The Effects Of The American Dream In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Propaganda filters throughout the world to lean people’s views one way or another. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife to demonstrate the American Dream. This is unattainable but is their motivation to carry on their daily on the ranch lives. George and Lennie’s actions revolve around their American Dream. In a conversation between George and Lennie they discuss their dream, George states “... We’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres, an’ a cow and some pigs” (Steinbeck, 14). George says this to Lennie to motivate him to keep quiet and out of trouble so they can eventually reach these dreams. The American Dream can be defined as people

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.

If there was a favorable circumstance under which one could endeavour all their hopes and visions, wouldn’t one pursue it? The American Dream was introduced as an interpretation to cause the people of America in the early twentieth century to work tougher. The American Dream is the opportunity to reach the goals one sets for themselves. It is about having your dream job and life one has always fantasized about. The dream is also about having freedom and equality. In the novel, “Of Mice & Men”, John Steinbeck uses symbols and motifs such as the vicious slaughtering of virtuous animals, Crooks’ rubbish bunkhouse and Lennie and George’s deception of an ideal farm to exhibit the perception that materialistic success results in happiness is a major flaw in our thinking about the American dream, and it is this thinking which makes the dream unattainable for many.

“With us it ain’t like that. We got a future(15).” George and Lennie is set on the idea to own that he even knows of some land that he thinks they could buy. George and Lennie travel from town to town, trying to achieve their goal. It is an dream that they will always be working for. In this time period, many migrants travel to earn a living like George and Lennie. Steinbeck's showed how hard is it to achieve the American Dream for many Americans, especially during the time period of the Great Depression. In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck crafts the theme of Dreams by using it through different aspects of the story, that a lot of people have a dream but, failed to achieve it.

In Of Mice and Men one large theme that is conveyed throughout is the American dream, which is a phrase people use to describe the perfect life in America. However, even though many people go to achieve it, rarely is it accomplished. Since the novel was placed around the time of great depression, the phrase was used to give everyone hope. Steinbeck seems to know how rare the dream actually is and portrays this through characters in the text. The classic book shows and brings up many political and capitalistic views.

Everyone has a dream they hope to achieve, but dreams are not always possible to attain. In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, two ranch hands, George and Lennie, find work in Salinas Valley. Lennie, constantly getting into trouble, inadvertently causes the two of them to be run out of town and thus have to find new work regularly. George and Lennie's search for work in the hope of accomplishing their dream of a small farm of their own displays how futile realizing dreams can be.

The spirit of the American Dream is something that many people aspire to have and achieve. However, it takes a large amount of work and time in order to obtain the dream. In John Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men, many of the main and supporting characters, especially Candy, Lennie, and George, want to be living in this dream. Dreams are the main goal that the men work for, but they are extremely hard to accomplish and almost all of them shatter before they come true.

The Ways in Which Steinbeck Explores the Concept of the American Dream in Of Mice and Men

of everyday life for the workers at the ranch. At the time there was a

John Steinbeck is the author of the book Of Mice and Men. He grew up during the era of the Great Depression which started in 1929 ended with the beginning of World War II. The stock market crashed and everyone panicked and tried to withdraw all their money at once but there was not enough and everyone was broke. Nothing had value anymore. Steinbeck lived and grew up in the Salinas River valley which is where all his novels including Of Mice and Men take place. The Salinas River Valley is in California. Of Mice and Men is a book about two men who travel together named Lennie Smalls and George Milton who are living the American dream. The work hard going from job to job trying to save money to buy their dream farm that they have always talked about. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses George, Candy, and Curley's wife to show the failure of the American dream.

John Steinbeck once wrote,“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” The reader finds the truth in Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men. This quote connects to Lennie and George and how they go all over the place to find a job. George and Lennie have been run out of the town of Weed because Lennie touched a lady’s dress because it was soft. George and Lennie have to go work on a farm where they meet new friends. They meet Crooks, Candy, Curley and his wife. Lennie has a mental problem, Crook’s back is broken, and Candy is old and only has one hand. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the characters of Crooks, Lennie, and George to make the case that the American Dream is for fools.

Imagine a world where everything is ideal. Troubles are scarce and the universe is always aligned with you. You have achieved absolutely everything through your hard work. In the times of the Great Depression, this was the definition of the ‘American Dream’. In the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, many characters try to achieve their dreams, but their dreams are usually impossible.

“With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go” (Steinback 14). John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men, makes sure that dreams play a big part in the story. Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California, forward thirty fives years later and Steinback would be in the process of publishing Of Mice and Men during the heart of The Great Depression. The Great Depression occurred right after the stock market crashed and caused many to go unemployed. In fact, “By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country’s banks had failed” (The Great Depression). Themes from the story, including the American Dream, can be seen in the great depression too, as many people wished for a better life. Although all of the workers on the ranch have a dream, it can be concluded that fulfilling them is not possible due to limitations in their life.

John Steinbeck tries to convey that attempting to dream in a crooked society, especially during the Great Depression, will be nothing else but what they are, dreams. The spirit of the “American Dream,” is the belief that every US citizen, through hard work, can achieve anything. Although this ideology seems like the opportunity of a lifetime, reaching for goals in a society of exploitation will only lead to broken dreams. In the backwards society in Of Mice and Men, the reality of the “American Dream,” is completely different than what it portrays. The truth is, the poor only get poorer, and the rich only get richer through the labor of the poor; as a result, George and Lennie dream big, but living in a culture of inequity, leads their dreams to nothing but pain and suffering. For instance, George has to kill Lennie. Whenever George tells Lennie about their plans to “get the little place an’ live off the fatta the lan’ –an tend the rabbits (Chapter 3; Page 56)” it is as if George

“‘O.K. Someday--we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs...’” John Steinbeck, born February 27, 1902, is well-known, even today, throughout the world. He grew up within Salinas Valley, California, which would later influence his writing strenuously. Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was written in 1937 during the hardship of the Great Depression, creating a tough chance to enjoy life for the characters. Many characters display a sense of hope placed within a dream, from living a peaceful country lifestyle to making it big in Hollywood someday. However, although many characters hope to achieve The American Dream, their goals were not reachable in the story due to limitations.