Dreams can be very persuasive and uplifting as well as discouraging, in the right moments. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck introduces the readers to a story of dreams and how those dreams can affect you and others. Steinbeck explains through his novel how dreams can give reasons for people to succeed in life, how they can draw others in and encourage others or how dreams can stray away from reality and how the dreamer can get lost in their own fantasies and never accomplish their dreams at all. Dreams have the power to change lives by giving hope. Curley’s wife has lost her dream and she lives an unhappy life. Curley’s wife had a dream but that dream turned out as hopeless as her fate in the end of the book. She could have made something of herself but she quickly gave up on her dream as soon as something discouraging happened. Now she has to live regretting giving up so quickly. "’I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself.’ She said darkly, ‘Maybe I will yet.’"(Steinbeck 88). She tells Lennie and Crooks about how she almost got a job as an actress. "’I lived right in Salinas,’ she said. ‘Come there when I …show more content…
Candy is drawn in first. "’ Candy interrupted him, ‘I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain't got no relatives or nothing…’"(59). Even Crooks is drawn in to this dream. “Crooks hesitated. ‘… If you … guys would want a hand to work for nothing—just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand. I ain't so crippled I can't work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to.’" (76). This dream that Lennie and George have has the power to change others’ lives. Candy believes in this dream so much that he even defends it against Curley’s wife and her insults. "’Maybe you just better go along an' roll your hoop. We ain't got nothing to say to you at all. We know what we got, and we don't care whether you know it or
One of the main characters George and Lennie run into during the book that has dreams for themselves is Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife, known as the flirtatious “tramp” or “tart,” by all the migrant workers has dreams in her life that are crushed by her husband and mother. Curley’s wife uses her physical appearance as a source of swaying for the other ranch workers. Although she seems to have a trashy first impression, there is more to her than just flirtatious behavior. Her ultimate dream was to be an actress in Hollywood, and pursue her acting career.
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.
Every person in the world has a dream, no matter how small, how large, or how smart you are, you have a dream. You have a wish that something about your current situation would be different. John Steinbeck uses dreams to affect the reader in his novel, Of Mice and Men. Set on a stunted ranch during The Great Depression, an unlikely pair travel from ranch to ranch searching for work. Lennie, a large but unwise man, and George, a small yet knowledgeable character.
Intro Hopes and dreams are essential so you can have things to look forward to and keep you motivated during difficult times. The novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck takes place during the Great Depression George and Lennie, two main characters, have a dream of owning a ranch. They, later on, involve Candy in the dream which motivates them to stay out of trouble and to work hard. John Steinback portrays hopes and dreams for people to survive by showing how the dream calms Lennie, keeps Candy distracted from his dogs and motivates George, Candy, and Lennie during a difficult time. To begin, Steinbeck shows readers how throughout the Great Depression working and earning money was difficult, but having hopes and dreams motivated
Candy, an old and injured worker, offers to invest his life savings into the dream. He sees it as his only chance to have a sense of security in his old age. When George and Lennie first tell Candy about their dream, he says, “If you…guys would want a hand to work for nothing—just his keep, why would I come and lend a hand” (Steinbeck, Chapter 3). Candy’s willingness to put his faith in the dream emphasizes its power. Here is a man who has seen the harsh realities of the world, yet he still believes in the possibility of the
Considering her age, Curley’s wife probably did not understand her mother’s reasons. In reality, her mother may have been protecting her from blindly following others and eventually obtaining an uncertain and disappointing future. After a while, Curley’s wife seemed to partly give up on her dream. This caused her frustration, anger, and hate for the life she ended up
Dreams, a major motif in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is defined as wishing for a better place, future, situation, etc.; Idealized life. The motif of dreams contributes to the development of Character vs. Self-conflict because it involves the protagonist Lennie battling his own disability, relating to theme: happiness is an elusive state that people are constantly searching for and often miss from trying too hard. The motif, dreams, strengthens the improvement of the theme by molding Lennie’s actions towards finding his dream so it displays the meaning of the theme. An example of this is when Lennie is killed by George.
Everyone has dreams that they hope are able to become reality, to get what you want in life you have to take it, no one will give it to you. In the story Of Mice and Men, many characters aspire to have a dream of theirs come true. Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks all have dreams of their own in this story; each of their dreams are different and aren’t ever achieved due to their flaws or the circumstances of the time. Lennie is the main character in Of Mice and Men, he is a simple minded guy that has some type of mental handicap. Throughout the story it is clear that Lennie has one goal in his life, to make George happy so that he’s able to tend rabbits if they ever get a ranch of their own.
Candy then goes on about how he “…could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys” (96) In this scene, Steinbeck exposes that Curley’s wife actually possessed more power in death rather than in life. In other words, her death revoked the dreams of many characters , including herself. Now candy, Lennie, and George will never have their ideal piece of farm land and Curley’s wife will pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. Unfortunately, Curley’s wife
Of Mice and Men Dreams help motivate people to keep moving forward with a goal in their life. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie travel together as migrant workers through California looking for a job. Their dream is to own their own ranch after finding a job that pays well. But impossible from the challenges that they gain along the way. The dreams in the novel affects the characters lives on how they feel towards one another, and themselves.
Throughout 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.
Her inability of achieving her dreams influenced her sense of loneliness as she was then truly alone with nothing left to hold onto and to have going for her. This led to her marriage with Curley and she reminisces how life could’ve been like for her as an actor. Curley’s wife quotes, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me. ”(89) that represents her wishful hoping for the dreams she was unable to achieve.
This scene shows that Curley’s wife never wanted to be on the farm, she wanted to go be a star and get out of her small town. This dream ended when she married Curley, who moved her to an even smaller town. In addition, during this time period it was practically impossible for women to divorce their husbands. This meant she couldn’t leave Curley, even in the name of the law.
The importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men is to give the character purpose and hope. The novel takes place in the 1930’s during the Great Depression, and life was hard because of the tough economic conditions at this time. Dreams play an important role in the novel Of Mice and Men, because the characters need an escape from the loneliness and poverty that is their reality, and it gives them something to work towards. The characters use the idea of the American Dream to feed their desire to have a better life. The characters face many obstacles along their journey, and each obstacle will have a direct affect on shaping how the character develops as well as if they reach their dream.
“Curley stared levally at him. ’Well next time you answer when spoken to”(26). Lennie and Curley seem to always be getting into fights or arguments. Lennie just wants to live the dream with his soft things. Steinbeck uses events to express that the american dream is impossible.