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Ageism In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

1262 Words6 Pages

Another form of discrimination Steinbeck portrays is ageism. Ageism is defined as “...stereotyping and discriminating against individuals or groups on the basis of their age.” (“Ageism”). The main victim of ageism in Of Mice and Men is Candy, the Skinner, who is an elderly man who hurt is hand in an accident and is not fit for most jobs on the ranch. Ageism can affect the youth and the elderly, and anyone in between, but during the Great Depression, it mostly affected the elderly. They were seen as useless and as extra mouths to feed. Candy faces the endless fear that the boss will fire him once he loses his worth on the farm. Candy’s fears are portrayed when Carlson shoots his old dog because the dog is too old to be of use. He tells Lennie …show more content…

It is supposed to be a place where everyone has the same chance at a career or an education. It is supposed to be a place without discrimination or hate and where everyone can accomplish their dream, hence the phrase American Dream. This is not how it is though. Both now and during the Great Depression, when the book Of Mice and Men took place, everyone has trouble reaching their American Dream, but no one like the minorities and the victims of discrimination. The elderly, the women, the people of color. They all face discrimination and it makes a hard task, achieving their American Dream, almost impossible. Curley’s Wife, Candy, and Crooks all have an American Dream, but they never achieve it. They all want a simple life where they are treated with respect and allowed to support themselves. None of them get what they want. Curley’s wife ends up dead and Candy and Crooks end up with nowhere to go but back to the ranch and a life where they are hated and shunned. All because of something they cannot control, their gender, their age, and their race. Everyone deserves an equal chance at their dream, but that is not how life works. Both now and in the 1930’s, the minories face challenges that others do not. Despite knowing that they would probably never reach their dreams, they persevered. The American Dream is something that must be worked for. Some people have to work twice as hard as others, but that does not mean they will never earn what they deserve. Just because the American Dream seems impossible does not mean that it is. Of Mice and Men is a cruel reminder of the fact that the American Dream is a difficult goal, but it also shows readers that they should never stop working toward their goals, no matter what challenges they

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When the workers return from the fields, Carlson says “He ain’t no good to you... Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?”(44). Carlson and the other workers want to shoot Candy’s dog because it smells horrible and is too old to herd sheep. Because Candy’s dog is so old, it cannot eat on its own and is dependent on others to survive, and this causes the workers to treat it unfairly. Furthermore, when Candy and Lennie explain to Crooks about their dream, he responds by saying “You’ll be a swamper here till they take you out in a box.

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Archetypes are a manifestation of how our minds envision the roles of characters, these characters come in the form of the hero, villain, temptress, damsel, monster, and mentor. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, we follow the story of two men who struggle to pull through to survive horrible times, on their journey they come across other characters that fulfill the roles of the archetypes. The archetype in discussion is the villain archetype which is the evildoer of a story usually a person who commits a crime against society or against a couple of people. One character in particular that fills the archetype of the villain is Curley, he has an aura of evil that resonates from his attitude and his actions, which triggers people

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The American dream is something that we all strive for in one way or another. Whether it’s being equal to the people around you, or having freedom to be successful in whatever you want in life. But for the characters in Of Mice and Men it is the dream of owning land and being independent from everyone else. But the American Dream is not something that is given to you, it includes work ethic, knowing that the dream may be impossible and the sacrifice that may have to be made. These are all things that George and Lennie and other characters in the book have to do to eventually reach the American dream.

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The American dream is a dream of land in which life should be better and richer for everyone. It’s a land where people succeed to accomplish their ambition of a better life. Most of the people have a different way of defining this American Dream. Unfortunately, for some, it could mean wealth,status,or power whereas for others it could mean companionship, good morals,love,and amity. According to our Declaration of Independence, it entitles every man and woman the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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What is the American Dream? The American Dream can be described by many as their life goals. In John Steinbeck’s book, “Of Mice and Men”, the Great American Dream has a different meaning to everyone as it depends on the person who is dreaming of a life goal. Some ways it is described in Steinbeck’s book is owning a small portion of the United States, or becoming an actress, or even just equality between humans. However, for some people, that is just too much to ask.

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The American Dream is only attainable to those who are privileged and considered truly American. Though many immigrants believe that they can grasp the American Dream, it is always out of reach and can never be achieved. The American Dream can never be accomplished through working hard and determination. Often, people chase the American Dream with high expectations for a new life, and they are often disappointed when failure strikes. Because of this, many of the characters in Of Mice and Men struggle to achieve the dreams they’ve been longing for.

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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 presents a view of the American society in which ignores racism problems, income inequality, etc. In the 1920’s, it was a very difficult and resulting time for the American Dream. Due to increased immigration, changing women’s roles, and a extraordinary income inequality. The country was also in the midst of an economic boom, which fueled the belief that anyone could “strike it rich”.

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After the Great Depression in 1929, America’s economy was devastated. The increase of farming across the Great Plains states caused the precious soil to erode, turning the once fertile grassland to a desert like Dust Bowl. Hundreds of farmers and workers migrated to California in search of jobs aiming for the American Dream. The American Dream is the hopes and the goals of the characters in which they can obtain a better life through their hard work. In Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is portrayed to be extremely vital for the men as it serves as their motivation, yet ultimately proves to be unattainable through the memorable characters of Lennie, George and Curley’s wife.

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1262 Words | 6 Pages

The novel contains different themes which help to present Steinbeck’s view of social issues during the Great Depression. From idealism to reality, alienation and loneliness, prejudice and discrimination, “meanness” and class conflict, race and racism, “handiness” in violence and sex, women and sexism. However, the American Dream and loneliness are without doubt the main themes in Of Mice and Men, in parallel with social fitness. How can ageing, weak or physically & mentally disabled humans and animals fit into

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834 Words | 4 Pages

Everyone aspires to achieve the American Dream: an opportunity to be successful by working hard. Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the American Dream brings hope for a better life for those who hold onto it. George Milton and Lennie Smalls, traveling ranch workers called bindle stiffs, dream of owning their own piece of land where they create the rules. They are not the only characters with hopes and dreams. But Steinbeck shows the American Dream is, in fact, sometimes just a dream through the hopes and actions of Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife.

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American Dream Dying Everybody has the absolute, ultimate goal of succeeding. Most people who leave everything behind and come to America come for that exact reason; they want to follow the American Dream. For Lennie and George from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the American Dream seemed very distant and hard to reach for them but, they wouldn’t give up hope. Both characters show how the American Dream slowly came to an end through their actions.

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1699 Words | 7 Pages

Dreams are hard to attain without discrimination, but with discrimination it is even harder to do, for this reason women had a hard time of achieving their dream, “While some women surely found some satisfaction in their domestic roles and knew their work to be both hard and necessary, many were aware that domestic labor was not only undervalued by their fellow Americans but also would never lead to success and stature”(Loranger). This quote proves that with discrimination against gender it was hard to attain the American Dream because even while doing work

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1613 Words | 7 Pages

On the other hand, some people say that achieving their American dream from hard work and dedication is still impossible. This point of view makes sense because, in the 20th century America, life as an individual was a struggle, with or without a clear goal to strive for in mind. Many people lived paycheck to paycheck, hoping for a liberation from their monotonous lifestyle. In that era, the American dream was hardly possible due to the strict confines of the system; a mere pipe dream was all the people had. John Steinbeck portrayed the same state of harshness in Of Mice and Men.

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1644 Words | 7 Pages

Aforementioned, Curley 's wife represents discrimination towards women, she is constantly looked down upon and isn 't treated with respect. However, when she is talking to Crooks, “‘Well, you keep your place then, n*****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain 't even funny,’”(OMAM 81). Crooks and Curley 's wife go through something similar. They are both discriminated based on a difference that the other men on the farm don’t have.

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The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley only caring about his social appearance. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has given you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. Steinbeck shows the human condition of men while they survive in the American depression.

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