How Does Steinbeck Present The Delusions In Of Mice And Men

Dreams are an essential of life, dreams give you hope for something you love to do. In Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, dreams are used throughout the whole novel. It is shown how dreams keep friendships together and happy through life, like George and Lennie. Dreams give hope to the characters that try to get out of working. They push people to do what they love and to get out of the ranch.

Desmond Tutu, a South - African social activist and retired Anglican priest once said “ Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness”. Of Mice and Men is a novel which revolves around the lives of struggling farmers and how they still maintain hope despite their hardships. The symbolic representation of light embodies the hopes and the American Dream, whereas the dark epitomizes the harsh realities and truths of their lives. Steinbeck uses light and dark to foreshadow the upcoming events in the forlorn lives of the migrant workers. He also combines aspects such as the setting and characters with light and dark to paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind as to how the world of the migrant workers looks like.

Title: Of Mice and Men Author: John Steinbeck Date of Publication: 1937 Genre: Tragedy, Realism Narrative Structure: Point Of View: The story is told from the point of view of a third person omniscient narrator. The narrator can access the point of view of any of the characters as required by the plot. Tone:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theater director, critic, and one of the greatest German literary figures. Something inspirational he said was that “Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. “- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Dreams can affect anyone greatly, depending on the dream, willingly do many things to achieve them.

In the book “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck uses characterization to demonstrate the humans are self centered, and that they don’t pay much attention to others. To begin with, Steinbeck shows that humans are self centered through the use of characterization. After Lennie dies, Carlson says, “now what the hell you suppose is eatin’ them two guys.” (Steinbeck 107). This dialogue serves to remind us that even though someone just died right in front of them, they don’t honestly care.

Dreams are just conceptions of our mind for longing for more out of our selves. The problem of trying to process or make these dreams happen is the fact that we feel that these dreams will become burden upon not just our body, but our mind as well. For many this may be true, but in the case of George Smalls, this is not the case. George’s Dream or main goal is to be able to care of Lennie. This one dream has influenced most of his choices and has actual become a part of him.

Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem: Dream Deferred” and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men share a similar theme. Certain circumstances cause dreams to be impossible to achieve, and all people endure this in different ways. In “Harlem: Dream Deferred”, the speaker suggests that deferred dreams can “crust and sugar over-- / like a syrupy sweet” (Hughes 8-9).

James Truslow Adams defines the American Dream as the “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (The American Dream). An idea sought after by millions of people is the American Dream; they believe there is a reward for hard work and that that reward is happiness and prosperity. The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, and The Crucible are all works, which portray the pursuit and destruction of the American Dream. Jay Gatsby’s American dream was to marry the woman he loved. This is evident throughout the novel; Gatsby is determined to transform his life from dirt to diamonds all to be a suitable man for Daisy.

All people have goals, but some have no chance of achieving them. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Candy, Crooks and Lennie all live on the same farm, but are faced with different circumstances holding them back from achieving what they desire. Through the characters of Candy, Crooks, and Lennie, Steinbeck shows that issues outside the control of an individual often limit the achievement of an individual’s dream. Throughout the novel, Lennie is faced with obstacles that are in the way of him attaining his ultimate goal.

“Of Mice and Men” tells the story of two friends, Lennie and George, that, even though they are completely different, the two never abandon each other, no matter what. This classic book of the novella genre was written by John Steinbeck and originally published in 1937. “Of Mice and Men” has become, according to the American Library Association,one of the “most challenged books of the 21st century” and was banned in many school districts for allegedly containing “racial slurs”, “promoting euthanasia”, and containing vulgar language. This constant censoring, however, has not stopped the book from becoming successful and, during its original publishing in 1937, it received thousands of great reviews; even becoming the book with the greatest and most positive response of its time. Besides, the book is a required reading in many english-speaking schools around the world.

Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men tells of the ambitions and works of George and his dull friend Lennie who find work on a farm. The American Dream preaches equal chance for everyone to achieve prosperity and happiness, while this simply is not true for the characters. By the use of repetition of ideas and dialogue, Steinbeck conveys how social and physical inequalities impede the American dream for minorities of the Great Depression. The repetition of the characters’ goal of getting their own house, reveals the characters ambitious nature.

In the novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck incorporates many thematic ideas into his text. He includes the ideas of dreams and reality, the nature of home, and he difference of right and wrong. He develops these ideas throughout the story. The first theme incorporated is the idea if dreams versus reality. Lennie and George have a plan.