Setting Goals In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

John Steinbeck teaches us that setting goals in life is important because people never get better in life without a purpose. In the book Of Mice and Men there are many cases of farm workers who plan to work on a farm their entire life, it is different for these two friends that want to make themselves a better life. George and Lennie are always talking about owning their own farm in the future, with this ambition, they both are already ahead of those who do not strive for their dreams or feel that their dreams are not realistic enough. Keeping an optimistic mindset is key in striving for your dreams. Lennie is always asking George to talk about the farm they are going to have even though George has told the story many times. George raises Lennie’s hopes by telling him “‘We’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres’” (Steinbeck 14). Throughout the book, Lennie wants to be continually reminded about this goal to keep his hopes high that eventually one day it might actually come true. Without George as a constant reminder of the farm, Lennie would have no motivation to work towards anything and they would just be mindless farm workers.

They would have been stuck on the farm if it was not for Lennie and George to inspire them to join them on their farm. Candy and Crooks only dreamed about their own place but never set a goal to strive for, therefore, they were never close to getting their own farm, even if they had the money to do so. When people aim for their goals, it forces them to always have something on their mind to work towards instead of working with no purpose and always having that negative mindset that prevents them at striving in