Theme Of Dreams In Of Mice And Men

American Dreams
Of Mice and Men is a powerful depiction of life in rural California during the Great Depression. It captures the essence of the Depression through the itinerant worker’s isolated, impermanent experiences (McNeill). John Steinbeck worked with the migrant workers during his teens; he noted their dismal, disheartening existences revealed an unrelenting cynicism that stemmed from a dearth of realistic hopes and genuine prospects (McArthur). Steinbeck demonstrates the significance of dreams in Of Mice and Men as the essential foundations of motivation and purpose; the plans of hopeful conviction despite misery and destitution clarify the fundamental difference between man and beast (Lisca). Of Mice and Men is a reflection of the era indicating the most modest of dreams were beset with limitations and obstacles for the working class; for the indigent, the elderly, and the handicapped, the American Dream was an idealistic effort in futility (Tomkins).
John Steinbeck was an American writer born in Salinas, California, not far from the story’s setting. His father operated a flour mill and served as county treasurer; his mother was a schoolteacher (Bloom). The family was devoted to education; reading and books were essential to family life. Steinbeck’s early material was often rejected; he pursued his vocation with indefatigable tenacity (Swisher).
Steinbeck’s technique is candid and straightforward; the third-person point-of-view produces a sense of impartiality. The story is an earthy, shamelessly human interpretation of life; it does not omit stark privations that defined the time. The speech is direct and clear; the setting is simple; a powerful metaphor that epitomizes the story.
The story opens by a river; a bucoli...

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...ation and indigence are the results of social immobility; the result is discontent and instability. He demonstrates dreams are caricatures of reality; they are shadows of sincere substance, inaccurate measures of truth; they are colossal or they are truncated; either way, they are fallacious, deceptive misconceptions of veracity. The traditional American Dream does not emphasize actuality; it accentuates possibility and potential. George transcends his status through his sacrifice, redefining his worth as poignantly noble in nature; he does not understand it, cannot conceive of it, and will relegate himself to the path of the ordinary man because he knows no better. It is in this way that the American Dream captures what is hopeful fantasy as a foil for what is real. It is simultaneously tragic and propitious; a true interpretation of the genuine American. Dream.