The Unattainable American Dream in John Steinbeck’s Novel Of Mice and Men

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.

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

A twenty-five percent unemployment rate. People desperate for lodging and food. Families stretching every penny to support themselves. Government trying to solve these problems through reforms and programs. This is what the world in the 1930s was like for Lennie and George, two migrant workers traveling across California, earnestly trying to achieve the American Dream. Even though these dreams seem impossible to accomplish, during the Great Depression a dream was a reason to get out of bed.

It also played a vital part in the moral of Mice and Men. The two of

In addition to Lennie, Candy, an elderly ranch worker who consequently loses his hand from a farming accident, also has a dream. Candy’s dream stems from his fear of being discarded as he grows older and weaker, and slowly progresses into greater futility.

not be the case for anyone else as George and Lennie were the only two

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

For years upon years, we have heard the concept of an “American Dream” repeatedly. In school, at home, and there’s probably several who have mused about it on their own during their time by themselves. It seems that, also, several have concluded that the Dream is dead: gone, disappeared, poof into thin air. Some argue that it’s nothing but a pack of lies our predecessors were fed to believe that perhaps America had a better future lingering just around the corner, or that it’s changed much from what it was ‘back in the day’. The American Dream has remained unchanged since the Great Depression, but the nation we are today may slowly be killing it. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the Dream is to have that equal opportunity for success, the same as in Bobby Jindal’s and Ellen Powell’s articles, but it seems that inequality may be killing the American Dream.

there was land. And land is the key idea in the American Dream. To own

Curley’s wife’s dream is to become a famous Hollywood actress. She dreams of fame, fortune, fancy clothes and large, expensive hotels. Curley’s wife is waiting for a Hollywood director to mail her about becoming an actress. This dream is destroyed by her marriage to Curley because once she is married she is not allowed to pursue an acting career because she has to look after the house, because Curley will not allow her to leave the ranch to become an actress. Her dream is also destroyed by a Hollywood director who believed she had the potential to become a film actress. Curley’s wife meets this director at a dance and he promises he would send her a letter about acting in one of his films, but she never gets the letter so she does not become an actress which is her dream. Her marriage to Curley and the Hollywood director who has not mailed her about her acting career destroys her dream.

When we try to chase our dreams, we end up in our own diminutive lonely world. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, has taught readers that the American dream can only ever be accomplished through hard work and determination. More times than others, we are distracted by the dream itself, and don’t chase the reality, which can then lead to high expectations, and without hard determination, that can then failure. In the end, we have been lonely for so long, chasing a dream, that when reality hits us, we become isolated and lonely. For George and Lennie, they have each other, until the American dream seemed too hard to chase.

The next morning they arrive at the Salinas Valley ranch bunkhouse, where they meet Candy, and are interviewed by The Boss. The Boss notices that George answers all of the questions directed to Lennie, and instructs nervous Lennie to speak. Fortunately, George makes and excuse for Lennie saying he was kicked in the head by a horse when he was a child, and isn’t bright. The other man of tremendous strength on the ranch. They see Candy again and he advises George to look out for Lennie, who knows Curley enough and can see Curley would love to jump a guy like Lennie. If he can’t outfight Lennie- he’ll say Lennie picked on him because he’s smaller; Curley shows dominance wherever he can.

George and Lennie's dream of owning land is unattainable, due to Lennie's lack of understanding of his own strength. This is proven when George finds out that Lennie has killed Curley's wife by snapping her neck accidentally,"-I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her. He us like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would" (107). This portrays George thinking and contemplating about his dream and making the conclusion that he will never own a piece of land. Lennie's careless actions causes george to shoot Lennie ultimately destroying their dream.Candy doesn't want to be lonely his whole life, so when he hears about the plan that George and Lennie are going to try to do he gets excited. But, the plans are ultimately destroyed by George shooting Lennie.. Candy believed that he was so close to getting the ‘American Dream’. However, all hope was lost after George killed Lennie. This is evident when candy asks George "Then-it's all off?" Candy asked sulkily. George didn't answer his ... question. George said, "I'll work my month an' I'll take my fifty bucks and' I'll stay all night in some lousy cat house. Or I'll

Candy, a slightly disabled old ranch worker is also drawn into George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own farm. Candy plays a significant role in the dream, by providing the money needed to make the down payment. Thrilled to be apart of this dream Candy exclaims “‘S’pose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in. I ain’t much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some. How’d that be?’” (58). Because of Candy’s down payment, the dream almost becomes semi-realistic “They fell into a silence. They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true.”(59). As a result of Curley’s wife’s death, George kills Lennie “thus destroying the dream that could not survive in modern civilization.”(Themes and Construction: of Mice and Men). The dream is so strong in Candy

Everyone in life has their own version of an American Dream and people will often do anything they can to attain it, even if it is impossible. In the oppressive world of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice & Men, no one can seem to achieve their version of the American Dream, but are still relentlessly motivated by it throughout the entire story. This tale follows two earnest ranch workers, George and Lennie, who are always on the hunt for a job. These men make a very hardworking team, who somehow remain motivated by their seemingly unattainable dream of owning a stake “an’ liv[ing] off the fatta the lan,” as the rather mentally vacant Lennie puts it (14). Quickly, the pair is on their way to a new job where they encounter a slew of characters, each with their own unattainable American Dream. Most importantly are Curly’s wife, who has a dream of being a prominent Hollywood actress, and the one handed bunkhouse cleaner, Candy, who has the simple dream of being taken care of once he gets too old to do his job. Each of these dreams mean something different to each character and motivates them all in vastly different ways. Despite these simple ideas, to show what the American Dream is as a whole takes a bit more explaining.