Essay About The American Dream In Of Mice And Men

In the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the setting of the story, the motivation of specific characters, and the dialogue between major characters are among the important literary elements in developing the theme of the American Dream. However, by allowing some characters to fail and some to succeed, Steinbeck shows that not all characters bring forth the perseverance to procure the American Dream. Thus, Steinbeck conveys that the American Dream is not achievable by all people including, George, Lennie, and Curley’s wife through the use of setting, character motivation, and dialogue.

Without doubt, the setting of the novel supports how difficult the American Dream is to achieve. George and Lennie begin their journey by traveling

Although they face many challenges, they stay optimistic that they will someday own land. In Lennie 's last moments of life, George tells Lennie that they will finally have a place of their own, but George means that Lennie is going to Heaven: "Lennie begged, 'Le 's do it now. Le 's get that place now. ' 'Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta’" (Steinbeck 106). George kills Lennie to save him from suffering in misery. Crooks wanted to kill Lennie by shooting hum in the gut, leading to a slow, painful death. Their dream will never come true because without Lennie, George has no dream. The dialogue between Lennie and Curley’s wife before he kills her explains that Curley’s wife never got to live her dream, but instead she married Curley and began her life on the ranch: “I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella’…Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes they wear,” (Steinbeck 89). Lennie listens to what Curley’s wife has to say, but he was more focused on his own dream of tending the rabbits during their conversation. Through these examples of dialogue between characters, Steinbeck reveals that not all characters will accomplish their American