Of Mice And Men Pursuit Of Happiness Essay

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

George and Lennie’s dream is to have a patch of land with some pastoral and agricultural farming with nobody to boss them about and this relates to the American Dream because every migrant worker wants this but never gets it because “They come to a ranch and work up a stake and then they go into town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re pounding their tail on some other ranch.”. It gives them hope for their future because without the dream, Lennie and George have nothing to look forward to so they can go on living without a worry because even if something does happen, they know at some point they will eventually be able to get away from it. The other characters that are affected by the dream are Candy because

Of Mice and Men teaches a grim lesson on the difficulties of migrant workers in the era of the Great Depression. Loneliness. Isolation. Hopelessness. Three of the strongest factors Steinbeck explores about the nature of human existence, and the impossibility of the American dream. Steinbeck illustrates the loneliness of migrant workers in the early 1930's and shows how people are eager to try and find friendship in order to escape from their loneliness, and focus on something other than their unrealistic dreams.

In the late 1930 unemployment rates were dropping at exponential rates, people were traveling west looking for jobs, hoping to gain even the smallest amounts of money. They were struggling to survive, fighting for jobs and living in horrible conditions. The Dust Bowl had wiped out most of their homes and many were desperate, people referred to them as migrant workers. The story Of Mice and Men revolves around the adventure of two migrant workers, George and Lennie. The book begins with a scene of nature, calm and beautiful yet cruel and complex. Much like nature, John Steinbeck's book tells the dark side of our nation and it’s people. Because of this, Steinbeck's book is still valuable to teach students. His simple yet complex story characterizes

Steinbeck utilizes the novel as a form of social protest by enunciating the brutal and inhumane way the wealthier class treat the migrant workers. For instance, in order to not loose any profit from the fields, the affluent bankers decide to forcefully drive the families off the fields using tractors to “bite into the house corner, crumble the wall, wrench the little houses from its foundation”(39). However, the working class does not have the opportunity to refuse this decision because of the desperate

First of all George and Lennie’s dream was to own a farm that Lennie was the most

The 1930's were a decade of great change politically, economically, and socially. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl wore raw the nerves of the people, and our true strength was shown. From it arose John Steinbeck, a storyteller of the Okies and their hardships. His books, especially The Grapes of Wrath, are reflections of what really went on in the 1930's. John Steinbeck did not write about what he had previously read, he instead wrote what he experienced through his travels with the migrant workers. "His method was not to present himself notebook in hand and interview people. Instead he worked and traveled with the migrants as one of them, living as they did and arousing no suspicion from employers militantly alert against

Right from the start of the novel, Lennie and George’s dream was made very clear to the reader. Their dream was to save money to buy their own ranch. They never accomplished this dream because George spent a lot of money on gambling and alcohol. Whereas Lennie was childlike and money or anything else did not bother him at all.

One of the themes shown in the book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is hope given to characters by having a dream. There are characters that had ambition of having their own life where they could be independent. Lennie, George, Candy, and Curley’s wife are those characters who make up the dream theme, they all want something different than what they already have, this is their dream.

In the weathered cornfields of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, where everything has been destroyed by recent years of harsh weather, the author, John Steinbech, paints a very descriptive picture; he describes the land as been filled with thick dust causing the farmers to wear their handkerchiefs over the mouths and noses. The dust is so thick that at night it blocks out the stars. In a region of the country that once possessed laughter, love, and crop growth is now filled with tears, sadness, and dying corn. Now, most local families are scrounging to survive. The economic downfall of the nineteen-thirties forces migrants to move westbound to California, setting vagrants against local people and landowners against the poor. Farmers forced off their land by bankers causes finger pointing all around and in some sense makes everyone a victim; the farmers blame the landowners, yet the landowners are people too and need revenue to pay the bank representatives and therefore, they blame the bank representatives. The bank representatives are trying to earn a living too, so they in-turn blame the next hierarchy and so forth. The Dust Bowl economic tragedy has divided the rich from the poor, and upper class form lower. Steinbech toggles between different points of views to ensure all viewpoints are captured. The Joads assume the position of the typical individual displaced and through them, Steinbeck words are visualized by the reader.

Steinbeck creates a scene that illustrates the miserable lifestyle of the characters, revealing the novel’s barren, empty, and gloomy tone. The passage implies that the novel is set in the Dust Bowl states and evokes emotions of sympathy from the reader by providing a short, yet powerful and depressing description of a family’s typical morning. Within the first pages of the novel, the reader becomes aware that the novel will be a description of the depressing and unfulfilling life experienced by the characters.

As a major literary figure since the 1930s, Steinbeck displays in his writing a characteristic respect for the poor and oppressed. In many of his novels, his characters show signs of a quiet dignity and courage for which Steinbeck has a great admiration. For instance, in The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes the unrelenting struggle of the people who depend on the soil for their livelihood. One element helping give this novel an added touch of harmony is Steinbeck’s ability to bind these two ideas into one story: the never ending struggle to survive and primacy of the family.

George and Lennie’s dream of the farm is just out of their reach which motivates them to continue to work tenaciously so their dream will become a reality. As the novel progresses others start to join in on the dream of the farm to bring them some hope as well. Crooks, though at first was hesitant, asks if the “guys would want a hand to work” and that he can “work like a son-of-a-bitch if [he]” wants to. The dream of the farm is wish that George and Lennie would “have a little house”, “a cow and some pigs” and that they would “belong there”. Their dream is also a symbol of their brotherhood, claiming that they have “got a future” and somebody that “gives a damn about [them]”.

     John Steinbeck wrote about what surrounded him. At the time he was writing, the nineteen-thirties, a great depression was plaguing the United States. Many people were out of work. Many farmers were losing their farms and homes. An extreme drought had also wrecked the farms of the Midwest and made them into what is now referred to as the "dust bowl". It was a terrible time to be poor, and most were. People died of malnutrition every day. In California, where Steinbeck resided, migrant workers dominated the workforce. Thousands traveled from all around to pick fruit in the farms of the Salinas Valley for minuscule wages. Thousands more could not find suitable

John Steinbeck wrote ‘Of Mice and Men’ to show how hard life was for migrant ranch workers during the time of the Great Depression and how they were often exploited by their employers. In showing how George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own piece of land did not come true, Steinbeck explores a wider theme, criticising the idea of the American Dream. The American Dream tells people that there is ‘opportunity for each... regardless of the fortuitous circumstance of birth and position. Steinbeck criticises this as these ranch workers were given few opportunities. Settings play a very important part in the novel as they pinpoint clear times and places giving a sense of realism to the story, but they are also used to create atmosphere.