Hopes and dreams are huge factors of the development of modern society‒technology is being re-evaluated, theories that seemed impossible are being considered and new ideas are embraced. Dreams inspire many people who are willing to go beyond the old standards of society and challenge what is normal. Even so, during the Depression, unlike today, dreams were not always welcomed and hopes were often crushed. The characters in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck can attest to these things. Yet, these characters found ways to use their hopes and dreams as forms of discipline, as a way to form strong relationships and as an element which distinguishes the main characters from the other characters. Discipline is used most often to help in the achievement of goals. Human beings are prone to indulge in the luxuries of life rather than attain a seemingly impossible dream. George Milton and Lennie Small, two characters from Steinbeck’s novel, are united together as they pursue the American Dream. They often imagine owning a farm where they work for no one but themselves, “‘… [living] offa the fatta the lan[d]’” (Steinbeck 57). However, such a dream does not come without hard work. George, Lennie and eventually Candy, set certain goals in order to be able to pursue their utopia of the farm. They need to earn the money needed for the farm, plan and organize the future to prevent bankruptcy and find a way to purchase the land before time runs out. With these goals in mind, George recognizes the need to spend their meager earning wisely and save their money. For this reason, George doesn’t indulge on the finer things in life. For example, George, although fully capable, does not drink himself to death or spend the night in a cat house ... ... middle of paper ... ...f a ranch of their own or blindly live their boring ranch hand lives, complete with drinking and spending time in cat houses. George, Lennie and Curley’s wife are set apart due to the fact that they had or have dreams of which they wished or wish to be fulfilled. In the end, dreams and hopes were a major component in the book Of Mice and Men because, for the characters, hopes and dreams were used as a form of discipline in achieving their goals, as a way to create lasting friendships between characters and, for the reader, as a way to recognize important characters. Dreams and hopes were not only important in the 1930’s, but also today, in today’s modern society. All that is left for mankind to do is take a leap of faith and go beyond what anyone else will ever imagine is possible. Works Cited Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.
George and Lennie live in a hopeless present but they somehow try to keep a foot in an idealized future. They dream of one day running their own ranch, safe and answerable to no one. Others such as Curley's wife dreams of being a movie star, Crooks, of hoeing his own patch and Candy's couple of acres'.The dream ends with the death of Lennie.
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.
The authors John Steinbeck and Robert Burns approach their ideas in very different ways, while having the same themes the reader comprehends key concepts in a different light. Throughout the short story “Of Mice and Men” and the poem “To a Mouse” the theme of hope is a key concept, even though while in both stories their hope did not bring them their happiness, friendship brought them together. Correspondingly while having similar themes of friendship, loneliness, and hope, this all takes place in different settings with different characters.
Curley’s wife represents her broken dreams of becoming an actress. Lennie and George represent a dream in progress, it is uncertain if their plans will work out as intended or plummet before takeoff, even Crooks and Candy see the appeal in Lennie and George’s fantasy and join them. The dream in progress gives hope to Lennie and George and continued to even after losing previous jobs. Curley’s wife is constantly restricted, she married Curley so that she would no longer be alone but now is in the same state as before, just on a ranch of men. She tries to talk to the other men but she is then seen as "jail bait" and avoided, making her even lonelier. Her dream of being an actress has failed because she chose a quick way out and married Curley. She is now living in her failure and has no longer a dream to aim for. Perhaps the most important part of the story is the the part in which Lennie has accidentally killed the puppy given to him by Slim, and is grieving over him in the barn, “This ain’t no bad thing like I got to go hide in the brush. Oh! no. This ain’t. I’ll tell George I foun’ it dead.” He unburied the puppy and inspected it, and he stroked it from ears to tail. He went on sorrowfully, “But he’ll know. George always knows. He’ll say, ‘You done it. Don’t try to put nothing over on me.’ An’ he’ll say, ‘Now jus’ for that you don’t get to tend no rabbits!” (Steinbeck, 85) He feels powerless to his own strength, he believes that he will never achieve his dream because of his mistake. George and the other men are out once again and the only person who comes to his emotional aid is none other than Curley’s wife. “Don’t you worry about talkin’ to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four dollars bet in that tenement. None of them ain’t gonna leave till it’s over.” “If George sees me talkin’ to you he’ll give me hell,” Lennie said cautiously.” (Steinbeck, 85) He
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.
It is the natural inclination of all men and women to dream. In John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men,” the American dream is sought after by many different characters. However, the main theme in the story is how these dreams are unattainable, and how because of the Great Depression, all American dreams were dead. But what is the American dream? A unitary definition does not exist, however, the meaning of living the American dream is something that differs for everyone. For some people, the American dream might be 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 to live independently crumbles because of Lennie’s stupidity and strength, which he knows not of. In contrast, Curley's wife dreams of becoming an actress l...
The 3 themes in “Of Mice And Men” are loneliness, powerlessness, and dreams often fail.
The book, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck may have many themes present in the book. However, I think that there is only two. Those two themes are friendship and human nature. These two subjects play a recurring role throughout the whole book to make it what it really is.
Steinbeck portrays to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument; how the Great Depression affected individuals and their own American Dreams. Steinbeck uses allusion to show the reader that “ the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”, Archetype to show the prejudice attitudes towards each group of people during the great depression, and lastly foreshadowing to hint to the readers what will happen throughout the novella. Through the use of these devices Steinbeck is able to capture the image of the “American Dream” and portray how certain characters were truly
In an American society, many people settle in the United States of America in hopes of seeking the American Dream, which is the freedom of life, equality, and the aspiration to accomplish individual goals in life. Any person that has lived through the great depression has had their life drastically changed by many hard obstacles that had to be fought in order to sustain an excellent life. Some of the crucial themes of the novel Of Mice and Men is that having your own dream attains ambition, companionship, and assurance, allowing one to succeed in life with meaning and importance. Three major examples show this idea. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men divulges the longing for friendship, the desperation for the American Dream, and the cruelty of humanity through the creation of his two main characters, George and Lennie.
a better way of life - but something always seems to get in the way of
In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck illustrates the dreams of George,Lennie, and other characters and how these dreams are unrealistic and unattainable .Their dreams were the reason that these characters kept moving forward but because of difficult circumstances the dreams of George,Lennie,Candy and Curley's wife are shattered , they knew that their dream was never really attainable but they still had hope but because they were so greatly impacted by Lennies actions their dreams are never accomplished.
Dreams and hope are all worth while but in the book it shows how hard it is to get your dreams. In the book Of Mice and Men the first scene is of them fleeing from their job. The job was contributing to the dream but since there was conflict they had to run otherwise there would be no dream. When they get to there new job a worker over hears their dream and wants to get in on it. “you know a place like that?” said candy. Said on page 29 on the ipad. So they agree and they're way closer to their dream then they ever thought they would be. “George spat on the floor disgustedly. “We got ten bucks between us.” Then he said thoughtfully, “look, if me an’ lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks. That’d be four fifty. I bet we could swing her for that. Then you an’ lennie could go get her started an’ i’d get a job an’ make up the res’, an’ you could sell eggs an’ stuff like
Have you ever wondered if all these dreams that you have will ever come true, or are they just to get our hopes up? In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme of utopia or an ideal place is spread upon the entire book. For instance, one of the main characters Lennie has always dreamed of a utopia with his best friend George that they would live in a barn and he would be able to tend the rabbits. Another main character in the book is Curley’s wife who always wanted to be an actress, but her utopia never came true. Overall, our dreams and personal Utopias are often nothing but unrealistic fairy tales we use to maintain some sense of hope in our lives.