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Competing aspects of the american dream
Literary analysis of mice and men
Competing aspects of the american dream
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Of Mice and Men is a novel of defeated hope and harsh reality of the American Dream. However, regardless of how much one may hope and strive to reach it, the American Dream does not always provide complete fulfillment. Of Mice and Men takes place in America during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Formerly known as the land of opportunity and fortune, America had soon earned the label of being the complete opposite. It was during this time that many migrant workers moved their family west in search for the “American Dream.” The American Dream; there are similarities that are in most people’s dreams regardless of when they lived or who they are. Most peoples dream includes being happy, healthy, and surrounded by loved ones. However, dreams often differ in the aspect that some people may want to work hard, be healthy and have great financial success, while others dream of living off the land they work on and doing enough work to survive, while still remaining healthy and happy. Being the best of friends, George and Lennie are different in many aspects yet they both seem to share one common goal; to purchase a few acres of land they can call their own, “an’ live off the fatta the lan’” ( Steinbeck, pg. 14). Being able to own a humble home, where they can work for themselves and be free of the torment and scrutiny of society. A place away from all the ignorance of the outside world, where it seems Lennie was not meant to live. George and Lennie’s struggle for their tiny piece of the American Dream is best summed up by Crooks when he said that he’s “seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their hands. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head.
This passage implies that George and Lennie, the fictional characters of Steinbeck's novel, lived in relative comfort as they worked the farm. If one compares this to a similar passage from The Harvest Gypsies:
George and Lennie's ultimate goal is to "get the jack together," buy a few acres of land they can call their own, "an' live off the fatta the lan' (pg. 14)." George talks in great depth about how their dream house is going to have individual rooms, a kitchen with a fat iron stove, and an orchard. But, George only recites this yarn when he wants to get Lennie calmed down. Lennie has the mentality of an 8 year old, the memory of a senile 80 year old, and only desires to tend rabbits. George fully understands that Lennie can easily be manipulated. Even though the dream to have a piece of land is shared, George knows that by himself he cannot amass a large enough "stake," to buy it himself (pg. 33)." Just as the boss thought, George was "takin' his pay away from him (pg. 22)."
George was a very smart and able man who had taken responsibility of a mentally-challenged man named Lennie. George could have found a good steady job for which he could have stayed at and made good money, but when he went to work with Lennie, Lennie made a mistake that got both of them in trouble. George was a very good person for taking care of Lennie. Lennie was very dumb, but he always remembered the dream he and George shared. The main dream that George possessed was to be happy, and he realized that even though taking care of Lennie was hard work at times, he was happiest with Lennie. George would repeat their dream to Lennie. The nicest thing George ever did for Lennie was giving him hope, and that’s what mentioning the dream farm did. Lennie always wanted to “live of the fatta land” (81), and “have rabbits, and puppies, go on George.” George saved a man’s life, and in return he got nothing. George’s d...
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.
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by author John Steinbeck in 1937. In the story, Lennie Small and George Milton are migrant workers during the Great Depression, trying to find work. Lennie is a mentally unstable yet a delicate, large man; while George is a small and quick man that takes care of Lennie. They have recently escaped from a different ranch in Weed, where Lennie was accused of rape. Now they are depending on work at a ranch in Salinas Valley, California — a few miles south of Soledad. As Lennie and George approach the ranch, the first person they encounter is Candy. Candy is an old man who tells them that the Boss was looking forward to them the night before; so that they could work that morning. Curley’s wife, Curley is the
A dream that had at one point been something of a fantasy bedtime story that he would tell Lennie to keep him happy had finally almost been turned into a reality. Him, Lennie and Candy all had finally gotten the money to turn their fantasy into a reality, but then circumstance took over and once again snatched someone’s dream right out of their hands much like it seems to so often happen. It very well demonstrates the real impossibility of the American dream back then. At one point George says, “-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). He knew that it was pointless to hope for something that was so unlikely to happen and yet he let himself do it anyways because it was so important to him to keep his best friend happy and full of hope, no matter how much of a pain he was at times. By getting in trouble again Lennie may have brought their dreams crumbling down, but George still never truly got mad at him. I honestly believe that George cared more about his friendship with Lennie than their dream of living off their own piece of land, and that George’s own dream had more to do with living happily with Lennie rather than going around working at all of those lonely ranches. their friendship can be demonstrated be this quote, “Lennie said, “I thought you was mad at me George.”... “No,” said George. “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.” (Steinbeck 106). George had everything going for him then had it all crushed by his circumstances. In the end George is forced to take his own friend’s life and is not only left with a crushed dream, but more grief and pain than any one person should have to
Of Mice and Men is one of John Steinbeck’s major novellas. It tells of George Milton and his mentally-handicapped friend, Lennie Small. George, a short, shrewd operator is the foil to Lennie: a humongous, infantile oaf whose last name “Small” embodies nothing but utter irony, for he is not by any means small. Similar to the majority of Steinbeck’s books, Of Mice and Men’s setting is in the Salinas Valley, California— however, this one takes place in the 1930s. The novel revolves around the idea of the American dream and the hurdles the characters face in their quest to achieve it. The novella takes place during the great depression. During that horrid period, each individual has their own idea of the American dream. Steinbeck touches on several themes related to the dream such as the actual dream itself, loneliness, powerlessness, and the future’s unpredictability. Steinbeck adequately utilizes these themes to depict the unfeasibility of the American dream.
The story starts when two traveling laborers, named George Milton and Lennie Small, are on their way to a job loading barley at a California ranch. . They spend one night along the Salinas River before going to the ranch that they were to work at. Because Lennie is slow, mentally, George acts as Lennie's guardian. They have been traveling together for a long time, since the death of Lennie's Aunt Clara. Also, Lennie's habit of petting soft things, such as a mouse or a rabbit, often gets them into trouble, which forces them to find a new job. Their dream is to own their own place and be their own bosses in the future. In their farm, Lennie wants to take care of rabbits and grow vegetables for them.
At the time the book Of Mice and Men is set many people in America and other countries had a very pessimistic outlook on life. The book reflects this view in its character opinions and scene settings. From 1929 to 1939 there were failed businesses, harsh poverty and many people were in long term unemployment. Many people made the migration to California looking for work. Most travelled alone, however, in the case of Lennie and George t...
In John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men”, George and Lennie’s dream of a farm was doomed to fail from the beginning due to it being a mere calming thought for Lennie, along with the fact that they tried to do too much too late, as well as the unfortunate fate Lennie was doomed to fall into, which leaves George to abandon the plan.
Death of a Salesman opening seen shows the main character Willy Loman arriving home one night. He is tired and exhausted, the audience discovers, from his day at work and goes straight up to bed where his wife, Linda, is. The two begin to talk and Willy straights to get worked-up thinking of how his oldest son, Biff, has come home. Willy leaves Linda in the bed and goes down to the kitchen.
Crook’s assessment of George and Lennie’s dream where they own their own, independent land is a harsh, yet true statement. Although they may travel from place to place to gather the remaining sum of money
George, Lennie, and Candy all shared the same dream of getting their own farm. This was there “long term goal” that they had for themselves, george made this goal to keep Lennie happy even though he knew it wouldn't happen, but he then convinced himself that it would happen. “ ‘O.K. Someday we're gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a gow and some pigs and----’ ‘An’ live off the fatta the lan’ Lennie shouted.”(Steinbeck 14). In this scene George is telling Lennie the story of the farm they would get. “Lennie began to cry with fright, ‘Oh! Please don't do none of
Throughout John Steinbeck’s career, he held a certain sympathy and compassion for the average person’s struggle for independence. This was something that commonly surfaced as a reoccurring theme in his works. Set in California’s Salinas Valley, Of Mice and Men, portrays the life of the common migrant worker a worker’s search for independence. Similar to the characters in Steinbeck’s other novel, The Grapes of Wrath, all that George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men long for is a piece of land to call their own.
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.