’” (Steinbeck 76). Even though George is determined to reach the American Dream, he acts just like a lot of people who fantasize about success since he wants to fit in with the other ranchers and ultimately just enjoy himself in the moment instead of thinking about the future. Crooks also says, “Seems like ever’ guy got land in his head” (Steinbeck 75). This quotation shows that when the ranchers assume that they will obtain the money to buy the land, they are more focused on what they want to have in the future than on how they will get it. Crooks says both, “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads” and “Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land” (Steinbeck 74). Both of these quotations support the fact that unless you are really committed and determined to reach your goals, no one will really be able to achieve that success. Crooks’s speculations make Lennie and Candy think twice about whether or not they can trust George to save the money allowing them to achieve their dream.
The event that immediately ends all hope of achieving the American Dream for Lennie, George, and Candy is when George and Candy find Curley’s wife dead.

With Lennie now out of the picture, George’s hope to reach the dream completely subsides. In the story George says, “-I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her” (Steinbeck 94). This quotation shows that George did not have faith in achieving the dream from the beginning. By Lennie having so much confidence in the dream, it made George start to believe that they could accomplish it. Without Lennie there to urge him on though, George finally sees the flaws in their plan and how it could never have really taken place. George also says, “He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would” (Steinbeck 94). George and Lennie always wanted to buy land together so it would be just the two of them and they could live however they chose to. After finding out what was going to happen to Lennie, George could not bear to go out and purchase the property because in his mind, Lennie was the one that really wanted to get the land and kept the hope of the dream alive. After losing Lennie, George realizes how much Lennie meant to both him and the chances of reaching their American

Dream.
All of these situations lead to George, Lennie, and Candy not being able to reach the American Dream. As this book proves, sometimes it is not one big event that triggers failure, it could be multiple small situations that lead to not attaining your goals. All of George and Lennie’s actions, from going into town, breaking Curley’s hand, and ultimately Lennie’s death, contribute to the fact that they will not be able to achieve their fantasy. Although this story does not show exactly how life was like living in the past, it does accurately depict that even though a lot of people expect to eventually get their own land and achieve success, only a few will ever be able to accomplish it.