The American Dream in Of Mice and Men In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the dream of characters Lennie and George to convey his view on the American dream; it is an unattainable fantasy, out of reach for most people. In Lennie and George’s case they dream of buying a small ranch where they can, “live offa the fatta the lan’,” and more importantly they would, “jus’ live there… belong there. (57)” This dream sounds utopic to Lennie and George, but also to any average ranch hand. George describes the men that work on ranches as hopeless and aimless, earning money only to, “go inta town and blow their stake,” almost always followed by, “poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. (13)” This cyclical, nomadic lifestyle of the typical working …show more content…
George does not keep close enough track on Lennie, and Lennie inadvertently commits a crime that causes their entire plan of buying the ranch to unravel. Though a grand example of the American dream’s elusiveness, the demise of Lennie and George’s plans is one of several ways Steinbeck communicates his skepticism of the American dream. Curley’s wife is a prime example of someone scorned by the American dream. The core of Curley’s wife’s dream is to be noticed and paid attention to. On the surface she tried to live out this dream by going to Hollywood to become an actress, but her mother and meeting Curley squashed this dream. Though even after her marriage, this dream still remained. Curley’s wife was desperately lonely and still sought attention even if it was through provocative poses, excessive make up, and flirtatious behavior. When even those tactics fail her, she talks to the only person willing to be in her company, Lennie. This proves tragic, as her final attempt at receiving attention results in Lennie killing her and her dream. Steinbeck uses Curley’s Wife’s character to convey how the American dream is not only unachievable but can also be detrimental. Overall, the impossibleness of Lennie and George’s dream mirrors Steinbeck’s opinion on the never attainable American
Life for ranchers in the 1930’s was very lonely. They have no family, and they do not belong anywhere. They come to the ranch, earn their pay, go into town, waste their money, and start all over again at another ranch. They have nothing to look forward to. But George and Lennie are different; it is not like that for them because they have each other. It was George and Lennie’s dream to own a piece of land and a farm. That dream is long gone. In the story, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley caused the death of his wife and Lennie’s death; Curley also shattered George and Lennie’s dream.
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
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'.
Everyone has a dream they hope to achieve, but dreams are not always possible to attain. In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, two ranch hands, George and Lennie, find work in Salinas Valley. Lennie, constantly getting into trouble, inadvertently causes the two of them to be run out of town and thus have to find new work regularly. George and Lennie's search for work in the hope of accomplishing their dream of a small farm of their own displays how futile realizing dreams can be.
Of Mice and Men is a story set during the 1930's America, this was a
In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck reflects the conception of the fleeting American dream in the characters of George, Lennie, and Crooks. Steinbeck depicts the harsh reality that migrant workers, most likely, would not achieve their dream through George and Lennie’s failure to gain
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.
Curley’s wife has lost her dream and she lives an unhappy life. “An’ a guy tol’ me he could put me in pitches…” (Steinbeck 78). You can tell her dreams were crushed by her mom. By this she is unhappy and hates her life right now. ‘“I never got that letter,”’ “I always thought my ol’ lady stole it” ( 88). The director didn’t write to her. She gave up on her chances to be in the movies. “I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella” (89). She is living an unhappy life. She is very lonely since Curly is the only person she has to talk with.
John Steinbeck, in his essay America and Americans, uses many contradictions to explain his views on the American Dream. I have witnessed and experienced many of these contradictions in my life. Through my experiences, I have learned to believe that the American dream is no more than just a dream.
Curley’s Wife is no exception to this belief of Steinbeck’s. Always wanting to be an actress since a young age, her dreams have been shut down on multiple occasions, mainly by her mother. “I met one of the actors. He says I could go with the show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’ let me. She says because I was on’y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet.” -(Pg. 88). Being a hopeless dreamer, Curley’s wife dreams of a better life, a life where she weren’t lonely and despised by the men of the ranch. Even with her being married, it made no difference. Curley didn’t provide any love or affection to his wife. Unfortunately her loneliness is was lead Curley’s wife to her demise. All she wanted was a friend, and in the end, she never got one.
Everyone has a dream; it can be either short term goals or a long term desire for something extraordinary. Despite the circumstances, Americans during the Great Depression are longing for the better life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. American Dream is a significant recurring motif in the novel, Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck, the author of the novel, predominantly portrays the characters, George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife chasing their dreams with their fantasies of attaining freedom and eternal happiness. Thus, Steinbeck views American Dream as fragile and fanciful hope from workers during the Great Depression. He portrays loneliness, power and weakness and inequality as a way to comment
little house and a couple of acres . . . 'An' live off the fatta the
John Steinbeck, explores the failure of the American Dream through the characters George and Lennie, Crooks, and Candy. George and Lennie both share the same dream of owning their own ranch. About halfway through the story, George tells Lennie all about their dream ranch, where Lennie will tend to rabbits, live in their own
American Dream By Rafael Camacho English IV Mrs. Proctor May 8th 2017 " The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." According to Kimberly Amadeo as she wrote the article on the American Dream for The Balance. Though there are many sacrifices that one person has to do just to reach their own dream and continue to uphold to it.
In chapter five, when Lennie kills the puppy, Curley's wife tells Lennie of her life and her missed opportunity to be a star. Lennie responds with concern about his dream farm and the rabbits he will have. Following his comment, Curley's wife chatters on, explaining more about her lost chance to become an actress and how she met Curley. As she talks, she moves closer, confiding in him about the life she might have had. She's important in building the theme of the american dream because she talks about how she could have made it big as an actress, she seems hopeless and this links to the relationships built in the novel. She tries to relate to Lennie, but of course that doesn't turn out well. All occur because of the meeting in the barn between Lennie and Curley's wife, a meeting that seals forever the fates of all involved.George clearly accepts the end of his and Lennie's dream. Without Lennie, the dream is gone and perhaps never really existed except in the words that made Lennie's happiness complete.Gone goes the dream. Gone are the complaints about what he could do if he did not have Lennie around his neck.Curley himself is one of the main causes of this as he is the one who prevents her from being free to follow her dreams and prevents her from even experiencing happiness as he forces her to stay at home and to not talk to the other people on the ranch. The American Dream was