Of Mice and Men on the American Dream Essay

George is the logical one, always figuring out some way to keep Lennie going. Such as the beginning of the tale when he states the dream to motivate Lennie to talk about something happy. “‘O.K. Someday we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and.’ ‘Live off the fatta the land’ Lennie shouted!”(Page 14) Talking about the dream gives Lennie some “reset” button, which sets his mood back to his cheerful self. Following the short journey of George and Lennie often involves talk about the American Dream, which ends with George losing his temper. Lennie has talked about leaving, but George wants him to stay. The relationship with Lennie is a vital factor for the dream. The significance of this is that Lennie is constantly a burden to the dream and has no way contributed to it. George needed Lennie in the idea but stated that he could make it without Lennie. Nevertheless, everything George does for Lennie is for the sake of this illusion to become a reality, even if George gets no reward. Also, George has shown that trouble follows this idea and can cause an additional problem. Candy is one of the people who has joined George. “They fell silent. They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they never really believed in was coming true.” (Page 60). No longer a hallucination, George has inspired Lennie and Candy to the point where they will follow him to the end of the world.

Lennie and George’s dream is to own a piece of land to work and live where they can have cows, pigs, chicken a vegetable patch with alfalfa and rabbits. “O.K Someday – we’re going

to George that you really are here to work then, we have a lot of

Do you still remember why does Lennie wants George to talk about the farm the first time? George first introduce that fine-nice farm to us was mainly because Lennie's really want George to quote “Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove” unquote. For George and other workers like the old Candy, as I mentioned, the farm mainly symbolized as a chance of freedom, but for Lennie, since he is not smart enough, it is just as simple as the soft things that he enjoys feeling over the course of the years. However, as the old saying says “Every coin has two sides.” , behind the symbol of nice and lovely rabbits, we also know that Lennie always hurts whatever he pets.

Owning a farm where you can “live offa the fatta the lan’” is George and Lennie’s dream (57). Where they can have crops,“a little house. . . a room to ourself[themselves]”,and of course animals especially rabbits (58). The farm for George will be a place he can be independent while still taking care of Lennie, he can be his own boss in a place of security and comfort. The farm for Lennie would be a sanctuary from a world that does not understand him. There would be a responsibility for him to tend the rabbits, the attribute of the farm that excites him most,while still being with George.

The American Dream is not something you get, but it’s something you have to work hard for, this is what George Milton believes the American Dream to be. Whilst George and Lennie often speak about their dream of getting a farm and working hard to get it, George always looks towards the work involved in getting it. As George states in the novel, “We gotta keep it till we get a stake. We can’t help it, Lennie. We’ll get out jus’ as soon as we can. I don’t like it no better than you do.” Through this quote, Steinbeck is revealing that for the men to get their American Dream, they must go through troubling,

George Milton’s ‘American Dream’ is to have his own land and live a better life with his best friend Lennie. George is pretty resourceful, he came up with a plan to procreate

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

On the night of when they were sleeping near the pond, George and Lennie had a conversation about their new home. George started the topic by saying “O.K. Someday--we are going to receive the jack together and we are going to have a little house and a couple of acres and a cow and some pigs and---- “And live off the fat of the land,” Lennie shouted. “And have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we are going to have in the garden and about

The most important dream in this novel is that of the two main characters Lennie and George. They

Lennie's dream was to live on a farm with George and attend his rabbits. Although, Steinbeck wrote how rabbits secretly equals freedom, so when George killed Lennie, he was trying to help him get his freedom from everything that happened during the Great Depression. On page 81 it says, “Now I won’t get to tend the rabbits.” Lennie says this when he gets into trouble because Lennie wants George to let him take care of the rabbits on the farm they want to own.

“How are the crops doing Crooks,” asks George? “Doing good,” says Crooks. Candy is picking up the eggs the chickens laid the previous night. Finally he sees the little animals that Lennie dreamed of having, rabbits. They have four of them. These rabbits are a constant reminder for George that Lennie is actually gone. All of those years of loyalty, friendship, and frustration, was for nothing. It is his fault Lennie is not here to see their dream fulfilled.

The plan is doomed virtually from the beginning not only because human fellowship cannot survive, but also because the image of the farm, as conceived by George, Lennie, and Candy, is overly idealized. The probability being that life, even if they obtained the farm, would not be as they envision. The fruits and vegetables in abundance, the livestock and domestic animals, and the community of people involved are unreasonable expectations.

In conclusion, The American Dream left George lonely like he has never been with Lennie. Together, the two could have had anything, determination got in the way of that. Like mice, human kind has a tendency to chase after what is right in front of them, because it’s simply easier. Once the dream dust has settled, and we can see the truth, I think readers now know whether they want to continue working hard towards their dream, or start living in

wouldn't let him tend no rabbits as he was warned by George not to do