For many years America has remained dreaming to manifest its own destiny. It was fantasies like freedom of religion and speech or hope for a better life that fueled a spark in earlier Americans and immigrants that created a hidden movement that would later be known as the American dream. The American dream started when America began to expand to the west coast and built the transcontinental railroad. The dream described America as the land of opportunity and to conquer a new frontier. It wasn’t until the late 1920s that the dream changed drastically after the stock market crashed and the start of the Great Depression. Poverty had struck the nation and the economy collapsed. The dreams that were achieved changed after the Great Depression and more people just wish for a better life. One of the main themes of the novel, Of Mice & Men, is the American dream. The theme has a large effect on the time and place of where the novel takes place. The two main characters of the novel, Lennie and George dream an almost hopeless fantasy to have own small farm and rabbits. The American dream is important during the setting of the novel, Of Mice and Men, due to the unfortunate economic situation of the United States and California’s Salinas Valley during the Great Depression which gives each character their own hopes and aspirations of a better life.
Of Mice & Men takes place in California’s Salinas Valley during the Great Depression. The Salinas Valley is a very rural area during the 1930s. This is where the author of the novel John Steinbeck grew up and witnessed a firsthand account of the setting of the novel. Because of the poor economic state of the nation, any kind of skilled or manual labor was praised for income. Even though Steinbeck was not poor, he was a part of the working class society, and worked as a ranch hand just like George and Lennie were. During the Great Depression any kind of jobs were taken so men like Lennie and George were common to travel for work.
Because of Lennie’s condition and working with people that do not fully understand his condition it is very hard for Lennie to be a part of society in the 1930s. Lennie is very innocent and most times does not know what he is doing. Lennie’s care taker George always teaches him lessons to make sure he does not get in trouble.
As aforementioned they lived in the Great Depression a time where achieving the American Dream was almost impossible to do, especially with all the farms being lost in Oklahoma. Most of the character's perspectives of Lennie was that he was most simply a passive aggressive retard. Later in the novel the reader notices that he is incredible strong which serves to positive and negative effects in the story. Also, his thinking pattern is rather awkward or odd for someone of his age because what keeps him concentrated is this depiction of a farm where they will ¨tend the rabbits..build up a fire in the stove¨ (Steinbeck 14) which makes him mentally ill. When something is said to him about animals, he would instantly recognise with this desire, but for everything else, he is pretty much a useless man but other people who were willing to listen like Slim and Crooks who get to know him understood that he is if anything vulnerable which is what many characters were even
John Steinbeck's agricultural upbringing in the California area vibrantly shines through in the settings and story lines of the majority of his works. Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The drama is centered around two itinerant farm workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, with a dream of someday owning a place of their own. Lennie Small is a simple-minded, slow moving, shapeless hulk with pale eyes whose enormous physical strength often causes him to get into trouble. George Milton on the other hand is small in stature, clever, dark of face and eyes, and acts as Lennie's guardian and calming force.
The theme of the American Dream is presented in Of Mice and Men. The theme is particularly expressed through and around the characters of George and Lennie. Both of these characters have a belief, a dream of owning their own little place to call their own, or as George would say “We’re gonna have a little place and a couple of acres an’ some cows and some pigs...”(Steinbeck,14) This dream is mostly expressed through Lennie but George is the one who supports Lennie. Lennie is the most dedicated to the dream. This dedication is shown when he said “An’ live off the fatta the lan.”(Steinbeck,14) This proven b critics like Kevin Attell who said ”This is the kind of life that George and Lennie dream of living.”(Attell)
Of Mice and Men takes place in the 1930's of America during the Great Depression. The American dream vanished, and the ideal land became the land of misfortune. The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession that led to numerous bank failures, high-unemployment, as well as dramatic drops in GDP, industrial production, stock market share prices and v...
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.
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 pursues 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.
The American Dream is what everyone so desperately desired for in the 1930’s. Many come to America for the American Dream, to be successful, have freedom, and support their families by the better opportunities given. In Of Mice and Men the movie the setting sets in the 1930’s where Lennie and George become farm workers for Curley’s dad. Working in these conditions in the 1930’s must of been difficult as shown in the movie when Lennie and George face problems in their journey together. What’s your American Dream?
Thomas Hobbes in his Leviathan states that, "in the state of nature mans life is nasty, brutish and short". In depression era America, no greater truth could be said. There were millions unemployed, largely unskilled and living on the margins of society. The lowest of the low were the migrant labourers travelling from place to place trying to scratch a living. They often had to travel illegally by freight car with all its consequent dangers. Their life expectancy was low, crime was rampant and despair was a fellow traveller. This is the setting of John Steinbeck's, 'Of Mice and Men'.
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
To begin, Lennie has this big dream of George and him living on their own land, being their own bosses, and tending to his own rabbits. Lennie’s major obstacle in achieving his dream is that he is slower than most people for his age. Lennie acts like a child making George the responsible adult. Lennie also listens to whatever George says because Lennie looks up to George almost like he is his brother. Lennie also has a tendency to forget what he is told:
Of Mice and Men is one of John Steinbeck’s major novellas. It tells of George Milton and his mentally-handicapped friend, Lennie Small. George, a short, shrewd operator is the foil to Lennie: a humongous, infantile oaf whose last name “Small” embodies nothing but utter irony, for he is not by any means small. Similar to the majority of Steinbeck’s books, Of Mice and Men’s setting is in the Salinas Valley, California— however, this one takes place in the 1930s. The novel revolves around the idea of the American dream and the hurdles the characters face in their quest to achieve it. The novella takes place during the great depression. During that horrid period, each individual has their own idea of the American dream. Steinbeck touches on several themes related to the dream such as the actual dream itself, loneliness, powerlessness, and the future’s unpredictability. Steinbeck adequately utilizes these themes to depict the unfeasibility of the American dream.
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man.
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.
The theme that John Steinbeck amits from the novel Of Mice and Men is not everyone’s american dream can come true because one wants it to. This alludes to a famous poem by Robert Burns called “To a Mouse”. The theme of this poem is the greatest schemes of mice and men often go astray. Meaning that things do not always go as one plans it to. The novel is set in the Great Depression (1929-1939) in Southern California (near Soledad). Characters in the novel such as George and Crooks have obstacles that hold them back from achieving their own american dreams. George is held back from his by having to care of Lennie, who cannot take care of himself. Crooks is held back from his american dream because of his skin color.
John Steinbeck, in his essay America and Americans, uses many contradictions to explain his views on the American Dream. I have witnessed and experienced many of these contradictions in my life. Through my experiences, I have learned to believe that the American dream is no more than just a dream.