Role Of Optimism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Optimism in the face of sorrow

Oscar Wilde once said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” In Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck, the characters and their dreams are optimistic. Despite the book's somber plot, and the many oppressive setbacks they face, the characters remain intent on reaching their dreams. John Steinbeck gives a sense of hope for the characters by creating humble and attainable dreams. Since the plot of the novel only takes place in four days, the story exposes the past and present but keeps the future concealed. The ambiguous fate of the characters leaves a certain amount of responsibility for the reader to interpret the lives of the characters after the book is over. When the book ends, the

Instead of John Steinbeck writing impossible futures, he gives the characters hope. George and Lennie's dream together is small, it is quiet just like them. George describes his dream, he says, “Sure, we’d have a little house an’ a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an’ in the winter we’d keep a fire going’ in it. It ain’t enough land so we’d have too work too hard.”(58). Their dream is nothing extravagant, they only want to be self sufficient and content. It gives the characters real hope. This is one of the purest form of optimism in the book because as readers we root for the characters to grasp their futures. And because these aspirations are so unpretentious, the characters can genuinely accomplish them. Without this assurance the book wouldn’t have the buoyancy that is so relieving in such a burdensome story. The characters would have nothing to fight for. Crooks a character who fights against many hardships relies on his small but mighty dream to keep him going. Crooks revealed, “ A guy needs somebody - to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he's with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” Though Crooks doesn’t say his dream directly, it is clear that he longs for companionship. His dream, like Lennie and George's is simple. All he wants is a friend, someone to talk to, confide in, and just spend

The characters keep fighting for their futures instead of giving up, they have simple dreams that are realistic, and the book alludes to the accomplishment of their dreams giving the reader hope. The plot of the book is heartfelt and deep, but the lightness the book possesses is created by optimism that is so prevalent in the dreams of the