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

783 Words4 Pages
The typical American Dream is opportunity, freedom, and success. The setting of this American Dream is in middle to high class neighborhood with a white picket fence. The family aspect is a stay-at-home mother, with a husband, two children and maybe a dog. This is the dream of an average man in America. However, in the novella ,Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie’s American Dream was to own a ranch. In the beginning of the story, George and Lennie are at a river looking for work. George takes care of Lennie because of Lennie’s mental health issues. A result of Lennie’s mental health issues is that he kills things with no intent to. Specifically when he killed the puppy, the mouse, and Curley’s Wife. Steinbeck conveys his view of the American Dream from the events and symbols used in the novel. Steinbeck does not see the theme of the American Dream in a very positive way as everyone else in America. The author uses the symbols to create a theme of the American Dream. These symbols include the gun used to kill Lennie, the rabbits, and the river One symbol that can be used to explain the theme of the American Dream is the gun used to kill Lennie. When George killed Lennie after Lennie killed Curley’s wife, “And George raised the gun and sealed it, and brought the muzzle of it’s close to the back of Lennie’s head” (Steinbeck 106). This displays the freedom aspect of the American Dream. This is because when George killed Lennie, he became free of
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