Hopes And Dreams In John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

Lennie and George's dream is a second chance for characters that ultimately know they don’t have one. Candy, because he is crippled, seeks a new life with Lennie and George on their farm, where he will have purpose. When talking about helping to buy the

He is used to heavy work and can do a lot more physical labour than the average man. George is a character that looks after Lennie as he is mentally weak. They have built up a love for each other that has made their friendship as tight as a box. Lennie looks at the same dream from a different prospective.

He doubted Lennie because of his incapability to keep his head down and do what he’s told. Lennie constantly asked George to reassure him of these dreams to comfort and motivate him.

George and Lennie believe they can achieve their American dream because “‘I [George] got you [Lennie] to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.’” (Steinbeck 14). They feel like they can rely on each other and their friendship and loyalty prevent them from isolating themselves. Their presence on that ranch even changed the people around them because they were accepting of the outcasts. Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife all open up to them about the isolation and loneliness they feel. Candy asks George if he can join them on their dream of owning their own property. George says he will consider it but eventually denies the offer when the body of Curley's wife is found, because he realizes the dream of owning a farm with Lennie is dead. As Peter Lisca states in his article, “On Of Mice and Men” from The American Dream, “The dream of the farm originates with Lennie and it is only through Lennie, who also makes the dream impossible, that the dream has any meaning for George.” While it is clear that Lennie needs George, George needs Lennie too. Without Lennie, George loses his sense of purpose and is likely to isolate himself like all the other ranchers. The strong bond between the two of them serve to contrast the economic and social conditions at the

Hopes and dreams can be very important for peoples’ needs and survival. In Steinbeck’s story, Of Mice and Men, each of the main characters is driven by their hopes and dreams; it provides a sense of motivation and animation to each of their being. From Lennie and George being driven by their hopes and dreams of owning a farm, to Curley’s wife’s dreams of becoming an actress, having dreams plays an essential role in giving hope to the characters of Steinbeck’s story. Although dreams and hopes are essential themes in Steinbeck’s story, in a sense, Steinbeck does seem to emphasize that dreams are not meant to be achieved, and that there are other factors that are essential for survival. I believe Steinbeck included their dreams to give

For the longest time they had both talked about their desire to become landowners and to grow their own crops. All Lennie wanted was to grow alfalfa to feel to his rabbits. Their shared dreams being out of reach is apparent to the reader until Candy comes into the picture. Candy, a hardworking ranch handyman comes in with a full-fledged proposal. He offers them all of the money he saved up to fund a bit of land George and Lennie had their eyes on. In return, he would like to live on the land with them. They all agree that this is what they will do and not to let anyone know. Lennie destroys this dream by accidentally crushing Curley’s wife’s spine. George, Lennie, and Candy’s dream fails to become reality because of Lennie’s ignorance and strength.

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.

He yearns to be seen as an equal to everyone else, wishes to be self-sufficient, to have a companion, and to be able to live a life of his own choosing. This dream is significant to Crooks since it provides him with a feeling of confidence, self- dignity, and pride that was not so often appreciated during the time when he was feeling lonely. To be specific, in Chapter Four, when he is conversing with Lennie and Candy about the dream farm that Lennie frequently speaks about, Crooks promises to work for nothing as long as he can live his life out there without the fear of being put out (Steinbeck). Perhaps, with the help of Lennie and the others, it could have been a true reality to be free and successful. But, the undeniable circumstances, such as the discrimination Crooks faced, would not have gotten him very far as he would have liked to. To illustrate, Crooks is “put in his place” by Curley’s wife, when he voices out his feelings, causing him to lose his pride and hope to be seen as an equal to the other white men at the ranch. Due to the prejudice Crooks faces because of his race, the overpowering circumstance dooms his desires to be independent and equal. After all, he wishes to acquire the perfect American Dream. But, there is no security for anyone in a prejudiced world, least of all a black stable hand with a crooked back. Hence, the cruel and unequal circumstances Crooks encounters in Of Mice And Men restricts him from fulfilling his dreams and

A twenty-five percent unemployment rate. People desperate for lodging and food. Families stretching every penny to support themselves. Government trying to solve these problems through reforms and programs. This is what the world in the 1930s was like for Lennie and George, two migrant workers traveling across California, earnestly trying to achieve the American Dream. Even though these dreams seem impossible to accomplish, during the Great Depression a dream was a reason to get out of bed.

with George where he can take care of rabbits. One night, before arriving at the ranch, Lennie and George camp by the Salinas River and talk about their hopes for the future. Lennie says to George, “Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits,” (14). Later in the story, Lennie is in the barn with Sometimes dreams don’t come true

Aspirations of success often drive individuals toward success. However if one only focuses on their dreams and not on working to achieve their goals, they will not be successful. Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck in their respective novels Great Expectations and Of Mice and Men, use their main characters failures in manifesting their aspirations to warn about the dangers of aspiring about the future and not focusing on success in the present.

George takes care of Lennie and Lennie is there for George even when George doesn't necessarily want him to be. George knows he could have a better life without Lennie but he can't leave him because he's afraid something will happen to him if he does. Throughout the story however, George’s feelings for Lennie show because he constantly is looking out for him, as shown when he says “If there's any fightin’, Lennie, you keep out of it” (92). Later on, George realizes towards the end of the story that Lennie is what makes him special, showing that he understands he needs him in order to be happy. Even in the end when George shoots him, its to protect Lennie from any pain that would be caused by the other men who are after him, but he is barely able to do it “George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again”(146). George’s dream ends with him protecting his best friend until the end, even if he knows it will end his happiness, because it's the right thing to do in the hard situation he

Throughout the story, George was a good friend to lennie in many important ways. One way he shows friendship is when he puts in a good word for Lennie to their boss. He says to the boss, “He’s sure a hell of a good worker. Strong as a bull!”(pg 22) He says this so Lennie can get a job on the farm and get paid good money to save up for their dream of

Crooks is one of the many characters who has to deal with an impairment everyday but his impairment is not like the others impairments. With Crooks being black no one likes him because the time this book is set in is when slavery is still taking place. “This is a nigger talking an a busted nigger so it don’t mean nothing“(pg71). This example shows that Crooks is very aloof from everyone because no one cares what he has to say because he is black. A final instance when this impairment is used is when Crooks first tells Candy he wants to help with their dream house by staking out some of his profit to help with the payment so he can live with them. He later changes his mind because he is a black and no one would want him there. Crooks knows that he has to stay aloof from everyone because of his impairment of

In this case, George learned this the hard way. Once Lennie did the last bad thing he could do, George knew that he had to decide whether he wanted to struggle or survive, the American dream was no longer an option for them, at least not together. Was George finds Lennie, Lennie says, “you ain’t gonna leave me, are ya, George? I know you aint.”(Page.103 line 2-3) This quote proves how even Lennie knows that George has been held back by him. That day, after Lennie killed their boss’s wife, he knows that he can’t continue on with him.