American Dream In Of Mice And Men

The American Dream was a key motivator for men and women during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck portrays this through all of his characters in Of Mice and Men. The theme of dreams is carried throughout the book in many different ways. For example, Bo Grimes states, “He portrays it by letting the dream come within the men’s grasp and then it gets destroyed” (3). John Steinbeck has a specific type of character he depicts in his writing. George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men are a perfect example of this type of character. They are outcasts and do not live in high society which affects their ability to reach their dream. The American dream plays a key role for all the characters in Of Mice and Men; each of the characters has a specific dream;

They all had their own individual dreams, but they have the same overall goal; each man just looks at the situation differently (The American Dream in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” 578). Their actions represent the time period and the people of the time period. Each of the men has a hard time achieving this dream, and each goes about pursuing it differently. The Great Depression makes the men’s dreams extremely difficult (Brown 2). The men all begin to pursue the same dream, to live on the farm, so they come together and grow as friends. It began as specifically George and Lennie’s dream and grew into the others, as well (Grimes 2). None of the men lose sight of their individual dream, but they add on to

Of Mice and Men captures all of the aspects of the time period that affect the dreams of the characters. Whether it be race, gender, or disability no character lets their dream be out of reach. The characters’ loneliness is also diminished because they form friendships and come together to form a dream that includes them all. Lennie can never reach his dream because of his cruel fate, Curley’s Wife never reaches hers, and the other men fall short in achieving their dream, as well. The Great Depression was a time in which it was hard to pursue a dream and even harder to achieve it. This is why it is so difficult for the characters; nevertheless, they stay confident work to reach their ultimate goal until their very last