Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a story about two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small. They travel around with each other, during the Depression, looking for work. In the first chapter, George and Lennie are portrayed like tramps, who wander the streets looking for a place to live and work. They get both of these as the agency 'Murray and Ready's' find them work at 'Buck Barley'. George is very dependant on Lennie throughout the book, as George is mentally immature. They both, however, rely on each other for companionship, as they travel around together, and they need someone to talk to in the ranch. Lennie does say, though, in section one, how he could've had a …show more content…
Many Americans believed that if they worked hard, they could be successful and have their own land, like George and Lennie had dreamed of. This was known as the 'American Dream'. After the collapse of the New York Wall Street stock market in 1929, America suffered from a long economic depression. They only came out of this at the beginning of the Second World War in 1939. Men went from ranch to ranch looking for work, mostly without their families. This meant that all money they made had to be sent back to them, for their children and wives. Work was very poorly paid, so it was very hard for people to buy their own land, which is why it was only a dream! This is why it is such a main point in the book when George and Lennie talk about their 'dream'. During the time of the Depression lots of migrant workers came to California form all over America, looking for work. Life for George and Lennie on the ranch was very lonely, and for all the other men. They played cards together and horseshoes, and even played 'solitaire', showing how lonely they actually were. The men couldn't bring family with them, so they missed friends and relatives a lot. However, for George and Lennie, they were pretty much family anyway and had been travelling around together, so I don't think they were as lonely as the rest of the
Quote #1: "I remember about the rabbits, George.""The hell with the rabbits. That’s all you can ever remember is them rabbits." (1.18-19)
The American Dream is a concept that one may use as a crutch: a reason to hold on to hope. The American Dream is a goal one sets for themselves, a destination point for their journey through life. The novel Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck is filled with the idea of the American Dream. However, Steinbeck has a controversial and differing message about dreams than one would normally think. John Steinbeck’s comment on the American Dream is that most dreams are unachievable. People aren’t meant to live out their dreams.
Back in the day, around the 50s and 60s, racism was an enormous issue all over the world. Decades ago and to this day, racism may have been thought of as one person being less than another. For example, a human may have been considered less because of his/her skin color, religion and beliefs, or language. Despite the reality, none of those ideas show whom that person really is. In “Of Mice and Men,” Steinbeck has the characters use very racist actions toward the stable-buck, Crooks. It is evident that the men in this story are extremely racist because of the racial slurs used towards the black man, no one seems to care what he has to say or what he does, and Crooks is being separated from everyone else in the bunkhouse.
John Stienbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” is about the death of the American dream. George, Lennie and Candy’s dream is to own their own piece of land to work and live independently on. This dream is destroyed by Lennie’s ignorance and Lennie’s strength, which he cannot control. Curley’s wife’s dream is to be a famous Hollywood actress. Her dream is destroyed by her marriage to Curley and the Hollywood director who promised to contact her about her acting career but never has. Crook’s dream is for equality. Racism and the attitudes of others destroy this dream.
importantly, this dream makes George strive toward a goal. George‟s dream is not even close to
He gets his freedom, and he gets to ruin himself, and own a few acers. Lastly, to Candy, the dream is for him to be able to work the garden, and to live in a relaxed environment because he thinks that soon, the boss will let him go. A quote from the story to show how much Lenny likes hearing their American Dream is , and to show how important the American Dream means to him is “’Tell me like you done before.’ ‘Tell you what?’ ‘About the Rabbits’ George snapped ‘You ain’t gonna put nothing over me.’ Lennie pleaded ‘Come on George. Tell me. Please George. Like you done before’” (pg 13). This quote from the story shows how much Lennie believed in the dream. His mental disability made him act a lot younger than his actual age, he dreams a lot and can easily be tricked by what people say. He is very fragile and short tempered, like a young child can be. But also like a child, he believes in dreams, he still has the innocence and pureness, which causes him to have faith, and trust in the dream. A quote that shows that George is believes in the American Dream is “Maybe you’re gettin’ better. When we get a coupla acres I
The most important dream in this novel is that of the two main characters Lennie and George. They
In life we are part of many roles that create dangers we face that may lie beyond our understanding. Even though these roles are hard to understand, they can give meaning to our life. In John 's Steinbeck "Of Mice and Men," we see these men 's day to day lives, the main character; George takes care of his friend Lennie who has difficulties understanding the rules of the world we live in. Through the story there are many ups and downs mostly involving Lennie, who is trying to see through the eyes of George and to do and be as George is. For this reason George is constantly trying to think of what is best for Lennie. Through all of this they face even more dangers and still try to find a way to raise money for a farm to
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the author constructs the setting of the story in a way that it creates a deeper meaning to the overall sense of the story. The places associated with the novel are able to establish a connection to the characters, theme, and plot of the story. The introduction of the setting, which is Soledad, hints the novel’s theme of loneliness, as Soledad means solitude. Through his description of a river that “runs deep and green,” “yellow sands in the sunlight,” “golden foothill slopes,” and trees that are “fresh and green,” the author is trying to show the natural beauty of the setting. As a result, the author is able to create a contrast between the beauty of the background and the hardships of the
“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty,” said Mother Teresa. Humanity has struggled against being left alone and being lonely for a long time. As a result, humans formed a society where they could be together. On the other hand, there are still people who are left out of the society. In other words, there are still people out there who are marginalized, not accepted fairly to the society. John Steinbeck shows the marginalized people’s lives in his novel, Of Mice and Men. In his novel, characters such as Lennie, George, Candy, Curley’s wife, Crooks, and even the ranch workers, are marginalized from the society. Ranch workers like George, Candy, and Lennie have nowhere to go, and they do not have anybody to care for them. Especially for Lennie, he is mentally challenged, too. Crooks, being the colored man, suffers from discrimination. Curley’s wife is constantly surrounded with loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, marginalized people who are neglected from the society, create a society of their own; they share their dreams and help each other out although they are all different from each other.
black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me"
believe it may just happen is all the more tragic as it is bound to
lead him to a life of worry and lack of security, as he is old and a
had sold only the right to use the land, not the land itself. They did
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.