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

1705 Words7 Pages

Danny Remishevsky
MR. Wilson
English 10 Core 1
May 2017
It was only a Dream
For many migrant workers, their only possession is the dream planted in their heads, to them, it is worth more than money, it is their livelihood, their dream is what carries them to sleep and wakes them up in the morning. The dream takes them through their day and follows them as they move from workplace to workplace. They are always chasing their dream. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck creates an eerily similar situation as George, Lennie, and Candy are striving to live their lives the way it is outlined in the American Dream. While George and Lennie are still young, they still have time to pursue their dream of owning their own land and running a farm. Candy who …show more content…

They are both always talking about their dream. Before starting their new job on the ranch, they chatted about their aspiration of buying their own farm. This gave them the motivation they needed to go in and start their first day on the ranch: “Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house an’ a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs” (Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie are always reminding themselves of what they are trying to achieve. This allows them to see the world in a different way. The dream makes them see that one day of work means they are a few dollars closer to buying their own farm. While someone who has given up on the dreams sees one day of work as another wasteful day, thinking about where they are going to buy their next drink from. George and Lennie are always talking about their dream, it is what helps them push through the real world, they are hoping that one day they will land right into their dream. “Lennie said, ’Tell about that place, George’” George replies, “I jus’ tol’ you, jus’ las’ night” (Steinbeck 56). The reader can see that George and Lennie discuss their dream very frequently, sometimes at least once a day. For Lennie, talking about the dream reminds him of his part, tending to the rabbits and petting them. Lennie finds security when he pets soft things and so he has a desire to have an unlimited …show more content…

But either way, the farm always ties all their dreams together. In the 1960s the American Dream was either owning your own farm and being independent or having a nice job, a nice house, and a family. For the characters George, Lennie, and Candy their main goal is to own their own farm. But they are in this together, they are going to be buying the same farm and living on it. That is why the farm is such a major symbol in the book. Every time a dream is mentioned it always involves the farm or some aspect of it. Like when George tells Lennie, “Well it’s ten acres, got a little win’mill…We’d have a little house an’ a room to ourself…We wouldn’t have to buck no barley eleven hours a day” (Steinbeck 56-58). George is talking about what the farm is like and what it would be like to live and work on the farm. The farm is always the focus of their dreams. Once they buy the farm, then they will officially be in their dream and they will be able to do whatever they always wanted to do. The farm symbolizes freedom for the characters because they will finally be able to live by their own rules. Another example of the farming giving them freedom is if there “was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing. We’d just go to her. We wouldn’t ask nobody if we could,

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George, looks after Lennie because he has a disability and cannot take adequate care of himself. George and Lennie have a dream of having their own farm one day when they have the money to buy the land, and they talk about it numerous times in the novella, such as, “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 and-” (Steinbeck 1). This dream, however is far out of reach for the two men because of their social class, wealth, and because of the people that get in their way.

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The work ethic that both George and Lennie have is enough for them to eventually achieve their dream of a little farm house with rabbits, but not all of the work they do is on the ranch. George and

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In order to be motivated Lennie constantly ask George to explain the ranch and its surrounding areas. After being told multiple times about the ranch, George and Lennie feel hope and believe that they could get the ranch. Dreams can go two ways, a good way, and a bad way. But in the novel George and Lennie’s dream went in a good because it helped them believe they could achieve it.

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The farm is supposed to represent George and Lennie’s plan for the future. At first this seems impossible, but while on the farm George and Lennie start to talk to another worker, Candy. While talking to Candy, he mentions that if he were to join them and help with the money then “tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks,” (Steinbeck 59). This makes the dream farm no longer a dream, but instead it is now a plan. This means that now anytime in the novel that the dream farm is mentioned, the readers believe it is a plan and not just some dream.

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In the first chapter of the book, our main characters George and Lennie talk about their dream of having a ranch to live on it one day. The text says, “... we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs --- An’ live off the fatta the lan’” (Steinbeck 14). This excerpt from the text shows that George and Lennie are dedicated and not afraid to work to achieve their dreams to make a life of their own. Steinbeck shows this because he is showing the personalities of the characters through their dreams and aspirations. A second example would be when candy found a way to make money for the rabbits for the ranch.

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The American Dream The Webster dictionary defines the word dream as “A succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations”. Many people have different perspectives about dreams. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie set out to achieve their dream of owning a ranch while demonstrating the importance of friendship/companionship, while explaining the power of dreams and the impact they have. Steinbeck has shown throughout the story the bond of friendship is a double-edged sword, because while it can strengthen relationships it can also weaken and destroy them. Steinbeck shows this in the story when George ends Lennie’s life because he looked out for him.

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This shows that George badly wants this dream to become a reality. George’s dream of living on his own farm with Lennie is in conflict with his own difficulties of taking care of

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In this scene Lennie and george are talking by the pond and they share their dreams when he says, “We gon live of the fat of the lan” (14). This shows one of the many American dreams during the great depression that were so hard to achieve. In the middle of the book they all have dreams and share them with each other in the scene Lennie is at the farm and tells the other people there, his dream. Lennie dreams “We gonna have a house and a garden and a place for alfalfa” (89) but because of his disabilities and how nearly impossible it is for the average person he cannot but he still believes .

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Their dream of getting their own ranch wasn’t going to happen if they didn’t have their own building blocks by working and making their mistakes in life. When George would torment Lennie when he was younger that was a building block for him to take Lennie underneath his wings and really be there for Lennie. Dreams are necessary building blocks for motivation and the spark of new ideas.

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Firstly, George and Lennie’s dream of owning land and a house of their own is what keeps them going. Unfortunately, George and Lennie have deluded themselves into thinking that their dream is going to come true. For instance, throughout the story, Lennie is repeatedly asking George to reiterate what their future will someday be. “Come on, George. Tell me.

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The main characters(george and lennie) are really close friends and have been working for a long time to achieve their dream. Every day lennie mentions the dream because that's his motivation to work. Through the story, Steinbeck reveals that having a dream is a key aspect in life and can drive you even if the dream seems impossible.

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I clutched onto his cold body, hugging him to my chest. His face was pale and bloody, but I could still see the guy I had fallen in love with. His plump pink lips loosing their color a little to fast for comfort. I laid my head on his chest last was still struggling to keep going. His heart was slow and it only kept getting slower and slower.

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This is their dream because they did not want to work for anyone and they want to be able to have something to call home and not having to keep going from place to place. For example when talking about their dream, Lennie said“and I can tend the rabbits right George” (steinbeck pag ).Lennie would do anything for George to allow him to tend the rabbits and keep this dream alive The idea of being with rabbits on his own land makes him feel calm and happy. Just in the same way George says “ all kin’s a vegetables in the garden and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We’d jus’ live there. We’d belong there.”

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George and Lennie have a shared dream, they dream of a better life. They discuss this dream together before the first day on the ranch – “OK. Some day – 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 and …” They dream of a small farm with a patch of land which they own by themselves.

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