The American Dream Is For Fools Analysis
The American Dream is For Fools
“We know what we got, and we don't care whether you know it or not” (79). The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about a group of men who are constantly aspiring for the American Dream. Since they are just ranchers, making hardly any money, it is obvious that this wish will never be able to come true for them. John Steinbeck uses the characters in Of Mice and Men to show that believing in the American Dream is only for fools.
George, one of the main characters of the novel, is way too optimistic on the idea of achieving the American Dream. “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” (15). What George does not realize after saying this line is that he will never be able to acquire the ideal American life with the lifestyle that he lives now. If he wants a fair chance at the American Dream, George needs to understand that success does not come easy. He is crazy for thinking that this dream is a possibility to be his future because he is just a rancher with a great lack of knowledge and skill.
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“How long’s it gonna be till we get the little place an’ live off the fatta the lan’ –an tend the rabbits?” (56). Through this question, Lennie is making it evident that although he does not understand everything clearly, this is the one idea that stands out in his head. It is wrong of George to promise this huge dream, that will never be accomplished, over someone who is mentally handicapped. Lennie also does not have the right conception of the American Dream - there is more to it than land and rabbits. There is no way he could achieve the dream for him and George because he has no clue where to even begin on the course for
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654 Words | 3 PagesHowever, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that George's dreams are unattainable. The harsh reality of the Great Depression and the social and economic inequality that existed at the time made it impossible for George and Lennie to achieve their dreams, as well as the challenge of keeping Lennie out of trouble with his habit of getting into trouble because of his disability. George's dream of owning a farm becomes more and more distant as the novel progresses, and the tragic ending of the novel makes it clear that their dreams will never be
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Of Mice And Men And The American Dream Analysis
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598 Words | 3 PagesEven by working hard, people don’t always get what they want. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie and George are two friends who are traveling to find a job, so they can finally earn money and live their dream life. They find the farm, and they had a hard path in the future to get their dream. Whether they will reach it is the real question. John Steinbeck developed the impossibility of the American dream in the 1930s by showing that people worked hard for their dreams, if they can’t physically do work they aren’t interesting to people, and people following their dreams become selfish.
Of Mice And Men Sacrifice
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1391 Words | 6 PagesThroughout the novel, Lennie and George discuss the luxuries available to them living on their own farm. During their conversations, George imagines and explains, “We'd jus' live there. We'd belong there. There wouldn't be no more runnin' round the country and gettin' fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we'd have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house” (Steinbeck 57).
Ageism In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
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