Examples Of The American Dream

The American Dream is the chance for a person of any gender, race, sexual orientation, or or anyone of diversity to have an equal opportunity to change their and become happy and successful in their own eyes. Three books that explain the American Dream are The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. Each book includes the main character trying to change his or her life by finding what makes them happy. They all leave their hometowns and have a chance to start over.

George is one of people in the ranch that had big goals to achieve, but he couldn’t accomplish any of them because of Lennie. George taking care of Lennie affects his dreams in a big way because every time George gets closer to his dreams Lennie completely ruins it. In the story it states George saying “ dumb bastard likes to touch everything he likes”(steinbeck 41). This is very important because this shows how childish lennie acts. The most important thing to him was to have dreams to have a farm and his own place with Lennie. This quote “ we got a future “ (Pg . 14) shows that he had a dream worth living for. Another way George had gotten his dreams taken away was when Lennie killed their boss’s wife. I know that George was a very lonely person because in the story he talks about guys like him in the ranch . “ guys like us , that work on a ranch are the loneliest guys in the world” (Pg . 13). This is very important because it shows his feelings towards being lonely.

In this novel, George and Lennie have the dream to purchase a small farm and farm the land themselves. In contrast to most dreams, their dream is very modest and achievable. Their dream is realistic because their friendship has been established through years of togetherness and the basic needs of both the characters (Scott, 1985, p. 39). George and Lennie are dependant on each other. Through Lennie, George can feel superior and justify his own failures. Through George, Lennie is provided with direction in life. Lennie is protected from himself by George. But, the most prominent reason their dream is realistic is that the farm is in actual existence and George has a vivid picture of it in his mind (Scott, 1985, p. 43). Sadly, regardless of the realism of their goal, inevitable destruction must occur. Although it is beyond his control, Lennie’s circumstances are what destroys the dream. Steinbeck creates Lennie to exist in a society where he is rejected because of his constant conflict with others. According to Brenda Foster Scott in John Steinbeck's Concept of the Individualistic Survival of the American Dream, “such characters are destined for failure not only because of a non-teleological view which pits them against a world which lies beyond any distinctions of that which is moral or immoral, but also against a society which cannot tolerate their inabilities to

He stayed by Lennies side and expectations which was to live the normal "American Lifew"Having their own piece of land would defy the odds that they would make it in the society that they lived in. Lennie and George cared for each other in contrast to the other lonely men that they found themselves around. Both friends are in pursuit of love and happiness which is an included in their specific American dream .Lennie dreamed of living off the fat off his own land and endures in his own hardship and work for no one but himself.

In contrast, Steinbeck gave George a dream that he truly wanted for his and Lennie's own good, though he could not have due to the many boundaries in his way. George was a generally placid character, and knowing he was limited only to himself to rely on, he regarded the dream as a mere story. George was dubious of the idea until Candy offered his help that George illustrated the true hope he had of living off the “fatta the land”(Steinbeck, 60). Although in comparison to Gatsby, George’s ideas were much more realistic, at that moment he seemed to forget the burden encumbering him; Lennie’s troublesome behavior was arguably the only imposition as to why George could not have the freedom he longed for. Crooks spoke to Lennie of the many men who had the same picture of land in their minds. “‘...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…’”(74, Steinbeck). The unlikelihood of George getting a beautiful piece of land to himself was high on its own, let alone with Lennie at his side. George allowed the idea of having money offset his true values, thus allowing himself to forget his responsibility, as well as his role to take care of Lennie.

The American dream has been a beacon of hope and motivation for the millions of people who have immigrated and grown up in the United States; especially for those of the lower class. Through hard work and determination one could completely change their life for the better while provide better circumstances for future generations. The American dream is defined as, “a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful” (The American Dream). Today, youth of the lower class are finding this dream to be nearly impossible to achieve, even by working hard. For many it has become nothing more than a pipe dream. The American dream is still alive, but it is on it’s final breath; especially for the poor youth of America.

Steinbeck illustrates the American Dream during the Great Depression using characters and their thoughts. Utilizing indirect characterization, he shows how characters value the comfort that their dreams provide. When George describes their dream in vivid detail, Lennie often becomes very giddy and complacent (Steinbeck 13-14).

In Of Mice and Men, there were lots of examples, of the american dream being unachieveable. The best example, of the American Dream not being achieved, is George and Lennie not getting to own their own farm. It was a dream, that they both shared. There were numerous times, where George and Lennie had talked about getting the farm. As time went on, more people were wanting to be a part of that dream. Instead of having to work for a longer time, they were going to quit working at the end of the month. They would then buy the land, with Candy’s money. When Lennie ended up killing Curley’s wife, George knew that his dream wasn’t going to happen. He may have known all along, that it wasn’t even going to happen. Steinbeck showed us, that people have a big plan for their life, but it doesn’t always end up how they would like it to. “ I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her,” (Steinbeck 94).

I think his message to readers is that there is no limit to dreams. George and Lennie talk about their dream and about how they are going to have so many things and livestock that they would have in their own land. “’O.K. Someday- we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and-’ ‘An’ live off the fatta the lan’,’ Lennie shouted.” (Steinbeck, 14) “’Well,’ said George, ‘we’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof…’” (Steinbeck, 14/15) “’Let’s have different color rabbits, George.’ ‘Sure we will,’ George said sleepily. ‘Red and blue and green rabbits, Lennie. Millions of ‘em.’” (Steinbeck, 16) “’An’ we could have a few pigs. I could build a smoke house like the one gran’pa had, an’ when we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and make sausage an’ all like that. An’ when the salmon run up river we could catch a hundred of ‘em an’ salt ‘em down or smoke ‘em. We could have them for breakfast. They ain’t nothing so nice as smoked salmon. When the fruit come in we could can it- and tomatoes, they’re easy to can. Ever’ Sunday we’d kill a chicken or a rabbit. Maybe we’d have a cow or a goat, and the cream is so God #@^^ thick you got to cut it with a knife and take it out

Steinbeck’s characterisation of George and Lennie to portray the idea of the American Dream, is conveyed through their big hopes and dreams to have their own ranch. George devotes the majority of his life to looking after Lennie, whose blunders prevent George from achieving his dream, or living a better lifestyle. Though George’s loyalty to Lennie is estimable, he often feels conflicted in Lennie, to whom he has a long-time friendship with, that he often yearns to break, in order to live the life of which he dreams of. Evidence to support my previous statement is when George revealed, “... God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cathouse all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An' I could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool”. Lennie has also made it evident that he wants in when it comes to owning a ranch. This is suggested when Lennie gently voiced, "We could live offa the fatta the lan'." Similarly, to how Steinbeck uses George and Lennie as characterisation to explore the idea

There are many versions of the American Dream. For many that have recently come to America,

Steinbeck gives the view that dreams are what keeps people going and gives them reason to continue on in life. Both George and Lennie have a running dream of owning a farm with crops and animals, for this dream is the one that keeps them working and trying to obtain it. George is more focused on just being able to stake a claim and be his own boss and not have to work for others whereas Lennie just wants nothing more than to tend to the rabbits and pet them. Steinbeck strengthens both Georges and Lennie’s dreams when he states, “O.K. Someday - we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple

The Great Depression was a very negative event in human history. The economy dropped, lifestyles were being ruined, and on top of that, the Dust Bowl wiped out crops for farmers and dried up everything. Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck emphasizes how the Great Depression impacted everyone’s lives through their imagining of the perfect lifestyle, the bringing together of companions, and the struggle for survival. Steinbeck uses the characters’ dreams of the perfect lifestyle as a way to show how the Great Depression impacted their lives. Most people, during the Great Depression, fantasized about the perfect lifestyle and how they would live their life with no trouble.

The American Dream is the idea of the United States having an endless opportunity for anyone, regardless of their past, race, beliefs, and their economic life now. In the novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, each character was driven to something that they enjoyed or wanted; something they had to work hard for and strive to have it. In the book, many of these objectives were connected to achieve The American Dream. Lennie and George's American Dream is to pursue their ideal life by owning their own ranch, Candy’s dream is to help Lennie and George buy their ranch and become apart of their little group, and Curley’s wife was dedicated to become an actress and live the “big life” in Hollywood. In conclusion, Lennie and George

“With us it ain’t like that. We got a future(15).” George and Lennie is set on the idea to own that he even knows of some land that he thinks they could buy. George and Lennie travel from town to town, trying to achieve their goal. It is an dream that they will always be working for. In this time period, many migrants travel to earn a living like George and Lennie. Steinbeck's showed how hard is it to achieve the American Dream for many Americans, especially during the time period of the Great Depression. In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck crafts the theme of Dreams by using it through different aspects of the story, that a lot of people have a dream but, failed to achieve it.