Distant Dreams: An Unrealized Reality

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John Ernst Steinbeck one of the great American writers of the twentieth century was born February 27,1902, in Salinas, California. Throughout his life he learned to appreciate his surroundings and love for the rural areas of Salinas. This appreciation that would later come out in his writing. During Steinbecks college education at Stanford University he worked many jobs, “including one as a… laborer in the beet and barley fields of Salinas.”(Telgen 241). For two years during Steinbeck's withdrawal from Stanford “he worked on a ranch south of Salinas” (Telgen 241). In response to his own experiences in the fields and ranches of Salinas Steinbeck would later write his timeless novel Of Mice and Men. In this novel, Steineck reveals the importance of dreams specifically in George and Lennie’s life’s (as well as the other characters), and how its strength can get them through difficult times, even if those dreams do not come true. Of Mice and Men is set in a time, where dreams do not exist for the average American, but was found within characters like George and Lennie. The central dream in this novel is George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own ranch. The dream comes to life as George explains ‘“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 and—’, ‘An' live off the fatta the lan',’" (Steinbeck 14). However, George and Lennie’s dreams are just brittle fantasies that will never be accomplished. By the end of the novel George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own farm has failed. Their dream fails for many reason, one being “Their image of the farm is overly idealized.”( Themes and Construction: of Mice and Men). George and Lennie overly idealize thei... ... middle of paper ... ...“‘Nobody never gets to heaven and nobody never gets no land. its just in their head”’(81) the dreams in this story were all in their heads, they were just idealized fantasies. Although the dreams in the novel Of Mice and Men proved to be a failure, somehow it’s strength got them through difficult times. Works Cited Fontenrose, Joseph. "Criticism by Joseph Fontenrose." DISCOVERING Authors. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Junior. Gale. Dulles High School. 22 Apr. 2014. “Of Mice and Men.” Masterplots. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 115-135. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print. "Themes and Construction: Of Mice and Men." EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Junior. Gale. Dulles High School. 22 Apr. 2014.

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