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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.
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.
Dreams give people motivation and a sense of hope to not give up when life's hard conditions get in the way of success. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, George Milton has his own “American Dream” where he will live in a house, that he bought with his hard earned money, with Lennie. They will grow their own crops and own farm animals to feed themselves. This dream keeps George motivated to find new jobs when Lennie gets them into trouble. George does not want to give up on working hard and making money on ranches.
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. Even when he was growing up, he had a passion and love for writing. Once he entered high school, he would stay up all night just to write. He would even invite friends to listen to his readings. Researchers have found out that Steinbeck would often sent short stories or pieces of his works to magazine companies under a fake name and add no address. At age fourteen, he knew he wanted to be a writer. After he graduated from Salinas High School, he went to Stanford to study marine biology. Steinbeck attended Stanford for six nonconsecutive years, then he dropped out, in 1925, without any degree. Had decided to travel to New York and worked many odd low paying jobs. Steinbeck started out as a reporter but was fired, then became an apprentice for painting, a surveyor, then finally a fruit picker. It wasn’t until
The novel of mice and men by John Steinbeck is a heartwarming story about two men George and Lennie. George is a small stocky man who prides himself on his ability to be independent, and often taunts Lennie by saying "God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want.” (pg12). Lennie on the other hand is a very large childlike man who is very dependent of George. These two have stuck together for a long time and over that time have developed a dream of owning their own ranch. Steinbeck uses a variety of techniques to display the theme “even the best laid themes can go wrong”
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.
In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck depicts the main characters as dreamers who constantly contemplate on the thought of living their dreams. Since Lennie believes that the lovely dream will occur, he eagerly tells Crooks about how they are going to
With the setting as the Great Depression in the 1930s, George and Lennie of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men have overcome the adversity of being unemployed as they pursue work through Murray and Ready.In addition, they are bindle stiffs and are among other dispossessed males who must ride railroad cars and migrate from job to job. However, they are not alone like most of the other workers; due to the fact they have the friendship and trust of one another. In the beginning to the end George and Lennie share the hope of having a little farm of their own on which they can live on "the fat of the land" someday. (Citation) With this dream, they conquer the terrible alienation that men without homes encounter. Thus, George and Lennie overcome the adversities of poverty, alienation, and despair while staying true to their friendship.
John Steinbeck was a major literary figure in the 20th century and continues to be widely read in the twenty-first century. Steinbeck was born on February 27,1902 (About John Steinbeck) in the Salinas Valley of California. (Laskov) "His father, John Steinbeck, Sr. was the County Treasurer and his mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, was a former school teacher. As a youth, he worked as a ranch hand and fruit picker. (John Steinbeck [2])". "He attended the local high school and studied marine biology at Stanford University between 1920 and 1926, but did not take a degree" (John Steinbeck [1]). Steinbeck's fascination with science and biology is evident in most of his works such as in this quote from the Grapes of Wrath: "Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up in the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments." (Steinbeck 165) As Steinbeck began his writing career, he took many other jobs to support himself. For a short time, he worked at the American in New York City, and then returned to California where he worked various jobs such as a painter and fruit-picker before taking a job as a caretaker for a Lake Tahoe Estate. (John Steinbeck [1]) His job as a caretaker allowed him time to write and by the time he left the job in 1930 he had already published his first book, Cup of Gold (1929) and married his first wife Carol Henning (John Steinbeck [2]). After his marriage he moved to Pacific Grove, California where, in the early 1930s, Steinbeck met Edward Ricketts, a marine biologist, whose views on the interdependence of all life deeply influenced Steinbeck's novel To a God Unknown (1933). (John Steinbeck [2])
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. Between 1919 and 1925 Steinbeck was acknowledged as a special student at Stanford University. According to Peter Lisac, “Variously employed as a had-carrier, fruit-picker, apprentice printer, laboratory assistant, caretaker, surveyor, reporter, writer, and foreign correspondent let him acquire knowledge in many areas.” (1) Even in his youth, Steinbeck developed a love of the natural world and diverse cultures. Steinbeck produced two children from his second wife, Elaine Scott. The early 1930’s became a struggle for Steinbeck, both in his
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27th, 1902. His mother, Olive Steinbeck, was a teacher and also was a major influence on John's writing. His father, John Steinbeck Sr., was a county treasurer. When Steinbeck was a child, during his summers off from school, he worked on a farm, which was a good experience for later writing. In the beginning of 1919, Steinbeck was accepted to the University of Stanford. Later, in 1925, he left without a degree. He wrote lots of short stories and articles for the College's newspaper. Steinbeck moved to New York to write, but had to support himself by being a construction worker. He started writing for the New York American, but didn't make enough, so had to keep his construction job. In 1929, Steinbeck returned to Salinas to write Cup of Gold. He had to work as a caretaker for a summer home in Lake Tahoe. In 1930, he meets Edward Ricketts, who gets him interested in marine biology. Steinbeck also married his first wife, Carol Henning. He publishes more novels such as the Pastures of Heaven, and To a God Unknown; but of all those, Tortilla Flat was his first selling novel. This was published in 1935. In 1936, he also published In Dubious Battle and in 1937, Of Mice and Men. Then, possibly one of Steinbeck's best selling/ greatest works, the Grapes of Wrath, was published. This publication won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book award in 1939. He told stories of families that were poor during the depression and of their powerless efforts against the government and society that has put them down. Steinbeck then traveled to Mexico to shoot the film Forgotten Village (documentary). When he returned to the United States, he became a war correspondent and wrote about the Second World War. He moved back to New York City and married Gywn Conger, in 1943. Then they had two sons, Tom, in 1944 and another son in 1946, named John IV. By 1948, Steinbeck divorced his wife, went to Russia three times, and lost his good friend, Edward Ricketts in a car crash. Then he quickly married Elaine Anderson Scott in 1950. By 1959, Steinbeck published several screenplays and served as a correspondent for the Vietnam War. In 1960, he toured the US with his poodle and recorded his travels and titling it Travels With Charlie.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows American dream as an unreachable goal for the characters. Of Mice and Men is a novel based on two childhood friends, Lennie and George, who travel together in search of work. Lennie, the gentle giant, has a mental disability and an obsession of petting soft objects. One day, while stroking a girl’s hair, Lennie accidently kills her. And eventually by the end of the novel, George is forced to shoot Lennie. Steinbeck shows American Dream as an unreachable goal because of a character’s standing in the society, their dreams to be unreal and their dependency on other characters.
Everyone dreams about something. However, it is important to know when the right time to dream is, and when to wake up. A major theme that Steinbeck conveys in the book Of Mice and Men is the pursuit of the American Dream. The book tells the story of two men trying to earn a better life. Their American Dream was to get their own place somewhere and live together. Although, through the characterization of Lennie, the symbolism of rabbits, and the setting of the book, Steinbeck is trying to convey that people cannot continue to live in a dream.
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.
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. He had a pretty average childhood with a supportive family and a decent education. While growing up his mother, Olive Hamilton, was a major factor in his education, since she was a schoolteacher and made it her duty to educate him. His mother most likely was the reason he developed a love of reading and literature and ended up going to Stanford. In his child there were only two major events that affected his writing. These were when he worked on a ranch with migrant workers, and when his father’s business failed and the family was temporarily thrust into poverty. These two events most likely sparked his interest in the poor lives of the migrant workers. His experiences on the ranch taught him about the harsh and impoverished lives of the migrant workers and his experience of being in poverty enabled him to understand what life is like when one is poor, as the migrant workers were. This understanding inspired some of his most famous writings such as: Of Mice and Men, In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath. These experiences also allowed him to add a sense of realism to the stories. After graduating from his public high school in 1919 Steinbeck went to Stanford. He went there for 5 years before dropping out without a degree and moving to New York. The following years were highly tumultuous for Steinbeck and he held many odd jobs while trying to get his writing published. In 1935 he finally got his first big break when his critically acclaimed novel, Tortilla Flats, was published. After this he became quite successful and well known although the skill in his writing seems to fall after WWII. After researching his life I decided to focus on using his most famous n...
John Steinbeck, popular American author, became interested in literature due to the influence of the novel Le Morte d’Arthur. Steinbeck decided that he wanted to be a writer in high school because of the book. He would often write stories and read them to his friends. In 1925, Steinbeck worked in construction and as a reporter, which helped him gain ideas for his first novel. After working those two jobs, he settled down and started writing serious fiction in California. Steinbeck wrote about the labor issues and other issues he saw in the United States of America. This lead to the first play-novelette he wrote, Of Mice and Men. He considered it be an experiment. Originally Steinbeck wanted to make it a play as well but it failed.