At one point or another, most of the characters in Of Mice and Men admit to dreaming of a different life. Before his death, Lennie hopes to someday tend to the rabbits on George’s dream farm. Curley's’ wife confesses her desire to become a movie star, Crooks allows himself the fantasy of hoeing a patch of land on Lennie’s farm, and Candy latches onto George’s vision of one day owning a couple of acres. All of these dreams could be considered a part of the American dream, for the American dream is the ideal that every American should be able to achieve success and prosperity through determination and hard work. However, none of these dreams ever come true. Through how Of Mice and Men portrays its character’s hopes and dreams as nothing more …show more content…
It is most evident that Crooks’ doesn’t believe in the achievability of the American dream when he is talking to Lennie about George and Lennie’s fantasy of someday owning their own farm. Crooks immediately takes this dream of theirs as just another unachievable fantasy used to take a person’s attention away from everyday life. He specifically says to Lennie, “They come, an’ they quit, an’ go on; an every single damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a single goddamn one of ‘em gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a piece of lan’. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets not land. It’s just all in their heads. (p.72)”In this quote, Crooks is referring to how he has seen many men come to the ranch with the same dream, but nobody ever achieves it.. However, he later changes his mind and begins to believe in the reality of Lennie’s dream when Candy tells him that he already has most of the money gathered to buy a small plot of land. When Crookes hears this, he too joins in on this dream, regardless of his stance on these types of dreams shorty before, and on how it was impossible for them to become a reality. Unfortunately, Crooks was correct in the beginning when he said that no man’s dream of getting his own piece of land comes true, and Crooks’ unachieved dream of working on George’s dream farm only becomes another example of that when the plan fails. Crooks’ stance on the American Dream plays a big role in the novella’s criticism of it, especially when he too, sets aside his skepticism and latches onto Lennie’s dream, just to find out that it too did not become a
“The best laid schemes o’ mice and men, Gang aft agley often go wrong, And leave us nought but grief and pain, For promised joy!” Robert Burn’s quote makes us believe that even the best laid out plans for joy often go wrong and brings us grief and pain. George and Lennie’s plan was for a better future. The future where they didn’t take commands from someone; where they took care of themselves. As George and Lennie keep talking about the farm and more people joining in on the plan, it looks like it might happen. But with the foreshadowing through this quote: “Look, Lennie. I want you to look around here. You can remember this place, can’t you? The ranch is about a quarter mile up that way. Just follow the river. (15)” This quote foreshadows Lennie messing up and it creating a larger gap between the dream farm and them. When Lennie kills Curley's wife, the idea of the dream farm slowly starts to disappear. As George finds out about what had happen, he realizes that plan for a farm was just an idea, an illusion. “—I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would”
In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck portrays dreams as being unattainable. Most of the characters in the book want to have something of their own to be happy but most of their dreams are never fulfilled because of different factors. Even Crooks the stable buck knew that dreams are never really attainable. After lennie tells crooks about the land crooks says “Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’... and nobody gets no land”(pg 74). Crooks who as seen many men with the same dreams as george knew it was never really attainable.
Steinbeck uses foreshadowing throughout the story that hints on them not achieving their dream. Crooks one of the workers, predicts that Lennie and George will never get their own farm. Also, George looses hope and stops talking about the dream. As Crooks and Lennie discuss the plan to get a farm, crooks docent think that Georges and Lennies dream will become possible.’‘I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, …’em has a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ‘em ever get it…” In other words Crooks has seen many people with the same dream as George and Lennie that haven't come true. Crooks says that none of the peoples dreams come true, this foreshadows that Georges and Lennies may nit come true. As a result, The failure of dreams creates an effect creates an uncertainty that their dream will come true. Not only does Crooks think that their dream will not come true, but George lost hope in their dream too. While George and Lennie are sleeping by the water, George tells Lennie a story about what their farm would be like, but George breaks down and doesn't want to talk about it. While George and Lennie are sleeping by the water, George tells Lennie a story about what their farm would be like, but George breaks down and doesn't want to talk about it. “I aint got time for no more…” in other words, George is tired of having dreams he doesn't think he can
This piece of literature portrays that false hope is a part of everyday life especially during the great depression. Every influential character in this novella seemed to have some sort of goal in their life that was discontented by the harsh reality of their life and the economy of the United States. George Milton expected for things to get better if he kept working hard, but then Lennie killed Curley’s wife, resulting in George euthanizing Lennie. Working hard and praying that life will get better isn’t always enough, which is the message of harsh reality that Of Mice and Men sends to the novella’s readers. Like everybody, George had a dream of happiness and comfort, which never became reality because of
The 3 themes in “Of Mice And Men” are loneliness, powerlessness, and dreams often fail.
Crooks dream is to work in Lennie's garden. However, it remains only a dream for them and they are awakened by the fact that they can't have the perfect American dream. Another way that this idea is used in the book and by characters is that Lennie and George keep faithful to the American dream as a way to give them hope and something to look forward to in life. The book takes place in the great depression where power was everything and if you were weak you were killed off by the strong so that they could survive.
Every person has an American dream, no matter how big or small, everyone has one. Their dreams however, vary from person to person, based on past experiences. While some people will chose to try to own a small farm in California, others will want to go to Hollywood and become an actress. Though American dreams are commonly found in living people they are also able to be within fictional characters as well; such as in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Only American dreams can go astray due to problems that were not foreseen. In Of Mice and y Men, Lennie was the unforeseen problem with George, Candy, and his American dream because of his ableism. His mental ableism made him love to touch soft things such as hair, even though he could end
The American Dream is a thought that everyone has at some point. Some are bigger than others and some are harder than others, but everyone hopes to accomplish their American Dream. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows that the American Dream is a myth, not a reality. John Steinbeck shows the American Dream being a myth through a few of the characters in Of Mice and Men. For example, Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Candy all have American Dreams, but they also have some obstacles that stop them from completing their American Dream.
Everyone has an American dream, a belief that represents anyone can carry out a higher quality life through hard labor, and finding happiness at the end. These people work their lives to fulfill a dream that seems impossible, but in the end they either succeed or fail. Despite the odds, people still dive into this idea not knowing how it will end. By taking risks in life, they have a higher chance of achieving this dream of theirs. It ultimately shapes their character and spirit. Stopping at no extent, they make sacrifices to meet their main goal. This dream is put to the test in Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, which takes place during the Great Depression causing George and Lennie, mentally disabled friend, to have a hopeless American dream. Their dream ultimately shapes their character and spirit, inspiring them to achieving this dream, but others dreams are crushed due to the Great Depression; similarly Steinbeck suggests that the American dream is unattainable due to the time setting, Great Depression.
George is almost certain is will happen, as he wishes for 'a little house' with a 'few acres' of land to grow their own food. This is also important as it shows that in 1930s America, the main goal was to achieve stability, to be able to rely on yourself and not be worried about getting 'canned' everyday and to live, not only survive on the bare minimum. However, even George's simple dreams seem incredibly unrealistic and Crooks sums this up the best as he says 'nobody never gets to heaven and nobody never gets no land' which shows how many people attempted to acheive the same thing, to achieve stability, however no one ever did. At the end of the novel, George's dream comes to an abrupt stop as he has to kill Lennie. These final moments show how short life in 1930s America was, and how unfair situations were. Even though Candy still offered to give George his savings, George chose the solitude life of a ranch worker as Lennie was part of his dream, and how he couldn't even seem to reconsider living the American dream without him shows the reader how much Lennie meant to him.
Candy, Lennie, and George all have the dream to own land; they discuss gathering money together to save. Lennie meets Crooks and they talk a while as they wait for George to return from town with the other workers. The pair goes through all the trials and tribulations of owning land only to be stopped by personal conflict. John Steinbeck illustrates the theme of dreams and the affection on the decisions the characters of Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife make in Of Mice and Men.
Other than being a topic of the novel, The American dream identify with a few characters. Lennie and George's fantasy of owning their little homestead and rabbits with Candy was a case of what a normal American dream was amid the 1930s Great Depression. The Great Depression has changed throughout the year relying upon the condition of the country. Amid the Great Depression the normal dream was simply singular fulfillment. To fulfill one's self amid the Great Depression was distinctive. Getting another or surprisingly better occupation was restricted of gaining fulfillment, yet the place where there is fresh chances to succeed was filled with emergency after the share trading system smashed. The American dream had lost its impact on America amid the 1930s, yet was still vivacious when men like George and Lennie sought after a superior and distinctive life and perpetual miracle into the desire for the better of individual
...deal with them that together, they could “get a big stake” (63) in order to buy a “little place an’ live on the fatta the lan’” (63). Candy says he would “cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some” (67). However, after Lennie accidently kills Curley’s wife, Candy in “his greatest fear” (107) asks George if they could still “get that little place” (107). But he knew it was no, and right at that moment his American Dream comes to an end. Therefore if Candy would be all by him following his American Dream without depending on George and Lennie, he would have been successful.
Crook’s dream was to have freedom like he had when he was a child. George and Lennie’s dreams were very similar in their own way. Georges dream was about getting a piece of land of his own and Lennie’s dream was to tend to the rabbits on their own piece of land. George and Lennie’s dream was the main dream throughout the book where they thought of owning a ranch of their own. Lennie’s concern in the dream was about tending the rabbits, which is emphasised in the number of times he mentions it during the book, “tendin´ the rabbits”.
In Of Mice and Men, it seems an incontrovertible law of nature that dreams should go unfulfilled. From George and Lennie’s ranch to Curley’s wife’s stardom, the characters’ most cherished aspirations repeatedly fail to materialize. However, the fact that they do dream—often long after the possibility of realizing those dreams has vanished—suggests that dreaming serves a purpose in their lives. What the characters ultimately fail to see is that, in Steinbeck’s harsh world, dreams are not only a source of happiness but a source of misery as well.