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The american dream
The nature of the American dream
The american dream
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When I was asked what my opinion about the American Dream, I thought about The Novel, Of Mice and Men. I thought about George and Lennie and all the struggles they faced. The American Dream to these characters was their friendship. Their friendship included a brotherly relationship, hardships, and death. George and Lennie had a little brother and big brother relationship. Lennie counted on George to keep him safe and George protected Lennie. Sometimes this was hard for George but he still did it. George was always looking out for Lennie because Lennie was not all there mentally. Because of this, George thought he had to protect Lennie. Every place they went to they always had too had to run away from. Lennie would always do something wrong, so people would be looking for him. So they both would have to skip town and start …show more content…
At the end of the book, Lennie found himself in a sticky situation. He ended up killing someone and once again they were on the run. George finally got mad enough and he killed Lennie. I feel like George was tired of having to skip town. I feel like he had to kill Lennie because it would keep happening. I know George felt bad, but he knew it was his only option. George only shot Lennie because he was protecting him from a painful and scary death. George wanted to make sure Lennie died peacefully. If I was in George’s shoes I would do the same thing. I wouldn’t want the angry people to hang him or kill him because of something he did mean to do. But on a different note the way I was raised I would not be able to do it. I don’t think I could shot him after everything we had been through together. All the things they did together and all the different place they had been to I think that would make it hard for me. I asked a lot of people to tell me what they would do if they were in George shoes. Could they shoot Lennie? The answer was no. And then I ask why? And they said they couldn’t take someone
Would you be able to kill your lifelong companion? George Milton had to make that choice in John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men. After a whole bunch of misadventures with his mentally handicapped giant, Lennie Small. Lennie accidently murdered a woman out of innocence. While the ranch men search for Lennie, George made the decision to give Lennie a merciful death. I believe that George should have killed Lennie because he would have been put in an institution, Curley would have been cruel to him, and George had to give him a merciful death.
In chapter one, George and Lennie are introduced onto the scene and you get to know them a little bit and you get to see how they are related/ their relationship. When I read this first part, I could tell that George was pretty much Lennie’s caretaker and it was his job to find Lennie a job and make sure he ate enough and stayed a live. He kind of resented having to drag Lennie around (pg 11~12: “Well we ain’t got any!” George exploded. “Whatever we ain’t got, you want. If I was alone I could live so easy… But wadda I got? I got you. You can’t keep a job and you loose me every job I get.”), because Lennie’s a bit slow and he messes up a lot. He tries really hard to be good and listen to what George tells him to do, but in the end of every situation, Lennie forgets what George told him beforehand and sometimes it creates a little trouble (pg 45~46: “Well, he seen this girl in this red dress. Dumb like he is, he likes to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do. Well, this girl just squawks and squawks. I was jus’ a little bit off, and I heard all the yellin’, so I comes running, an’ by that time Lennie’s so scared all he can think to do is jus’ hold on. I socked him over the head with a fence picket to make him let go. He was so scairt he couldn’t let go of the dress. And he’s so strong, you know… Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she’s been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in an irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day.”). But when you look at them, you can tell that George is...
In ending of "Of Mice And Men", George kills Lennie after he killed Curley's wife. However, I can still feel sympathy towards George, and see his action as justifiable. In the beginning of the book I had sympathy towards George. The book starts with George talking to Lennie and from this you learn a lot about their relationship. After Lennie asks for ketchup, which they can't get, George gets angry at Lennie and says, “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble" (6). This shows the reader that George has given up a lot to take care of Lennie. He has given up his job security and a lot of his happiness because he takes care of Lennie. In chapter 3, the reader finds out how George and Lennie started traveling together, and from this the reader can infer that George travels
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
George wanted to be alone, away from Lennie because he could earn a lot more money without worrying about Lennie. George wants Lennie gone so he could live life without getting into so much trouble like Lennie does. When Lennie gets into trouble then they both get into trouble. George needed Lennie gone in general weather he had to kill him or
George realizes in the end of the book Lennie has done too much harm and needs to essentially go away. George then shoots Lennie in the back of the head because Lennie couldn't live on his own if he were to run away from Curly and the rest of the gang of workers coming after him. George did the right thing
George kills Lennie because he did not want to witness Lennie being hurt or killed carelessly, run off by in his own and not being able to take care for himself, and Lennie’s mental disorder will never change how Lennie reacts to certain situations. Many believe taking the life of another without consent is unacceptable but in certain situations like George’s, he has to decide due to Lennie’s mental disorder that was leading him into unpleasant situations. George is an admirable character who choose to protect and do justice to his distressed friend,
Lennie was not very smart and couldn't do much by himself. He had to be told what to do or he wouldn't do anything at all. He fits all the profiles for a retarded person. He doesn't have any self-control. When he starts to panic he gets out of control and even kills Curly's wife because she starts to scream. Lennie loves animals and can't stop talking about them. He always says that when they get their own place that he wants lots of rabbits, his favorite animal. To him George is like his father figure, since Lennie never really had any parents. He is easily amused and panics quickly.
In conclusion, George killing Lennie was a murder because of lack of consent and Lennie was not suffering physically. In this society, people are scared of the unknown, and that is how they lived. No one realized what they were doing was wrong. But Lennie was just like everyone else, only different because of a small, mental setback. The characters did not seem to realize that Lennie believed in a future ahead of him, and that he had hopes and dreams just like them. Life is incredibly short, and no one should deserve
What truly led up to this, and how would the story have gone differently if George had not killed Lennie? As aforementioned, they lived in the Great Depression, a time where achieving the American Dream was almost impossible to do, especially with all the farms being lost in Oklahoma. Most of the character's perspective of Lennie was that he was most simply a passive aggressive retard. Later in the novel the reader notices that he is incredibly strong which serves to positive and negative effects in the story.
The phrase the American dream is contradictory to it’s meaning. The American dream was for most people just that, a dream. However, these very people had their hopes dashed and were forever lost. One could argue that a much more fitting and appropriate name for the American dream might as well be the American nightmare. In the 1920’s and early 30’s, the American dream was a beacon of hope as well as prosperity for anyone unfortunate enough to fall under it’s alluring curse, with an exception of a handful of people. What was given instead of this promise of wealth and dreams, what was given was the deterioration of dreams, and usually lives. Sadly, Lennie Small, from Of Mice and Men as well as Jay Gatsby, from The Great Gatsby was not the exceptions.
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.
George and Lennie were a great example of friendship in this story. George took care of Lennie after his Aunt Clara died which he didn’t have to, but he choose to do it. Along the way George and Lennie were creating a true friendship which almost made them look like brothers. George killed Lennie because he accidentally killed Curley's wife. George did not want Lennie to know curley was coming for him so he killed Lennie. He killed Lennie because Lennie would’ve gone through a lot if Curley caught him. Would you do that if you were in George’s
After Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attack. He had the moral clarity that let him see that killing Lennie was the best thing for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing.
George did not want to kill Lennie, but at the same time, he did not want him to have to suffer the horrible consequences; he knew that Lennie’s death would be beneficial to Lennie in the future. Furthermore, George knew what was best for Lennie and decided to kill him for his own good.