Established author C.S Lewis once said, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, middle-aged migrant workers Lennie and George are companions with soaring hopes. In California during the 1930’s, Lennie faces mental dilemmas while George tries to appoint the two on the right track by finding the duo work at a ranch in Soledad. Retaining the little money they earn, together they acquire a dream to buy a farm and live off the land, trying to prove it 's never too late to dream. Over the course of the novel Of Mice and Men, the image that Lennie and George share starts off as a fantasy slowly becomes a reality, and then dies sorrowfully at the end of the novel. From …show more content…
Towards the middle of the novel Of Mice and Men, George And Lennie’s dream gradually strays from a fantasy and creeps closer to a reality. Sitting in the bunkhouse, Lennie asks George “how long 's it gonna be till we get that little place” (27). George responds by saying he isn 't sure but he does know they have to get together an immense steak. From a few feet away, Candy overhears the duos speculation and is eager for involvement. Candy explains how he is aging and disabled, therefore there isn 't going to be work left for him after the ranch work of Soledad is complete so he makes a deal with George and Lennie. Candy clarifies, “they give me two hundred an ' fifty dollars… an ' I got fifty more saved up… tha 's three hundred, and I got fifty more comin ' the end a the month” (29). Therefore, in total Candy offers to award Lennie and George a total of three hundred fifty dollars for the ranch in conjunction with a promise to tend the chickens and hoe the garden as long as he has a secure job and home on the farm. George tells the men that together, he and Lennie have ten dollars, but at the end of the month will have earned one hundred making the total four hundred fifty dollars. All of the sudden the men look at each other and realize, “This thing they had never really believed in was coming true”(29). Earlier George explained that the cost of the farm was around six hundred dollars, according to the lady who owns it, and the dream became even more realistic when they
In this chapter, the gloom is relieved by the hopeful planning of the three men — George, Lennie, and Candy — toward their dream. For the first time in his life, George believes the dream can come true with Candy's down payment. He knows of a farm they can buy, and the readers' hopes are lifted as well, as the men plan, in detail, how they will buy the ranch and what they will do once it is theirs. But while Steinbeck includes this story of hope, the preponderance of the chapter is dark. Both the shooting of Candy's dog and the smashing of Curley's hand foreshadow that the men will not be able to realize their
Candy tells them about how he’s been saving money for a long time, and how he has about
This broke Candy’s heart, along with any of his spirit he had left. Candy was the only old person on the farm, besides his dog. Now that is dog was gone, Candy was totally isolated. Nonetheless, Candy was given some hope by George and Lennie, who told Candy he could be part of their farm. Candy was interacting and getting along with these two men, and had a flame reignited in his life and willpower.
Lennie and George find themselves becoming more hopeful after Candy successfully manages to turn a dream that was originally meant for two men into a dream for three. He tries to help George and Lennie attain their dream, and convince them that, “S’pose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in. I ain’t much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some” (59). He also shows the two friends of the possibility towards failed outcomes- symbolized through Candy’s inability to kill his own dog.
[and] some pigs.” Just like how a man destroyed the mouse’s house, George, Lennie, and Candy’s dreams are destroyed once Curley’s wife is found dead. At this point, George and Candy know that Curley will most likely kill Lennie. They realize that the “dream ranch” they were hoping for is out of their
The Failure of Dreams in Of Mice and Men In the novel, Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck argues that dreams are a foolish hope that cannot be achieved through how George and Lennie’s dream, Curley’s wife’s dream, and Crooks’ deepest desire all fail. John Steinbeck grew up and lived during the Great Depression, where he saw a lot of fragile dreams shatter and never come true. Naturally, this gave him a rather pessimistic view on dreams, so many of the characters have hopes that are never reached. George and Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks all suffer the same fate, and never reach their ambitions.
In the story, George and Lennie move around looking for work on farms, so that they can one day use their money to buy a house on their own. Unfortunately, Lennie often makes mistakes causing them to leave a job early before making their money. At one farm, they meet a man named Candy who
As the French poet Anatole France once said, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe,” and Jason Silva, “There 's always going to be the circumstances you can 't plan for. There 's always the unexpected relevance and the serendipity” (“Plan Quotes”). In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, two migrant workers are featured in the Great Depression, George Milton and Lennie Small. With all the odds stacked against them, the two men head towards Salinas, California with a plan in mind to own their own piece of land. The most prevalent theme displayed by Steinbeck throughout the book entails; when unexpected situations arise, current plans are no longer attainable.
Of mice and men is a prominent book read by most high school students for a long time. Of mice and men is a book written by John Steinbeck. In the book George and Lennie had to run out of weed, so they looked for a ranch to work on. Lennie had issues with liking soft things that lead to him killing Curley's’ Wife and a puppy. To express that the american dream is impossible to achieve Steinbeck uses conversations, conflicts, and events.
Steinbeck also states how more than just Lennie and George have this dream to get a little piece of land. For instance, in the book Candy listens into George and Lennie's conversation about the house on the land and says “ I ain’t much good with on’y one hand. I lost my hand right here on this ranch. That’s why they give me a job swampin’. An’ they give me two hundred an’ fifty dollars ‘cause I los’ my hand.
Moreover, the men living on the ranch share mutual dreams: To George, this dream of having their own place means independence, security, working for themselves, and, above all, being "somebody." To Lennie, the dream resembles the delicate creatures he pets: It means to him security, the duty of keeping an eye on the rabbits, and a place where he won't need to be scared. To Candy, it means security for seniority and a home where he will fit in. For Crooks, where he
For three of these men, all they want is to have their own ranch to live off of and work to fulfill their own needs. For Candy, George, and Lennie, this is their all time goal-what they’ve been dreaming about forever-and they intend to soon fulfill this. Steinbeck shows that you have to accept that not all of your dreams will come true, in Of Mice and Men, through the actions of Candy, George, and Lennie. First, Steinbeck shows having to come to the realization of this fact through the actions of Candy.
In the first chapter of, Of Mice and Men, the audience is introduced into the two protagonists, George and Lennie. They plan to reach the “american dream” after a couple of weeks working to get enough money to buy land. Lennie, being mentally unstable, is put into
George’s attitude is seen carefree and easy going. George effortlessly opens up as seen when he shares Lennie and his plan to buy the farm from some people and allows Candy to join. “George stood up. ‘We’ll do her,’ he said. ‘We’ll fix up that little old place an’ we’ll go live there.”’
I think the main theme of this story is idealism versus reality because it shows the harsh reality versus what the characters wanted to happen. The first example of idealism versus reality is when George and Lennie talk about owning a land with animals and crops. They both planned on getting this perfect land but when reality hits the whole idea of this perfect land and everything will be perfect ends up not happen. The second example is when Lennie and Candy were talking to Crooks about getting their own land and how they have enough money to invest right away. Crooks in disbelief told them that they could not achieve this goal and that plenty of men have tried but no one ever achieves it.