Common Themes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

For example, Candy, the older, one-armed, ex-worker who is now a permanent resident, bound to the ranch, offers to pitch in his savings in exchange for living with George and Lennie on the hypothetical farm that has kept the two friends together. Crooks, the pessimistic stable hand, previously made a comment on how the dream farm could never be a reality. "I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, … an' that same damn thing in their heads… They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it." (ADD CROOKS HERE) Candy and Crooks are both isolated, Candy because of his disability, and possibly his age, Crooks because of his race. However, Candy welcomes the idea of sharing a farm with Lennie and George, while Crooks sees the dream farm as an unrealistic ideal to help the workers cope with their current situation. Looking back, Crook’s statement foreshadows the events that take place later on. When Lennie is killed, the illusion of paradise, the farm’s possibility, dies too. Nothing truly separates Lennie and George from other migrant workers with heads full of dreams except for the seed of hope planted by Candy in their minds, and simultaneously, the reader’s mind. Candy, the optimist, made the farm seem close, and very possible. According to Jill Karson, in his article “The Need For Commitment”, he states: “...Steinbeck allows for no serious hope that George and Lennie will ever achieve their dream farm”(30-31). However, the statement is easily disproven because of the optimistic nature of Candy, and the money he offers, almost upfront (PUT PART OF TEXT WHERE CANDY OFFERS MONEY) throughout the novel. Candy, who has been bound to the ranch, finally has an opportunity to leave. His personality switches from a dull, filler character to a key part of

At the same time, while the dream may never be realized, Of Mice and Men suggests that in order for life to be full and meaningful, it must contain dreams. George and Lennie never achieve their dream, but the dream holds their remarkable friendship together. Their dream is real because it's real in their imaginations. The dream keeps Lennie happy and stops George from becoming "mean" and lonely like most ranch hands. The dream gives them life, even if life never allows them to achieve their

Crooks experiences discrimination on the ranch. Crooks sleeps in a barn instead of the bunkhouse where all of the other men sleep. When Lennie first walks into Crooks’ room, Crooks gets defensive and announces, “‘You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room’” (65). Crooks alienates himself from society, because he thinks that society has alienated him. He desires to be included. Crooks wants to punish the men for not allowing him in the bunk house. Crooks feels rejected. Crooks describes to Lennie why the ranch workers do not want him near them: “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink’” (65). Since the workers do not include him, Crooks thinks that he does not belong at the ranch. His self esteem diminishes when the men isolate him for something he can not change. Finally, Lennie reveals his dreams of owning a farm to Crooks. Crooks acts skeptical of the idea when he explains, “‘I seen hunderds of

A third significant example is George’s and Lennie’s dream of having their own place. For George the idea of

Dreams give a person hope, and hope makes life worth living. In Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck chooses dreams as one of his central themes. As the reader digs deeper into the story and characters, the theme of dreams expands as the novel goes on. Lennie and George held on to their dream of moving to a farm. Even though George had his doubts, he kept the dream alive for Lennie. Candy, the swamper, is a dreamer too. He wanted to escape his miserable life working on the ranch to go with George and Lennie to their dream farm. Many of the characters in the novel had dreams about their future. Lennie, George, and Candy wanted to move to a farm, and Curley’s wife wanted to be admired. All of these characters were examples of how John Steinbeck

Their dream also sets George apart from the others because it means he and Lennie have a future and something to anticipate. Unlike Lennie, George does not see their dream in terms of rabbits; instead, he sees it in a practical way. Their farm will be one where they can be independent and safe and where he will not have to worry about keeping track of Lennie 's mistakes. They can be secure and in charge of their own lives. However, Lennie is the one who adds the enthusiasm because George never really believed they could swing this farm of their own. He mostly uses the story to give Lennie something to believe in for their future. Only when Candy offers

Candy joins in on George's and Lennie's dream, yet he understands before the end of the novel that his dream won't work out as expected. Additionally, Curley's wife dream to become a famous actress in Hollywood,and wear nice cloths and stay in

“Of Mice and Men” is a short story written by John Steinbeck. In “Of Mice of Men”, George and Lennie, the main characters, are forced to run away from Weed after Lennie gets in a mix up with a girl and is accused of rape. They end up getting a new job in Soledad to work on a ranch. While there as ranch hands and migrant workers, George and Lennie form good relationships with some, but bad relationships with others. Lennie has tons of physical strength stored deep inside of him that he doesn’t fully understand that he has. With this strength, he unintentionally kills a mouse, breaks Curley’s hand, kills his new puppy, and kills Curley’s wife. Without the option to migrate to another ranch for work, George is forced to kill Lennie for the other men were out to get him. Ever since the beginning of George and Lennie’s adventure they had their dream in mind as a “light of the end the tunnel.” George comforts Lennie with this dream of theirs as he puts the barrel of the gun to the back of his head and pulls the trigger. Dreams play a very important role in this novel. In “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck uses failed and elusive dreams to show how captivating life can be when chasing the American Dream.

So this is one of the themes in section one, that george and Lennie are loneliest and they have no family. Another theme is George and Lennie's dream. George told lennie “ Ok, someday we’re gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres and a cow and some pigs and”’(14). In the story George and Lennie have a dream and the dream are their hopes and the direction to their life.

Because Lennie as well as George talk about what animals they want to have and what the place will look like, and how happy and nice there lives would be living on a farm like

Well, George and Lennie are using their dream as a goal to reach. George is telling a story about him and Lennie being different from other people, not only because they have each other, but also they know they will be able to get their own land. “‘Tell me- like you done before.’ ‘Tell you what?’ ‘'About the rabbits.’

To start off, this theme unfolds itself in the first few pages of chapter one when George and Lennie are having a one-on-one conversation. In this scene Steinbeck uses word choice and dialogue to illustrate the actions George are taking to protect and comfort Lennie. This connects to the theme in such a way that his smooth talk is starting to affect Lennie. He’s starting to realize that he has someone to count on.

Lennie listens to George, so that they are able to get a job and fulfill their dream. “George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you-- talk to you or nothing” (Steinbeck 86). “Says I can’t tend no rabbits if I talk to you or anything”(Steinbeck 86).“No, sir. I ain’t gonna talk to you or nothing “(Steinbeck 86). “If George sees me talkin’ to you he’ll give me hell,” Lennie said cautiously.

Helping us to remember what is resembled when we were young and naïve. This dream is obliterated by Lennie’s death because of his naivety and mental weakness was part of his behaviour that he can’t control. Crooks dream for equality is another example of the dream. Crooks was guaranteed equality inside Lennie and George’s fantasy, on the ranch however discrimination and racism lead him to obliterate his needs to pursue this dream. One of the techniques that Steinbeck used is foreshadowing that lead up to the point when George kills Lennie and the dream was shattered because of that incident.

In his novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck tells the story of two migrant workers in 1930s California. In every aspect of his writing he addresses some part of the human condition by utilizing thematic ideas. Three of the most powerful are the difference between dreams and reality, the illusion of having power, and the importance of relationships. Throughout the story different characters express the dreams they have for themselves.