In Of Mice and Men one of the main themes is the idea of the american dream. This is one of the more important themes in the book because it plays such a big role in how each character pursued life, and their dreams show a different side of who they are and what they want from life. Many of the characters talk about what their version of the american dream is. Curley’s wife talks about how she wanted to be a movie star. Candy and George both want to own their own land. Crooks dream is to work in lennie's garden. However it remains only a dream for them and they are awaken 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
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. The characters understood this and tried to appear stronger and more powerful than each other to get by. Curly fights larger men, to appear strong. Crook threatens Lennie with the thought that George will leave him, and this is meant to scare him because Lennie has a special relationship with George that is irreplaceable. Carlson shoots Candy’s dog to show masculinity in a way and strip Candy of the one thing he really loves. And Curley's wife threatens to hang crooks to prove that even though she is a woman she still has a voice on the farm.
I agree that the title of the book connects to a poem written by a polish writer named Robert Burns. They connect for one reason because in one of the stanzas in his poem Of Mice and Men The full stanza is as follows: "The best-laid plans of mice and men/Gang aft agley (=often go wrong)./And leave us naught but grief and pain/For promised joy." I think connects to the title of the book because George and Lennie had big plans for life but those plans didn't go as they should have and it connects to the part of the poem where it says“ And leave us naught but grief and pain/For promised
Also, the theme of the American Dream is presented in Of Mice and Men through the character of Candy. Candy is an old farm hand who is becoming of not much use around the farm anymore. Candy knows that desperate times call for desperate measures so he goes in on George and Lennie’s plan to buy a little farm. This is shown when candy says “It’ll be our own place.”(Steinbeck,60) Candy shows great spirit throughout the book and really shows off the good aspects of the American Dream. It is only until the end of the book until the plan to go away starts to be questioned. He starts saying questions like ”You an’ me can get that little place cant we, George?”(Steinbeck,94) This denial was once again recognized my Kevin Attell, who said “George and Lennie’s dream is specifically necessitated by and responds to the limitations played on their lives.”(Attell) By using Candy as a character striving for the American Dream, the fact that the dream is attainable to all is presente...
The American Dream is a dream that everyone imagines to be picture perfect. The American Dream means having freedom, equality and opportunity’s to achieve the dream that you conceptualize to be right by you. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck did not want to just illustrate the American dream as being easy, but he wanted to point out the American Dream as being difficult too. Steinbeck made a work of art by composing a great novel to make the reader understand that life can be difficult and at times dreams are hard to achieve. Of Mice and Men was written and based on the settings of the Great Depression (Anderson). The Great Depression was a very dire time that left multiple of people despondent and the unavailing to move on with their lives. The Great Depression created a world where everyone had to seek and survive for themselves. In the novel Steinbeck wanted to explore and point out how powerless people where during the time of the Great Depression. Steinbeck purposely incorporated his characters to depict the life struggle of what people go through during grim times. In the novel, Steinbeck illustrated a great set of characters Lennie, George, Candy and Crooks. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck discusses handicaps, hardships, and friendships of the characters.
For some people, the American dream is acceptance and equality. On the other hand, for others, it might mean fame and fortune. In the short story called “Of Mice and Men” the American dream seems unreachable for a number of characters, such as George, Lennie, Curlie’s Wife, Crooks, and Candy. Although the characters dreams seem eclectic, they all aspire to grasp the same thing: the fulfillment of life. George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own land and living independently crumbles because of Lennie’s stupidity and strength, which he knows not of.
The Significance of Dreams in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Works Cited Not Included The term "American Dream" became popular in the 17th century when the
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 book shows how different characters are striving for their version of the American Dream and have natural obstacles in their way that they have to overcome to achieve their dreams. Three main characters that have American Dreams, but do not achieve them do to obstacles are Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Candy. All three of these characters worked super hard and did their best, but sometimes the best dreams lead to
The American dream ideally constitutes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as stated by America's forefathers in the Declaration of Independence. This vision has been extremely warped in the 20th century to fit the new breed of Americans, which are greedy and self-centered. The main characters opinions in the novel Of Mice and Men of The American Dream substantially differs from each other, and from today's society.
The theme in the book “Of Mice and Men” is “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”. Steinbeck shows us this throughout the story of George and Lennie dreaming and how they pursue them. The story shows how some characters have dreams that they look forward to in the long days on the ranch. Dreams have the power to change lives and give hope.
"A guy needs somebody--to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick." (Steinbeck 72-3). Being alone is one of the worst things I can possible think of. One of the themes in the book Of Mice and Men exemplifies this as the quote describes. Crooks, and the black stable buck, say this quote. He describes to Lennie the pain he goes through to live his life without anyone to talk to and to just be with. The other workers on the farm would not socialize with Crooks besides the horseshoes game the men would play in the evening. Otherwise Crooks would occupy his time alone, reading books. This does not make Crooks happy his books did not fulfill his needs socially. He needed another person to talk to, or just be with. It didn’t even matter whom, just a person. Lennie just happened to have been there for Crooks at that moment. Everyday people do not give enough consideration to those who live their lives without someone. Humans are social beings that need some kind of connection with others to function properly. Without a social bond a depressed state can overwhelmingly "down" a person. People also need the opportunity to brag to others a little. Curly’s wife in the same novel states the following, "Well I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought’n to. I don’t like Curly. He ain’t a nice fella. Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes—all them nice clothes they wear" (Steinbeck 89). She feels the need to tell others how great she could have been and the hopes and dreams she may someday have. She shows her feelings of hope in life. This can relate to everyday students. College guys love to tell stories from the long weekends in college. It makes a person feel good when they can tell a story filled with sarcasm and excitement to make others get a feeling of admiration. Humans live for this type of self-fulfillment.
Candy confesses that he is going to get fired soon because he's too old and that the men believe that when you grow old, "You’re no good to himself nor nobody else" (60). Another character that illustrates cruelty is Crooks, an isolated character. Crooks remembers his past, rather than preparing for his future. His longing for freedom and equality is shown when Crooks bitterly tells Lennie, “S'pose you didn't have nobody, a guy needs somebody – to be near him. . .a
Of Mice and Men introduces multiple major themes throughout the story of Lennie and George. One of these is the topic of the American dream amongst all of the characters. The American dream is defined as, “a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the US,”. The American dream is shown in the story through George’s want to be his own boss, Lennie’s constant want to tend the rabbits, and Candy’s want to be nondisposable as he approaches old age.
When Curly’s wife went to Crooks to ask if he has seen Curly around, Curly said that he hasn’t seen him, but still she was standing there and Crooks said, “You got no rights coming in a coloured man’s room. You got no rights messing around in here at all.” Steinbeck’s use of Crook’s dialogue shows that Crooks had enough pride and independence to stand up to Curly’s wife. She turned on him in scorn. “Listen, Nigger,” she said. “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. Steinbeck uses Curly’s wife’s dialogue to tell the readers that Crooks was always discriminated against. When Lennie was wandering around at the ranch and went into Crook’s room, Crooks said, “You go get outta my rooms. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house and you ain’t wanted in my room.” Steinbeck uses crook’s dialogue, racism and loneliness to demonstrate that Crooks wanted to be left alone, but also from inside he wants to talk to someone. Readers may feel sympathy at Steinbeck’s idea of racism. Crooks was always treated badly and is always discriminated against.
The American Dream as portrayed in of mice and men, at a first glance, appears to be owning land. This is demonstrated in George and Leonie’s dream to own a farm. It is a comfort to Lennie to have George tell. George frequently dream about the dream and how good life will be oce they own land “we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and—“ Lennie finishes“An’ live off the fatta the lan” (Steinbeck 14). This explains. A closer look, nonetheless, reveals that owing land is merely the common perception of the American Dream, and in actuality the American Dream in Of Mice And Men is, indeed, freedom. This can be explained it was land that gave these men freedom. As George he is sittinf realizes that once he
The American Dream in the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is an unattainable ideal having influence on the theme throughout the novel. In Of Mice and Men, two males named, Lennie and George, began working at a ranch during the Great Depression in order to make ends meet. The theme of the American Dream is found throughout the book, because practically all characters at one time or another wish for another life, better than their own. This leads each of them to their demise. Blinded by what is unattainable, each character uses their aspirations as a source of hope but their ambitions lead them to face corruption and cruelties throughout the novel. In this case, the American Dream leads to death, loss, and hopelessness. The American Dream is portrayed through the character: Lennie, Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy. These characters were hopeless, encountered loss, and even through all of this maintained hope. The American Dream, in this novel, is a forlorned delusion that is only present in fairytales.
Everyone has dreams; some more realistic than others. The American Dream captures the attention of many people, but the inevitable failure is hidden beneath the theory that hard work can accomplish anything. Because of the Great Depression, widespread unemployment and an economic collapse occurred. George, Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife all have different ideas of the American Dream. In the book, Of Mice & Men the author, John Steinbeck, describes the American Dream and how it negatively influences people, but also how it gives us the power to continue to move forward.