Of Mice And Men: The American Dream
After the Great Depression in 1929, America’s economy was devastated. The increase of farming across the Great Plains states caused the precious soil to erode, turning the once fertile grassland to a desert like Dust Bowl. Hundreds of farmers and workers migrated to California in search of jobs aiming for the American Dream. The American Dream is the hopes and the goals of the characters in which they can obtain a better life through their hard work. In Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is portrayed to be extremely vital for the men as it serves as their motivation, yet ultimately proves to be unattainable through the memorable characters of Lennie, George and Curley’s wife. The unachievable nature of the American dream is hinted in Lennie’s …show more content…
Curley’s wife is described as an attention seeking woman who is desperate and yearns for recognition because of her loneliness and her unsuccessful dream of being an actress. In section 6, Curley’s wife desperately tells Lennie her story of when she was young, she was promised fame and a chance to be on a show, “but my (Curley’s wife) ol’ lady wouldn’ let me (Curley’s wife)”. This expresses that there are always obstacles that prevent people from succeeding just like how her mother refuses to let her be in the show and be an actress to get the attention she always yearns for. People start off with great potential, viewing their dream as obtainable and as their biggest motivation, but in this cruel world, they are only reaching for a tragic aim. Moreover, Curley’s wife expresses that she will never stay in a place where she “couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself (herself)”, but what she does contradicts what she says, instead of having a better life or gaining recognition, she marries Curley and is back into a similar or even worse situation she started from. This emphasizes that no one can break free from the vicious cycle, reflecting that all others who try to achieve their dream will get no farther than where they originally start. Even in such an awful situation on the ranch, she still tries her best to fulfill her desire and desperation for attention by having “full, rouged lips” and face “heavily made up” to attract the men. However the fact that she is often ignored and unwelcome signifies that no matter how hard she attempts to seek her desires, she will never reach them and people will never get their impossible dream likewise, gaining sympathy from the readers. Even though she fails to reach her dream for a number of times, she is still convinced that she can succeed eventually, convincing herself that she “coulda
Of Mice And Men Dream Essay
640 Words | 3 PagesAfter this incident, their dream is never achieved. Curley's wife is not the most important character in this novel, but her interactions with Lennie affects the climax and resolution of the story. Curley’s wife’s death is the apex of the novel. For example, Curley’s wife keeps trying to talk to Lennie, even though he tells her ¨George says I ain’t to
Of Mice And Men Luck Quotes
636 Words | 3 PagesCurley’s wife is finds herself in an unlucky situation while attempting to befriend the “gentle” giant, Lennie, adding on to her already unfortunate past. She converses to Lennie of all her past plans, saying “‘I coulda made somethin’ of myself.’” Curley’s wife then reveals her backstory, how she nearly did make something of herself, with an actor or movie star husband, not some short-tempered, condescending control-freak. Following this, she dies because Lennie didn’t want her alerting the others to their location. What’s more, as readers follow the story, people see her as, states Candy, a “floozy,” which influences the opinion of how Curley’s wife is portrayed, a horrible, good-for-nothing whore.
Mr. Birling In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
358 Words | 2 PagesGeorge would not agree with Mr. Birling because Mr. Birling says “you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else,” show that he doesn’t care about anything but himself and his family. Whereas George gives up his whole life for Lennie which he is not related to. Mr. Birling will never do it in his whole life. Curley and his wife’s relationship are all about power and hurting other people and is a loveless marriage. Curley married her because of her beauty and to get higher social status.
Comparing The American Dream In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1158 Words | 5 PagesIn a recent poll conducted by PBS, results showed that nearly half of Americans who once believed in the American dream thought that it didn’t exist anymore. This portrayal that the American dream no longer exists or is not easily attained is shown in the novel “Of Mice and Men,” written by John Steinbeck. The book focuses on a dependent relationship between two characters. George is a very smart man, but struggles with companionship. Whereas Lennie is a very dumb man, that thrives with making friends.
Theme Of The American Dream In Of Mice And Men
764 Words | 4 PagesThere are many themes throughout the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. One of those themes is the American dream. The American Dream has been I thought in everybody’s mind since America was founded and Steinbeck shows each individual dreams of the characters and how they can be achieved. Some characters dreams are naive and unrealistic, others are achievable. Steinbeck’s themes shows that the dreams in the book that are realistic come true, but the ones that aren’t don’t.
Examples Of The American Dream In Of Mice And Men
1801 Words | 8 PagesThe American Dream is only attainable to those who are privileged and considered truly American. Though many immigrants believe that they can grasp the American Dream, it is always out of reach and can never be achieved. The American Dream can never be accomplished through working hard and determination. Often, people chase the American Dream with high expectations for a new life, and they are often disappointed when failure strikes. Because of this, many of the characters in Of Mice and Men struggle to achieve the dreams they’ve been longing for.
Of Mice And Men American Dream Quotes
491 Words | 2 PagesThe American Dream The American dream is the desire of all most all the characters in the novella Of Mice and Men. This is shown in many ways in many kinds of dreams whether it be becoming Rich and famous or just having the means to survive on their own each character has their own American dream. The first example of the american dream would be George 's dream. George wanted nothing more than to own his own farm and survive off of the land with Lennie which is shown in this quote “we’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof ...”
American Dream Of Mice And Men Analysis
1045 Words | 5 PagesEveryone aspires to achieve the American Dream: an opportunity to be successful by working hard. Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the American Dream brings hope for a better life to those who hold on to it. George Milton and Lennie Smalls, traveling ranch workers called bindle stiffs, dream of owning their own piece of land where they can create the rules. However, they are not the only characters with hopes and dreams. Steinbeck shows the American Dream is, in fact, sometimes only a dream through the hopes and actions of Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife.
Of Mice And Men And The American Dream Analysis
834 Words | 4 PagesEveryone aspires to achieve the American Dream: an opportunity to be successful by working hard. Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the American Dream brings hope for a better life for those who hold onto it. George Milton and Lennie Smalls, traveling ranch workers called bindle stiffs, dream of owning their own piece of land where they create the rules. They are not the only characters with hopes and dreams. But Steinbeck shows the American Dream is, in fact, sometimes just a dream through the hopes and actions of Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife.
American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
403 Words | 2 PagesOf Mice and Men’s American Dream The ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Also known as the American Dream, is a hope of many Americans. In the book Of Mice and Men they show their dearest desire to find it. However the struggle of the 30’s, may come as a surprise.
Of Mice And Men Book Review Essay
807 Words | 4 PagesJohn Steinbeck 's 1930s shows us everything except for the American Dream and that cause is just given to those that can manage the cost of it, not that that benefits any in case you 're Curly… Of Mice and Men is a satisfying
Of Mice And Men Sacrifice
592 Words | 3 PagesThe American dream is something that we all strive for in one way or another. Whether it’s being equal to the people around you, or having freedom to be successful in whatever you want in life. But for the characters in Of Mice and Men it is the dream of owning land and being independent from everyone else. But the American Dream is not something that is given to you, it includes work ethic, knowing that the dream may be impossible and the sacrifice that may have to be made. These are all things that George and Lennie and other characters in the book have to do to eventually reach the American dream.
Of Mice And Men American Dream Failure
921 Words | 4 PagesJohn Steinbeck is a famous American author. He wrote many books that takes place in the Salinas River Valley during the Great Depression. His most famous book, Of Mice and Men talks about the failure of the American dream. John Steinbeck uses George, candy, and Curley’s wife to show the failure of the American dream. To begin, John Steinbeck uses George to show the failure of the American dream.
Of Mice And Men The American Dream
674 Words | 3 PagesIn Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the protagonists, George and Lennie have an ambitious dream that leads them through ups and downs. Of Mice and Men was written from inspiration from a poem by Robert Burns named “To a Mouse” which was about how the best dreams often go wrong. Throughout his novella, Steinbeck attempts to tell readers that the American Dream is impossible to achieve and it is not worth setting their mind solely to that dream, as other people will discourage them and it will fall apart. Throughout the novella, George and Lennie encounter many people who tell them that they should give up on their dreams as they are impossible to achieve.
Curley's Wife Stereotypes
927 Words | 4 PagesCurley’s wife is over stereotyped in such a way that it helps define her character and foreshadow her demise. She is self obsessed and she builds herself up by dragging other people down. Curly’s wife never achieves her dream because she trapped herself in an awful marriage to escape her family and did not think about the consequences. When she was younger, Curley’s wife desperately wanted to be a famous actor. People told her that she had incredible talent and was a “natural” at acting, and she looked past the possibility that these could all just be good pick-up lines, weaving herself a web of lies (88).
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