Themes Of The American Dream In Of Mice And Men

Azar Nafisi, a distinguished Iranian writer, and professor once wrote, “The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.” The American dream is a national ethos for the United States, it is the set of ideas that this country upholds. Immigrants and citizens from countries all over the world come to the United States to start over, or to achieve true independence; to get a chance at their American dream. However, the normalized notion about the American Dream used to be surrounding achievement and was an exodus of the suburban lifestyle. It was known to most as the white picket fence dream, with gender roles set in stone and was simply the ideal American life.

Most people in this era were focused on working their way to achieving “life, liberty, and freedom.”This is seen with George and Lennie’s dream in the novella. Their idea of working their way to obtain and maintain their own farm was the epitome of the American dream throughout this time. However, this was not the case for them, nor was it the case for other people with the same dreams. The preconceived notion of the American dream is indeed unattainable is a major theme seen in Of Mice and Men, with the far-fetched shared dream of George and Lennie, regretted decisions from multiple characters, and the way characters Candy and Crooks latched themselves onto George and Lennie’s own