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What is the american dream in the story of mice and men
Dreams- narrative essay
Dreams- narrative essay
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Unfulfilled Dreams Dreams are key motivations towards a better future. Not just the ones that are conceived during the late hours of the night, but the ones that are thought of when asked about what could be in the future even when it is not likely that one’s dream is to come true. Of Mice and Men demonstrates through characters like George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks and Curley's Wife that sometimes dreams are not always meant to be attained, but still meant to be strived for. Although there are times when plans for the future go as planned, for Lennie and George in Of Mice and Men they face a wishful hope for the future that “Someday – we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some
pigs and — An’ live off the fatta the lan’,” (Steinbeck 14-15). However the two friends continue to be put in situations that only lead to an unsuccessful plan of what they want to make of their future. Situations that include Lennie and his obsession with all things soft, which brings them into trouble when Lennie manages to accidentally kill Curley’s Wife as well as a small puppy.
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.
While reading the stories “Of Mice and Men” and the poem “To a Mouse” the audience can infer that both stories have to do with hope for a better future. While Lennie and George live on the ranch there
When Lennie and George encounter Slim, another ranch hand, they automatically respect him and react positively towards him. “This was Slim, the jerkline skinner. His hatchet face was ageless. He might have been thirty-five or fifty. His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer.” (Steinbeck, 33-34) Slim is the noblest of the ranch as the only character who seems to be at peace with his circumstances and his life. The other characters view slim as wise and respectable man and often go to him for guidance, as the only person who has achieved what he wants in life.
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.
Candy and George have just found Curley’s wife's body. Candy asks George if their farm dream can still happen, but George says that the dream was going to fail anyways. Steinbeck writes, “I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much, I got to thinking maybe we would” (Steinbeck 94). The farm dream means quite a bit to everyone considering it means security from the harsh world they live in. for Crooks it means respect and equality, for Candy it means security for his age, and for George and Lennie it means security from Lennie getting in trouble, and financial stability. Even though all these people are rooting for this dream, it still ends up failing. Curley’s wife is also an example of dreams failing. She could have been in the movies, but sadly her overbearing mother forces her to stay home. She then makes her situation worse by marrying Curley. Even though she works for that dream, it still fails. The reasoning behind both of these dreams failing is completely due to circumstance, which makes it even more tragic. None of the characters can stop the dreams from falling, which means it's more likely that other dreams in the future can end the same way. Every dream that a main character has in “Of Mice And Men” ends up failing, making “dreams often fail” a major
In Of Mice and Men one of the main themes is the idea of the american dream. This is one of the more important themes in the book because it plays such a big role in how each character pursued life, and their dreams show a different side of who they are and what they want from life. Many of the characters talk about what their version of the american dream is. Curley’s wife talks about how she wanted to be a movie star. Candy and George both want to own their own land. Crooks dream is to work in lennie's garden. However it remains only a dream for them and they are awaken by the fact that they can't have the perfect american dream. Another way that this idea is used in the book and by characters is that Lennie and George keep faithful
Dreams and hope are all worth while but in the book it shows how hard it is to get your dreams. In the book Of Mice and Men the first scene is of them fleeing from their job. The job was contributing to the dream but since there was conflict they had to run otherwise there would be no dream. When they get to there new job a worker over hears their dream and wants to get in on it. “you know a place like that?” said candy. Said on page 29 on the ipad. So they agree and they're way closer to their dream then they ever thought they would be. “George spat on the floor disgustedly. “We got ten bucks between us.” Then he said thoughtfully, “look, if me an’ lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks. That’d be four fifty. I bet we could swing her for that. Then you an’ lennie could go get her started an’ i’d get a job an’ make up the res’, an’ you could sell eggs an’ stuff like
...to change their lives in some positive ways. George and Lennie want to own a farm. Curley’s wife wants to be a movie star. Curley want the love from his wife. Crooks wants to be treated equally. However, in the end of the book, none of them achieve their dreams, a confirmation of the phrase - The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. (To a Mouse)
George and Lennie depended on their dream as motivation to live on and work. They've been working all their life to accomplish their dream. While taking a break by a pond on the way to another ranch, Lennie asked George to tell him why they are working and saving money. "Guys like us got nothing; they work up a stack and blow it in the town. But we're different, we got a future " (14). Most workers back then just live on day by day, without a goal. But George and Lennie are different, they got a dream to work and live for. Lennie kept on wanting to be told about their dream a few times in the story, indicating that it's really important to them. George depends on the dream to save up money and take care of Lennie instead of using all the money like all the other workers. While staying in the cabin, Lennie asked George about their dream. "George, how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' live on the fatta the land and rabbits" (56). George and Lennie's dream has been repeated several times in the story. Each time they describe it, it gives them more will to work and try to accomplish the dream. The dream keeps George and Lennie together so they can work toward their dream. Without the dream, George and Lennie would be different from what they are now. George would be like the other workers, spending all the money right after getting them. And Lennie might be in jail for accused of rape or get bullied by other workers.
Everyone has an American dream, a belief that represents anyone can carry out a higher quality life through hard labor, and finding happiness at the end. These people work their lives to fulfill a dream that seems impossible, but in the end they either succeed or fail. Despite the odds, people still dive into this idea not knowing how it will end. By taking risks in life, they have a higher chance of achieving this dream of theirs. It ultimately shapes their character and spirit. Stopping at no extent, they make sacrifices to meet their main goal. This dream is put to the test in Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, which takes place during the Great Depression causing George and Lennie, mentally disabled friend, to have a hopeless American dream. Their dream ultimately shapes their character and spirit, inspiring them to achieving this dream, but others dreams are crushed due to the Great Depression; similarly Steinbeck suggests that the American dream is unattainable due to the time setting, Great Depression.
The novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, connects to the idea of dreams motivate people to improve themselves. It does this throughout the text when George is telling his brother Lennie of their dream, owning a farm and how “ at the end of the month others would go and blow their money at the cathouse (brothel), but not us!” Because they need money to buy the farm. This tells us that George
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows American dream as an unreachable goal for the characters. Of Mice and Men is a novel based on two childhood friends, Lennie and George, who travel together in search of work. Lennie, the gentle giant, has a mental disability and an obsession of petting soft objects. One day, while stroking a girl’s hair, Lennie accidently kills her. And eventually by the end of the novel, George is forced to shoot Lennie. Steinbeck shows American Dream as an unreachable goal because of a character’s standing in the society, their dreams to be unreal and their dependency on other characters.
a better way of life - but something always seems to get in the way of
Dreams are very important for everyone including the characters from the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The main characters George and Lennie have a dream about buying a piece of land and farming there. Another character who has a dream is Curley's wife who wants to be famous and get attention. The last character with a dream is Crooks who wants to be treated equally. Dreams are the reasons people and the characters from Of Mice and Men work hard and long.