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

What are the qualities of those who succeed in their American Dream? Kamala Harris once said “The American Dream belongs to all of us” that quote can be debatable if you look at the context given by the book Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men tells a story about two men, one with a disability, having to overcome many hardships, as well as the surrounding characters and their dreams being hard to achieve, even though they desire different things. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men show us how the American dream can be very difficult to achieve considering who you are. Lennie and Crooks have dreams that may be similar on the surface but if really dug in deep they’re different. The American Dream varies depending on who you are, that includes gender,

We're gonna do it. Gonna get a little place an' live on the fatta the lan'." (Steinbeck) is the sum of his own dream with George but if you look at Crooks’ dream which is vaguely described by this quote “He can't turn to some other guy and ask him if he sees it too. He can't tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn't drunk. I do not know if I was asleep.” (Steinbeck) The story goes on to explain how Crooks would also like to have land with Lennie and George but the underlying message is different given his loneliness. The quote from Lennie shows a normal American Dream that many want but have a hard time succeeding. Lennie has the toll of being looked down upon because he is disabled which makes things much harder for him than a typical white man, this explains why it is harder for him to reach his goal because of what he is born with. If we are comparing dreams only you can see that

Curley’s wife was never given a name but she wanted freedom, not one like Crooks’ but similar. She also talked about how lonely she is, wishing she could find others to talk to. "I get lonely," she said. "You can talk to people, but I cannot talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?" (Steinbeck) is what she said to him. The importance of this text is similar to why Crooks’ dream is important. If you compare their dreams one wants land and just things of the world but the others want basic human rights. Curley’s wife wants to talk to people and talk to people, as well as Crooks. If we are not comparing Lennie's but George you’ll see how much easier things are for George. Unlike Lennie he does not have a disability to “drag him down”, he is not a person of color, he does not have a disability, and he is not a woman. Those were all things that Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife could not control. By the way the world works, it will always try to find a way to drag you down from your dream and desire alone will not be the only factor. Curley’s Wife has a similar feeling of loneliness and desire of being treated