Of Mice And Men: The American Dream

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Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck Analysis Essay by Kelly Nell (10B) The American Dream is an opportunity for the average person in which success, prosperity and wealth is attained, that is only possible in America. In the novel Of Mice and Men Steinbeck explores the fragility of the American Dream in order to critique it. Through Steinbeck’s critique he conveys that the American Dream is in fact unachievable for many. George and Lennie’s dream to own land and work for only themselves is a microcosm that Steinbeck uses to show that the American Dream is unrealistic for people to accomplish, especially during such a difficult time as the Great Depression. In this essay I will discuss the aspect of George and Lennie’s dream in relation …show more content…

After each incident – the death of the mouse, the crushing of Curley’s hand, the death of the puppy, the death of Curley’s wife – Lennie is found to be saying the same words, “I didn’t wanta. I didn’t wanta hurt ‘em.” Use of words like ‘I didn’t wanta” makes it seem as if there is someone or something forcing Lennie to act in these dangerous ways, when in actual fact it is his primal instincts. Lennie is conveyed as a simple minded man and although he may not have destructive intentions he – more often than not – is the cause of enormous amounts of damage and pain. The fact that Lennie has no control of how he acts explains why Steinbeck endlessly uses animal imagery to describe Lennie “dragging his feet, the way a bear drags its paws.” Lennie’s gigantic size relates to the large, dominant size of an animal – a beast – in that both have vast amounts of strength and power. Lennie’s simple mindedness combined with his primal instincts and great size and strength leads to his downfall. The fact that Lennie is in fact the only obstacle in the way of his own (and George’s) dream of owning their own ranch and “living off the fatta the land” The obstacle that is Lennie’s character depicts a complication that can never be overcome and establishes that their American Dream can never be realised and not everyone’s can

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