The American Dream In John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'
The American Dream has been present ever since the birth of America. Over the years, the definition has been heterogeneous. For many, it has been to earn a comfortable wage and provide for their families; for others, it could be to start a business or to simply help others. Only some have dreamed of riches or fame. In the 1930s, the American dream was on a much smaller scale, due to the terrible and unstable state of the US economy. In modern times, the American dream isn’t a small, tight box anymore, it is a flexible mold of clay, expanding and contracting at your whim, as long as you put in the hard work and effort. These ideas were illustrated in the works of John Steinbeck 's (Of Mice and Men), Purdy Matthew (“Our towns: A chance to Live, …show more content…
On the other hand, some people say that achieving their American dream from hard work and dedication is still impossible. This point of view makes sense because, in the 20th century America, life as an individual was a struggle, with or without a clear goal to strive for in mind. Many people lived paycheck to paycheck, hoping for a liberation from their monotonous lifestyle. In that era, the American dream was hardly possible due to the strict confines of the system; a mere pipe dream was all the people had. John Steinbeck portrayed the same state of harshness in Of Mice and Men. The book is a portrayal of the unforgiving and uncaring world he and all other be brought into. The plot revolves around the two protagonists: George and Lennie. George is Lennie’s parent and caretaker; his ability to think ahead and his powerful wit strikes a noticeable contrast with his accomplice. Lennie is a loveable dope character in every sense of the word; he lacks the intelligence to fend for himself and very heavily depends on George. His behavior and attitude toward life directly mimic that of a child 's. George is constantly conflicted in his opinion of Lennie, on one hand, he understands Lennie’s disabilities and cares for him like a brother. However, Lennie’s tendency to get in trouble is a huge burden on George. The relationship between the two reaches a boiling point after Lennie inadvertently kills the wife of the boss’s son, Curley, in the farm they had been working in for a few weeks. The hunt for Lennie starts after Candy finds Curley’s wife’s body in the barn. George takes it upon himself to provide a humane and peaceful death to Lennie, instead of having Curly lynch him. Being the first to find him, George gets Lennie to kneel down and begins to feed him the fantasy that both of them wanted so desperately, “ Go on,’ said Lennie. ‘How’s it gonna be? We gonna get a little place.’ ‘We’ll have a cow,’ said George, ‘An’ we’ll have maybe a pig and’ chickens… an’ down
Lennie's Responsibility In Of Mice And Men
917 Words | 4 PagesAs george and lennie are always on the run, George reaches the limit of how much responsibility he is willing to take. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about the importance of companionship and devotion for one another. George and Lennie are on a journey to find a place where they can both be free, but as challenges come closer George has to take responsibility for Lennie's actions. George takes responsibility for Lennie at every step along the way, up until the very end of Lennie’s life.
Comparing The American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
464 Words | 2 PagesIn the 1930s with the Great Depression affecting millions of people in America, it was common to see immigrant’s working on agricultural labor. John Steinbeck, a great writer of the 20s, portrays the suffering of what an immigrant agricultural worker went through better than any other writer of the time. Publish in mid 1930s, Of Mice and Men tells the story of two immigrant workers, Lennie and George, and their experience of working in the fields of Salinas Valley of northern California. Throughout the novel Steinbeck vaguely tells the readers, through the protagonist Lennie and George, an unrealistic American Dream. It comes to the question of how far-fetched was George and Lennie’s American dream?
Of Mice And Men Justified
1094 Words | 5 Pages“How’s it gonna be. [they’re]gonna get a little place.” “[they]’ll have a cow,” said George. “An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens . . . . an’ down the flat [they]’ll have a . . .
The Importance Of Dreams In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
974 Words | 4 PagesIn chapter one, George and Lennie are camped out in a forest clearing. They’re sitting around a campfire, cooking beans and Lennie requests George speak about the duo’s grand goal. “‘O.K. Someday-we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and-’... An’ live off the fatta lan’,’ Lennie shouted. ‘An’ have rabbits.
Similarities Between Of Mice And Men And The Pearl By John Steinbeck
2075 Words | 9 PagesTha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in…We got ten bucks between us… Look if me an’ Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks. That’d be four fifty. I bet we could wing her for that… I’d get a job an’ make up the res’ an’ you could sell eggs an’ stuff like that.” Their words clearly highlight their plans for the future. They all wish to get out of the farm and live a better life on their own farm.
Of Mice And Men American Dream Essay
600 Words | 3 PagesJohn Steinbeck believes that the American Dream is not realistic; conversely he establishes strong points, the American Dream is really what one makes of it. John Steinbeck wanted to prove in his book that the American dream was not achievable. He created the story Of Mice and Men to prove his point by telling a heartbreaking story. John Steinbeck created characters that had dreams as well as plans to achieve them, but their dreams were out of reach. He even put characters in his story that tried to explain to people the reality of their "fantasies".
Themes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
540 Words | 3 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men highlights the adventures of two best friends that stimulate modern issues such as white males dominating the world. There are many themes in the book, but one that is the most eye catching is the theme of people with differences being ostracized by society. This theme of society ostracizing different people is shown through Lennie’s disability, and Crooks’ color of skin. Lennie is a large migrant worker who is childish due to his mental disability. His best friend George, who acts like his second hand, helps him through everything in life.
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 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.
What Is The American Dream In The 1920s
650 Words | 3 PagesThe American dream is an illusion that is deeply implanted in the minds of the people, it sets a bar for life achievement and offers hope to work hard to achieve their dreams. As for Americans, they are raised in a society to where they are expected to make lots money and to have a healthy family. After all in our society success is largely based off positions of power and financial stability. For example, in The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there were multiple interpretations of the ideal American dream in the 1920s. In the 1920s, due to the growth of materialism, people advertised and fancied the power of money to fulfilling their dreams.
Theme Of The Unrealized Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1110 Words | 5 PagesThroughout the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme of the unrealized dream is displayed through characters such as Lennie, George, Candy, and Curley’s wife. The unrealized dream, also known as the American Dream, is portrayed differently for a few different characters in the book. Best friends George and Lennie have a shared dream which is to have a serene farm ranch, even if it is small, with a mediocre house, a rabbit pen, and a garden where they can grow their own vegetables and herbs. They long to live independently away from rude bosses and harsh ranches. This is seen differently for a character such as Candy who only wants to keep his job even though he is disabled.
Comparing The American Dream In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
1091 Words | 5 PagesBoth Lennie and George have a similar idea of what they want for their American dream and that is to someday owning a farm. If they achieve this it would offer protection and financial care. Crooks tells them that they won’t be able to achieve their American dream and this ends up being true for them. Lennie explains their dream and says " 'Well, ' said George, '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 going ' to work, and we 'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an ' listen to the rain coming ' down on the roof... '"
Theme Of The American Dream In Of Mice And Men
774 Words | 4 Pagesbut he knew that if george gets upset he would have never get the farm he always dreamt of. While curlys wife is dying lennie says "george is going to get mad and he wont let me tend the rabbits, quit all that yelling" lennie is scared of is dreams being gone so in order to do that he thought the best way was tokeep curlys wife quiet. At te end of the story george spares lennie of what curly might do to him by shooting lennie in the back of the head while lennie tells george about all the dreams he has about owning the farm with the puppys and
Dreams Vs. Reality In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
942 Words | 4 PagesLennie and George’s relationship and their development throughout the story is shown through these ideas: dreams and reality, the nature of home, and the difference between right and
The Role Of The American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
610 Words | 3 PagesOf 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.
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