How Does Steinbeck Present The American Dream In Of Mice And Men

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Though it gives him hope initially, George's belief in the American Dream, represented by the dream ranch, leads him to self-destruction. By looking at Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character of Crooks, and Curley’s wife reveals that the American dream is often a myth because of their race and gender. This does not apply to modern-day because equality has changed a lot since the 1930s, all races are treated equally, and women are not genderized as much. Looking back at Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses the characters of Crooks and Curley's wife to show how the American dream is often a myth because people are judged on by race and gender. Curley's wife highlights the two main themes in the novel dreams and loneliness. As …show more content…

Attitudes towards women were very much tied up with their roles as wives and mothers, or as prostitutes. Curleys Wife had many dreams about being “in the movies, an' had nice clothes — all them nice clothes like they wear. An' I coulda sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers took of me.(44)" But even though she was with Curley in a happy relationship she felt “lonely,” she said. “You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?” This quote supports the thesis because it gives examples of how Curley's wife wanted to be a talk show host but unfortunately her being with Curley makes her have to give up on her dream. Even though she has Curley, Curley's wife still feels lonely. Crooks often got discriminated against because of his race. Though he knew it, he stood up for …show more content…

Segregation is described as the “separation of socially defined groups in space, such that members of one group are disproportionately concentrated in a particular set of geographic units compared with other groups in the population.” Women have also got equal pay and equal opportunities that men have.” The website “The Changing Bases of Segregation in the United States” by NCBI, “The nature and organization of segregation shifted profoundly in the United States over the course of the twentieth century.” This quote supports the thesis because it shows teh reader how segregation has changed throughout the years, especially in the twentieth century. Since segregation was a big part in Of Mice and Men, this quote shows how far society has come from the great depression in the 1930s. Women had more job opportunities in the 1920s and 1930s due to better education. Many women found work as clerks, , and nurses. The nature of industries changed and new types of work emerged. Many women found work in the new light industries e.g. making electrical goods. As said in “How Have Women's legal rights evolved over 50 years” by World Bank “Today, women have just three-quarters of the legal rights of men. In 1970, it was less than half. The Women, Business and the Law 2020 report presented results from our recent effort to