The American Dream

The American Dream started off as propaganda in order to make the American people of the early twentieth century work harder to build a successful economy. The idea of the American Dream is that every American citizen has an equal opportunity of making money along with owning a large house, some land, and having a family with kids. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates that the American Dream, no matter how simple is impossible to achieve. As everyone has their own interpretation of the American Dream, Steinbeck uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife to demonstrate how the American Dream is impossible to achieve and how important the dream was for people so they could carry on with their lives.

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.

By looking at Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck one can see the American Dream as a major theme which is important because through the characters of Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife Steinbeck reveals that the dream is often a myth.

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

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.

The last victim to fall under the illusion of the American Dream is Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife dream is become famous actress. “I tell you I ain’t used to livin’ like this. I coulda made somethin’ for myself.” (Steinbeck 88). A guy from a show told Curley’s wife that she could come with them, but her mother, who is strict, thought she was too young. Another guy told Curley’s wife she could be in movies and was going to write her a letter. Knowing her mother kept letters from her, she rebelled by marrying Curley. Therefore, she gave up her dream cognizing that her controlling husband wouldn’t let

In the story Of Mice and Men the concept of the American Dream is used constantly throughout the book. The American Dream is something that we as the people fantasize about, we want a better future for ourselves and we want more opportunities. That is the way it has always been, the American Dream has existed through many generations and has changed very much over time. Back when The Great Depression occurred, the American Dream was all that people had to give them hope and aspiration. For some people, the American Dream might actually feel like a dream, they feel like it is something they cannot achieve. The American Dream has gotten so complex over time, that people today are struggling to achieve their American Dream. People set too high of expectations for themselves, and in the end, it is

The American dream is the idea that success is available to all regardless of family background or social status. It is achieved through hard work, talent, and ambition. However, in The Mice of Men, the American dream is not possible. Steinbeck shows this through the actions of Curley’s wife as she represents women of that time. Curley’s wife is a very lonely person and not very hard working. She even antagonizes the men on the ranch because she thinks she can get away with it, which shows just how weak she is. According to Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the American dream is not possible and this is demonstrated through his use of the character Curley’s wife.

The American Dream can be defined as the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Lots of people during the Great Depression had an American Dream. The problem was, was that the American Dream was never attained because of the somber time period that these poor people were going through. Back then and still today, people say to one another to chase their American dream or never give up, but when faced with difficulties or obstacles, it is hard to overcome the American dream. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck all of the characters had some sort of American Dream whether it was big or small during the Depression time period that they wanted to be reached. But none of their American Dreams were attained because Steinbeck’s message was that dreams are supposed to be imagined and not achieved. Although people will argue that the American Dream was achievable during the Great Depression, it actually was not because of people’s disabilities, tough job competition, and the harsh discrimination toward those who were different.

The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America if they just work hard enough. The American Dream gave hope to all Americans that they have a chance to be successful despite their backgrounds. Although the American Dream inspired many, several people took a more negative view on it. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck criticize the American Dream in their novels: The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men. In these two novels, Gatsby and Lennie both have dreams they so desperately want to achieve. The green light on the end of Daisy’s dock is symbolic of Gatsby’s dream to repeat the past and be reunited with Daisy. On the other hand, Lennie has the dream to buy a patch of land with George where he can tend the rabbits. Although these dreams may seem harmless, Gatsby and Lennie made some big mistakes that led things to take a bad turn. By analyzing both Gatsby’s and Lennie's dreams, it will become obvious how the American Dream ultimately fails them.

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

Well, The American Dream is written into the Declaration of Independence: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The American Dream is the belief of the American Society that each individual can, through hard work and strength of mind, achieve everything they have ever wanted( ). Lennie and George’s dream of owning a farm and living off the “fatta the lan” symbolizes this dream. Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men are wanting a different life that represents the American Dream. For example, George and Lennie’s American Dream is owning their farm and being their own boss and not having to listen to anyone else. Having this constant thought in mind George and Lenny always work as hard as they can and to save up their money without spending much on their own selfs. Curley's wife is affected by the American Dream before she dies because of her belief that she could be an actress. Even Crooks allows himself the nice fantasy of hoeing a patch of garden on Lennie’s farm one day, and Candy latches on desperately to George’s vision of owning a couple of acres. Crooks is motivated by his own American Dream, which ends up being one of inclusion and companionship. Before the action of the story begins, circumstances have robbed most of the characters of these wishes. Curley’s wife, for instance, has resigned herself to an unfulfilling marriage. Their journey, which awakens George to the impossibility of this dream, sadly proves that the bitter Crooks is right: such paradises of freedom, contentment, and safety are not to be found in this world (Kannan). Not only does Of Mice and Men relate to the American Dream but so does Travels With Charley. In Travels With Charley Steinbeck sets out on his journey and realizes so many people in the real world are trying to achieve the American Dream. He finds a whole new breed of modern people who were pursuing their own version of the American dream – to live free from the world of

Candy (an old man who lost his hand), George, and Lennie, dream of having their own ranch. A place where only them make up the rules. Living their dream off “the fatta the land.” Where Lennie would tend the rabbits, and they would have alfalfa. Our emotions stir as this dream slowly dies off into the

Dreaming is essential for the human spirit, the reason homo sapiens sapiens wiped out the neanderthals was because we could believe in something bigger than ourselves. Even when our dreams are far from fruition, we as humans still believe in them as it is in our nature. S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders and in John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men have certain characters that possess dreams that they believe in and work towards, whether they’re achievable or not. Many unique personalities such as Crooks the stable buck, Dallas Winston, Curley’s Wife, Darry, and other characters in both books are disenfranchised from a notion henceforth referred to as “The American Dream”. “The American Dream” is a very vague phrase. However, it can be amounted to being a lower-class citizen (frequently an immigrant) and then moving to America. Then (in America) they get a stable job with good income, buy a house, have a family, and live happily ever after. The frequency and large application for the term “The American Dream” is what initially drew a large amount of immigrants in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s because it was viewed as the land of freedom and most importantly, opportunity. “The American Dream” can be, and is a widely used phrase but in this essay shall be used to refer to many characters’ own hopes and dreams for their future. Characters in Of Mice and Men and in The Outsiders are frequently disenfranchised and held back from ‘The American Dream’ by an aspect out of their

No matter what their individual aspirations may be, whether it’s becoming a millionaire or just being financially stable, many Americans want to fulfil their American Dream. In the novella Of Mice and Men, the theme of the American Dream is made very prominent by John Steinbeck as certain, recurring symbols in the story serve as constant reminders of what our main characters want to achieve the most: their personal American Dream. Many of these symbols that are present in the book revolve around three particular characters by the names of George, Lennie, and Candy. These men all live and work together on a ranch during The Great Depression, and even though they are all massively different from one another, they share the common goal of one day buying a small farm together and living on it peacefully. Within these characters lie many things that’ll have them either strive harder to obtain, or to guarantee their perfect reality- their envisions of their ideal farmland, Lennie’s desire for rabbits, and money. George, Lennie, and Candy’s