Of Mice and Men
In “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck shows the desire of George and Lennie for a piece of land of their own as a representation of the American dream and how unattainable it can be for the common man.The “American Dream” also is what keeps people going even when all their chips are down, the hope of winning. Steinbeck carefully crafts the idea that dreams can come true and then just as carefully shows you the destruction of these dreams.The two main characters in this novel are George and Lennie: their relationship is built on caring and trust. George and Lennie are willing to do just about anything for each other yet Steinbeck shows that even though they care for each other it is not enough to achieve their dream. Showing that the dream can be obtained is what supports the fact that America is the land of opportunity and the failure of the dream shows what in reality happens to a majority of Americans. Of Mice and Men was written during the 1930's at the time America was immersed in the Great Depression. Jobs were scarce and job security was being threaten by expansion of technology in the farming industry. Having a dream was a way of helping many Americans escape the harsh reality of
Having a common dream though is not enough to bring it to realization. Each man must sacrifice something to bring the dream into reality. Lennie must behave if he wants to have rabbits to tend and George has to stay away from the whorehouse to save money to help pay for the land. Candy has too put up all of his savings that represents his security. Crooks volunteers to work for free. Despite everything these men do to help accomplish their dream outside forces can help destroy the dream. Curley’s wife is the outside force she is the direct cause of the end of the dream for all the characters in the novel. In the movie we can clearly see how she tears into Crooks and makes him feel hopeless once again. Throughout the story Curley’s wife represents a force that destroys men and invites men to destroy her as we finally see when she offers herself as a temptation that Lennie cannot resist(Goldhurst 55). With Lennie, Curley’s wife is everything George feared. The temptation Lennie would be unable to resist and what would finally get Lennie in serious trouble. Trouble, George would not be able to help with and that would prevent them from getting the piece of land they both wanted. ranch of their own as hopeless and it ended with us seeing the dream was hopeless, because ironically Lennie was who made the dream worth it. “George said softly, “ I think I knowed from the first.I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got thinking maybe we would.”(Steinbeck, 94)The American dream is but a fantasy. fact that George and Lennie are the central characters their dream is not unique to them. Candy is who is able to make the readers believe that the dream will
Some topics in this essay:
George Lennie,
Candy Crooks,
George Lennie’s,
Instead Lennie,
LennieJohn Malkovich,
Depression Jobs,
Trouble George,
Lennie Curley’s,
Lennie Curly,
Weed Sinise,
george lennie,
lennie dream,
curley’s wife,
characters novel,
american dream,
american dream fantasy,
temptation lennie,
dream owning,
ranch own,
wife george,
piece land,
curley’s wife george,
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Approximate Word count = 1156
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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