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

During the 1930´s, America was in a Great Depression and migrant farm laborers traveled to California in hopes of finding jobs and a better way of life. This is how it was for Lennie and George in the novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, because they traveled from job to job hoping one day they would achieve the life they dreamed of. Lennie and George are migrant workers who traveled to California looking for work so they could save up enough money to buy a small farm. They believed if they worked hard enough and saved up enough money they could have a better way of life where they would feel safe and free. Steinbeck demonstrates the American Dream through setting and imagery to show how migrant workers during this time period

Lennie asked George to tell him about their dream and what life was going to be like when they finally reached their dream. George told Lennie, “Someday – 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 10). Dreaming and working towards the American dream was a way of life for Lennie and George. Unlike other migrant workers, Lennie and George saved their money hoping to buy their own land that would supply them with everything they needed to survive so they would be independent and feel safe. George was always telling Lennie that one day they would save up enough money and buy farmland with a garden and lots of animals like rabbits. Lennie would always ask George, “How lon’s it gonna be till we get that little place an’ live on the fatta the lan an’ rabbits?” (Steinbeck 38) Lennie and George, like other migrant workers worked hard and hoped for a better life, but were forced to accept the reality that their American Dreams would never come