Comparing The American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

810 Words4 Pages

It is that fixation that keeps you up late at night, bemused. It is that hope that pesters you to try, but, when you try, you end up falling flat on your face. It is that same notion that every, “underdog” movie or book is based on. It is that phobia that haunts immigrants, to this day, to not mess up. It is that fantasy that anything can be achieved by hard work and determination. It is the American Dream. But in the, realistic fiction, novella, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, no one, no matter how hard he or she tried, achieved their dream. The novella was full of people who tried/worked so hard only to crash and burn. The two main characters that worked the hardest, but never got their dream were George and Lennie.
But to first understand how the American Dream failed for George and Lennie you must understand the novella, and their part in it. The setting is in the Salinas Valley in …show more content…

He endured a lot in an attempt to get his dream. For example, he had to deal with Lennie and his disabilities. The main setbacks in getting his dream all had to deal with Lennie or his disabilities. Before they came to the Salinas Valley to work, they had worked in Weed, California. They had to leave there because Lennie wanted to feel a girls dress and ended up making them fugitives because of it. Even though he had to deal with Lennis all the time, so that they could both save their money, he in the end did not get his dream. Another example of what he had to endure, was not being able to do the things normal men did during that time. For example, he could not go to the “cat house” with the others because he was saving his money for the farm. Even though he could not do the things normal men did then, to save his money for the farm, he did not achieve his dream. George is the perfect example of a “crash and burn” American Dream, for he endured a ton but reaped no