Of Mice and Men - the Crisis of Drama

Ever since humanity has come into existence, the world has allowed dreams to blossom into beautiful flowers or be rejected and die like a fly swatted in a household. Each dream may end in a success or a tragedy, but it is up to the discretion of the cruel, but rewarding world humans inhabit. In the novel of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, a myriad of characters all have dreams that they passionately want to fulfill. Curley’s wife, who remains unnamed in the book, has a dream of becoming Hollywood’s biggest star. Crooks, the black stable-hand only dreams of being able to have friends and be seen as an equal to others. Lennie and George are a pair of migrant workers who want to live the American dream and have their own ranch. Each of these characters’ dreams were all torn down by the world, illustrated by Steinbeck as a cruel place where dreams cannot come true, no matter how passionate a person may be.

For example, Candy, the older, one-armed, ex-worker who is now a permanent resident, bound to the ranch, offers to pitch in his savings in exchange for living with George and Lennie on the hypothetical farm that has kept the two friends together. Crooks, the pessimistic stable hand, previously made a comment on how the dream farm could never be a reality. "I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, … an' that same damn thing in their heads… They come, an' they quit an' go on; 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." (ADD CROOKS HERE) Candy and Crooks are both isolated, Candy because of his disability, and possibly his age, Crooks because of his race. However, Candy welcomes the idea of sharing a farm with Lennie and George, while Crooks sees the dream farm as an unrealistic ideal to help the workers cope with their current situation. Looking back, Crook’s statement foreshadows the events that take place later on. When Lennie is killed, the illusion of paradise, the farm’s possibility, dies too. Nothing truly separates Lennie and George from other migrant workers with heads full of dreams except for the seed of hope planted by Candy in their minds, and simultaneously, the reader’s mind. Candy, the optimist, made the farm seem close, and very possible. According to Jill Karson, in his article “The Need For Commitment”, he states: “...Steinbeck allows for no serious hope that George and Lennie will ever achieve their dream farm”(30-31). However, the statement is easily disproven because of the optimistic nature of Candy, and the money he offers, almost upfront (PUT PART OF TEXT WHERE CANDY OFFERS MONEY) throughout the novel. Candy, who has been bound to the ranch, finally has an opportunity to leave. His personality switches from a dull, filler character to a key part of

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

In Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck shows the fallacy of the American Dream through the characters of Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife.

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.

“He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again” (Pg. 106). “Of Mice and Men” is written by John Steinbeck and was published in 1937. The book was written during the Great Depression, which shows in the book the conflict for getting work. In the book the two main characters are Lennie Smalls and George Milton, and they are the best of friends. The only thing off is that Lennie is not all there, he is not normal. Some of the issues Lennie has is what leads them to leave to the farm. Lennie always seems to make things more difficult for George, but George still protects him and cares for him. In “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck explains how he does not think the American Dream is achievable, that something

In “Of Mice and Men”, the American Dream was literally a miracle during a time where money and work was scarce. With “I hardly never seen two guys travel together… Never seem to give a damn about nobody.”, Slim sums up the nature of the people at the time, they were lone wolves and the dream was an impossible task to accomplish alone. Even so, the bond between Lennie and George gives the audience hope through the use of encouraging descriptions such as “We got a future. We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit-hutch and chickens.” However, this all comes falling down when they meet Curley’s wife. She recounted her dream of “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes…coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me.” Repetition of the word “coulda” gave the reader a sense of what could’ve been if her dreams came true but instead her marriage has become lifeless. Curley’s wife showed that the American Dream apart from its beauty and hopes, was too fragile for reality during the Great Depression.

George and Lennie find work on a farm "bucking barley." On this farm they meet the laborers as well as other characters of this novel including Candy (an older laborer), Crooks (the black stable hand), the boss, Curley (a short man who happens to be the bosses son), Curley's wife (a lonely woman easily excited by the attention of men), Carlson (a ranchhand) and Slim (the local authority figure). The characters in this novel all seem to want to transform their lives and are not able to do so. Curley's wife, a failed actress, is living day to day hoping that she will be able to fulfill her lifelong dream of acting. Slim, has nothing to show for a lifetime of laboring. He, just like George and Lennie, had hoped and dreamed for many years to own a piece of land to call his own. He has to live with the realization that he will probably die laboring just as he has done for so many years before. Crooks, on the other hand, has more of a sociological issue to deal with. He dealt with constant racial issues preventing him from accomplishing the American Dream. He has struggled to be treated as a human being because he has been oppressed by the white workers for so many years. The

The author portrays how the American dream can serve as shelter for individuals against the pelting hardships. In addition, Steinbeck demonstrates how individuals also implement mirages to sanction themselves from both physical and psychological trauma. This is exemplified when Candy utters “you know where’s a place like that?” in response to George recitation of their future haven. The rhetorical question emphasises the level of interest displayed by Candy and how it has deterred him from the sombre death of his “best damn sheep dog”. Steinbeck portrays how the image has soothed Candy’s psychological distress and proved as a catalyst for Candy’s miraculous recovery. Furthermore, Steinbeck also portrays the nature of the American, that of impracticality and irrationality. In the departing scenes, George is forced to shoot Lennie and this is explicitly made apparent as, “Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.” The sibilance of s’s, allows for the production of harsh sounds, inducing a harsh atmosphere. In this scenario, George is immediately hit with the realisation in which he will inevitably continue his life

Another example from the text of foreshadowing is when George shoots lennie in the head the same way carlson shoots candy's dog. Carlson was telling candy how he would shoot the dog to end its suffering and how he wouldn't even quiver. When George found lennie at the river he wanted to end his suffering to so, “ He brought the muzzle to the back of lennie's head... he pulled the trigger... lennie jarred and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering,” (pg.106).

Steinbeck incorporates the theme of the American Dream, an expression used to represent wanted success, throughout his story Of Mice and Men as he provides glimpses of the dreams of many characters. Towards the end of the novel, the fact is that each of the characters “American Dream” is just that, a dream, which is unattainable. In short, Steinbeck portrays his position of the unrealistic desires for untarnished happiness through the dreams of Candy, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks in Of Mice and Men.

Thesis: Through Curley’s wife, George and Lennie, and Crooks; Steinbeck demonstrates that dreams may go askew in the face of greater forces. Dreams prove ultimately harmful for those delegated to the margins of society. Crooks’ dream of not being in isolation represents powerlessness in the face of racial discrimination. As Lennie enter Crooks room, Crooks tries to apprehend him but gives in and lets him stay.

Lennie had a dream to stay with George, live alone together on a farm, and to tend the rabbits they’re going to buy. Lennie and George went to go work on a farm, which they were going to get money from to fulfill their dream. They meet a lot of new people, some are nice and some are mean. One day Lennie gets himself in trouble by accidentally killing Curley’s wife and now he had to pay the price. Lennie’s dream affected Candy and George in a positive way by giving Candy hope and giving George a friend and a life, but it affected Curley’s wife, George, and Candy also in a negative way too by killing Candy’s wife.

To illustrate, George had been talking to Lennie about their dream when he said, “An’ live off the fatta the lan’” (Steinbeck 14). George had the original American Dream, to own land, be his own boss and have someone to share it with. Sadly, all efforts and hopes did not work on account of the incident between Curley’s wife and Lennie. When discovering Curley’s wife’s death, George knew that his American Dream also died with her. Not to mention, while being comforted Curley’s wife said, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear” (Steinbeck 89). Curley’s wife opens up about her American Dream to Lennie and explains that she wanted to become famous and be an actress. When her dream fell through she was stuck marrying Curley who she disliked. Foremost, with a sense of hope, “S’pose I went in with you guys…I ain’t much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and have the garden some. How’d that be?” (Steinbeck 59). After having his dog shot, Candy finds relief in Lennie and George’s American Dream. Candy then knows that this is his chance to have a life after the farm and offers money as well as his share of the land to convince the boys to let him join them. Soon after joining in, like George, his American Dream is crushed with the death of Curley’s wife. In addition, an outside source

This key root involved George and Lennie dream of handling their own ranch; however, Lennie’s tragic end was the result of his innocence that caused the death of Curley’s wife making his death inevitable by George that ultimately crushed their dream. In addition to, the reader witnesses how Curley’s wife had her own aspirations and dreams of becoming an actress ever since she grew up in Salinas (Steinbeck’s hometown), but it was crushed due to her mother’s hegemony and her marriage with Curley which she opposes. On the other hand, Attell’s analysis also validates social realism with Crooks. Crooks, a black man, is shunned out by the white society because of his race that led him to his unfortunate fate of being discriminated from the prejudiced