The American Dream in Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

1017 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The nature of the American dream

The American Dream is something that many Americans, as well as people from all over the world, strive to accomplish. Although it has progressed over time, many people still want to grasp a hold of it. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath represent the struggle of migrant workers and the unrealistic concept of the American dream. Steinbeck illustrates the impossibility of the American Dream in the 1930s through George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men, and through the Joads in The Grapes of Wrath. He ties in realistic struggles that many individuals suffered from during the Great Depression and the time following.
John Steinbeck’s books were about the social and economic issues of rural America, especially the Salinas Valley in California. “It was the valley setting, with the emotionally charged Eden theme and complex of symbols which it evoked, that provided the soil for Steinbeck’s greatest fiction,” (Owens, “The American...Illusion”). On Steinbeck’s summer breaks, he worked as a farm hand on a nearby sugar beet farm. While working, he noticed the difficult living conditions of his fellow workers. John Steinbeck used the Salinas Valley setting for Of Mice and Men because it dictates that the story will take place in a fallen world and that the quest for the illusive American Dream will be of central thematic significance.
The typical American Dream of the 1930s was that everyone wanted a house and land to call their own; however, most men ended up living in a room full of men working on someone else’s ranch. Steinbeck illustrates this dream as impossible through the failure of George and Lennie’s achievement of their dream. In fact, George admits that their dream was destined to fail, “I think I kno...

... middle of paper ...

...ance of the handicapped, African-American stable hand, Crooks, to comment on racial discrimination (Of...Themes). Steinbeck also includes a doc figure is his stories, Slim in Of Mice and Men and Casy in The Grapes of Wrath. This doc figure is a wise observer of life who epitomizes the idealized stance of the non-teleological thinker.
“As a writer of worldwide influence, Steinbeck has helped America to understand herself by finding universal themes in the experience of men and women,” (“John Steinbeck”). Of Mice and Men is the middle book in Steinbeck’s trilogy about agricultural labor in California. He began the manuscript shortly after completing In Dubious Battle and immediately before The Grapes of Wrath. The trilogy is an epic response to the small problems of farm labor in the Salinas Valley, where there was a high demand for seasonal migrant farmers.

Show More
Related

  • How Does Steinbeck Present Juxtaposition In Of Mice And Men

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Even though the dream does not discriminate, people during the 1930s did. During this time period multiple groups of individuals were excluded from this iconic dream. In John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men he exposes the ageism, sexism, racism, and ableism in the 1930s. Steinbeck’s use of allusion, metaphor, symbolism, and juxtaposition create archetypes of the most commonly discriminated against people during the 1930s.

    Read More

  • Conventions In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    Novels that exhibit what the life is like for the people at ranch can help readers reflect on how they might react in comparable situation. George and Lennie who struggle to transcend the plight of inerrant farmworkers are followed by the novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck. Readers are positioned to respond to themes through Steinbeck’s use of conventions that are dispirit. Themes such as Freedom and confinement, loneliness, and racism are pivotal in the novel and draw out a range of responses from the readers.

    Read More

  • Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    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'.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, Two Kinds, and Sophistication

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    The theme of the American Dream is presented in Of Mice and Men. The theme is particularly expressed through and around the characters of George and Lennie. Both of these characters have a belief, a dream of owning their own little place to call their own, or as George would say “We’re gonna have a little place and a couple of acres an’ some cows and some pigs...”(Steinbeck,14) This dream is mostly expressed through Lennie but George is the one who supports Lennie. Lennie is the most dedicated to the dream. This dedication is shown when he said “An’ live off the fatta the lan.”(Steinbeck,14) This proven b critics like Kevin Attell who said ”This is the kind of life that George and Lennie dream of living.”(Attell)

    Read More

  • Handicaps, Hardships, and Friendships in Of Mice and Men

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    2021 Words  | 5 Pages

    When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.

    Read More

  • Social Stereotypes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck walks us through the journey of best friends named George and Lennie, who work on a ranch during the Great Depression in California’s Salinas Valley to achieve their goals. Throughout the book, Steinbeck suggest that social hierarchy and classification can lead toward a treatment to lower class workers, different genders and race, and the mentally disabled, when compared to white men workers.

    Read More

  • Is The American Dream Even Possible Analysis

    304 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On The American Dream In Of Mice And Men

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    The American dream ideally constitutes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as stated by America's forefathers in the Declaration of Independence.  This vision has been extremely warped in the 20th century to fit the new breed of Americans, which are greedy and self-centered.  The main characters opinions in the novel Of Mice and Men of The American Dream substantially differs from each other, and from today's society.

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.

    Read More

  • Of Mice and Men

    2756 Words  | 6 Pages

    Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man.

    Read More

  • Of Mice and Men

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men, by John Adolf Steinbeck Jr., American author and Pulitzer Prize winner, follows the lives of downtrodden farmhands, George and Lennie. As with many of Steinbeck's books, the themes in Of Mice and Men include his favored themes of class warfare and oppression of the working class. Steinbeck also focuses his literature on the power of friendship and the corrupt nature of mankind. In 1993, Professor Thomas Scarseth wrote a critical analysis of the novella analyzing many aspects of Steinbeck’s work including the presentation, themes, and writing style. In his essay, Scarseth explains the key themes of the Novella. He noted that the corrupted nature of man, the injustice of life, and the power of friendship were three important themes of the book. Much of Scarseth’s analysis contained numerous thoughtful insights. Were his insights and opinions valid, or were his, and Steinbeck’s, perspectives on these issues flawed?

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Of Mice And Men

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck. This book is an analogy about what it means to be a human. George and Lennie share the ambition to own their own ranch, but they encounter obstacles that stand in the way. Ironically, Lennie will become the greatest obstacle in them achieving their dream. This novel was first published in 1937, which is one of the most important aspects of the book. The reason why it is one of the most important aspects of the book is because one result of the Great Depression was a lack of steady jobs, which increased the amount of nomadic workers. When Steinbeck wrote this novel, ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery and their way of life was disappearing fast.

    Read More

More about The American Dream in Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Open Document