In the 1930s, the Great Depression had run rampant on many Americans and left them on the side of the road. Think of coming home one day and both your parents sitting on the ground saying they have lost their jobs and you couldn't go to school anymore. Many families had to clean out of their homes because they could not pay the rent. With the Great Depression came the failure of the American Dream. In the novella, “Of Mice And Men”, John Steinbeck presents the idea everyone had goals and aspirations that meet the criteria of the American Dream but dreams are dreams for a reason and they are not always achieved.
Lennie and George from the novel have their own version of the American Dream as they hope for a better life at the end of the road by buying a small piece of land and being on their own. If they can achieve this, they will not have to take garbage from anyone and would not have to rely on anyone but themselves. The biggest happiness for Lenny is not a car but rabbits and how he will look after them. George responds to Lennie’s nagging and says they will have a house and a few acres of land so they can live their unrestricted life and they can be their own bosses. As Lennie agrees and says they will “live off the fatta the lan”. Furthermore, George says Lennie knows the whole speech about the dream and shows the reader it
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He puts his dream in the context of the harsh reality he lives in. He believes that he has seen many men with smiles on their faces looking for the same dream but when harsh reality hits them in the fact it takes their dreams with them. John Steinbeck connects heaven and the land together had God himself is taking it away from everyone of them. Moreover, the repetition of the words damn and never show how bitter his dream really is. It shows that Lennie and George’s dream is no different than those who came before them and they will never