Comparing The American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“That’s the American Dream: to make your life into something you can sell.” -Chuck Palahniuk. Several characters in the book believe this too, this is what they work for. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men there are two main characters, George and Lennie. They travel together during the Great Depression going to ranches for work, but one of them tends to get them in trouble. Dreams don’t always come true is a theme that runs throughout the novel because George, Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks all share a common passion for their dreams but unfortunately, something ruins them all. George and Lennie have a dream and it doesn’t end exactly how they wanted it to. George and Lennie talk several times about how they want to own their own land and be their own bosses. On Page 14, George says, “Someday---we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ cow and some pigs and---”. This signifies that their dream is to get enough money to live easy so they will never have to work another day of their lives. This unfortunately does not end up happening because Lennie finds a way to ruin it again.

Curley’s wife tells Lennie how she shouldn’t be on the ranch and that she could of been something bigger. On Page 89, Curley’s wife says, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes---all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me.” She later talks about how she married Curley to get away from her mother in hope that it would solve her problem and she could fulfill her dream of becoming famous and moving to Hollywood, but she is regretting it even more now because nothing good has come from