All throughout time, dreams have been fuel for one to keep going and something a person will put everything on the line for. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the importance of dreams by giving meaning to character’s lives and futures, how dreams give life purpose and give one’s day a cause, and showing what people will sacrifice for their dreams. Throughout the novel, George and Lennie use their dream as a motivator to persevere through the hardships of being a migrant worker and sacrifice many things in hopes of achieving their American dream, owning and living off their own land. In the beginning, dreams are depicted to give not only one’s life, but their future, meaning. George tells Lennie the story of their dream and what …show more content…
After Lennie accidently kills his puppy he thinks George will no longer let him tend the rabbits, a big part of his dream, and cries out, “Oh! No… I’ll tell George I foun’ it dead”(85). Lenny is willing to sacrifice the truth and lie to George, his closest friend and protector, just so he can accomplish the dream that he constantly fantasizes about. In addition, Curley’s wife tells Lennie about her dreams to be a star and how they were unattainable at home explaining, “Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself…So I married Curly”(88). Curley’s wife sacrifices the life she is used to at home in order to be in a position in which she could further her dream, which she thought would be attainable by marrying Curley. The character’s desperation to accomplish their dreams remains at the forefront of the reader’s mind because it causes them to examine how far they would go and what they would sacrifice to obtain their dreams. Dreams give a unified sense to a person’s life and future, they give one’s days motivation, and encourage one to put their heart on the line in order to achieve their aspirations which is showcased by the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Dreams are what fuel society and one’s actions. These lifelong goals are vital to keep one stable and to feel that one has a purpose in the world. One may be surprised at the lengths they will go to in order to procure their
Of Mice and Men and A Raisin in the Sun Dreams Make What Life 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.
...l Lennie painlessly. Ultimately, George witnesses the end of their dream. George had finally understands the truth that dreaming in this world is only still a dream ultimately as Crooks’ said.
“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” This quote from Walt Disney addressing the concept of achieving dreams is very accurate, and can be seen throughout literature today and in the past. Dreams can give people power or take away hope, and influence how people live their lives based upon whether they have the determination to attack their dreams or not; as seen through characters like the speaker in Harlem by Langston Hughes and Lena and Walter Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in The Sun.
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
The point of living is so that you can accomplish something by the time you die. Therefore hopes and dreams are the driving force of life. Hopes and dreams are exactly what kept the two migrant workers, George and Lennie, going on in life. Their ambition of one day having a farm of their own is what makes Lennie and George work as hard as they do. The theme of these ambitions being deleterious is what makes up the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Even though the ambitions that the characters of the story have could show to be better for them and be their fresh start if proven pointless, the theme of the book Of Mice and Men is that ambitions are deleterious because for Lennie and George their hopes of one
In Of Mice and Men, it seems an incontrovertible law of nature that dreams should go unfulfilled. From George and Lennie’s ranch to Curley’s wife’s stardom, the characters’ most cherished aspirations repeatedly fail to materialize. However, the fact that they do dream—often long after the possibility of realizing those dreams has vanished—suggests that dreaming serves a purpose in their lives. What the characters ultimately fail to see is that, in Steinbeck’s harsh world, dreams are not only a source of happiness but a source of misery as well.
George and Lennie live in a hopeless present but they somehow try to keep a foot in an idealized future. They dream of one day running their own ranch, safe and answerable to no one. Others such as Curley's wife dreams of being a movie star, Crooks, of hoeing his own patch and Candy's couple of acres'.The dream ends with the death of Lennie.
Although Lennie could not live like a normal adult, he still dreams of a better life filled with the things he desired. Lennie constantly badgers George about the story of the farm where they hope to eventually reside. Lennie sees a place where he faces no adversities, and Lennie dreams of tending the rabbits, stroking their fur and feeding them handfuls of alfalfa. “When they have their farm, as George tells him at the end, Lennie will not need to be scared of bad things any more, and he can tend the rabbits and pet them… Their farm is a place where they can live together, have animals and, in general, feel safe. Lennie has little memory, but the story of their dream is one he knows by heart” (Lennie). In a child- like vision, Lennie still sees the farm he and George often dream about and discuss. Lennie will never forget about the farm until they have achieved their goal. Lennie realizes the farm will be a place of leisure where he can simply tend the rabbits. Lennie always believes and chases after their nearly impossible American
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
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Hopes and Dreams Help People to Survive, Even if they can Never. Become Real How is this true for George and Lennie/ the characters in ‘Of Mice and the.. Men’. An important theme in ‘Of Mice and Men’ is that of hope and dreams. The main dream is that of George and Lennie to own a smallholding and work self-sufficiently.
"Come on George, tell me, like how you done it before .". "You get a kick out of it don't you; well here it goes like ." (13) George has told Lennie about their dream many times and yet Lennie always wants to hear it one more time. It was been told to Lennie so many times that even he can memorize the dream, meaning Lennie really loves the dream and even want to hear it more. Dreams can give people the will to live and the will to fight. People can lose their will to live or to achiever their goal if the dream is lost. Dream is the most important thing for George and Lennie because it's the only thing they can depend on to live.
In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck portrays dreams as being unattainable. Most of the characters in the book want to have something of their own to be happy but most of their dreams are never fulfilled because of different factors. Even Crooks the stable buck knew that dreams are never really attainable. After lennie tells crooks about the land crooks says “Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’... and nobody gets no land”(pg 74). Crooks who as seen many men with the same dreams as george knew it was never really attainable.
We all have a dream, but the difference is how we realise our dream, how we obtain our dream, and how our dream changes us. This is evident in our learning of dreams and aspirations through the texts Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? by Lasse Hallström, and through my own studies of Million Dollar Baby by Clint Eastwood. These three highly acclaimed texts represent the same ideas on dreams and aspirations, which can be defined as hope, desire or the longing for a condition or achievement, but these texts express the same ideas differently, shaping our understanding of dreams and aspirations.