American Dream Failure

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The Failure of the American Dream
“To live without hope is to cease to live.” Fiodor Mihalovici Dostoevski
There is a terrible cycle that goes along with the hopes of a big dream. The power of hope of the dream overcomes the fears of what can go wrong. This is the premise of the American dream. Rags to Riches. Making the impossible come true. Dreams are so powerful that they could get you to do the wildest things to accomplish them, only to see, as Steinbeck proves in Of Mice and Men, that they never come true. Dreams take their victims through tunnels with no light at the other end.

Firstly, the thought of the American dream and the hopes for happiness and freedom can drive someone to do anything. This is a common theme from …show more content…

Throughout the novel, Lennie speaks of how he and George are going to live off the “fatta of the land”. Lennie states, “‘And it’d be our own, an’’ nobody could can us. If we don’t like a guy we can say, ‘Get the hell out’, and by God he’s got to do it. An’ if a fren’ come along, why we’d have an extra bunk, an’ we’d say ‘why don’t you spen’ the night? An’ by God he would”’(209). A key part of the dream for Lennie and George is the concept of freedom. They don’t have a boss or anyone to report to, and they are excited and driven by the idea of control over their own lives. As a result, this influences many other characters, including Crooks and Candy into hopping on board their unrealistic plan. Candy tries to convince George and Lennie to let him join by saying,’"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"’ (219). Within a small fraction of time Candy had already fully invested himself in the concept of freedom and independence. Dreams are terribly contagious and can lead people down paths to their own demise.

In conclusion, the hopes for the future outweigh the feelings of fear and hopelessness of the past. The thrill and joy that George and Lennie gave their fellow ranchers locks up their sensations of hostility. They all live bad lives, and look to any glimpse of hope, regardless of how

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