What Are The Similarities Between Of Mice And Men

Lily Hagan

Ms Thomas

Honors English 11

12 May 2023

The American Dream

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 172). Fitzgerald closes his novel The Great Gatsby with this piece of wisdom, demonstrating his understanding of the misperception of The American Dream. The American Dream is generally defined as the idea that any American citizen who works hard can achieve success and prosperity. Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, and Steinbeck, author of Of Mice and Men, both explore the idea of the American Dream. However, their interpretations of the idea vary in a number of ways. The idea of The American Dream varies between the novels The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men, but the similarities

All of the characters in the novel have their own aspirations and goals, but Gatsby is of particular curiosity in this subject. When Nick, the protagonist, first sees Gatsby, he remarks that “[H]e stretched out his arms toward the dark water… I… distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away… When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished” (Fitzgerald 21). This quote is representative of Gatsby’s yearning for his lost love, Daisy, and the life he imagines of them together. Throughout the novel, the “green light” is used to represent the unattainable American Dream that many strive for. Gatsby works incredibly hard to reach his “green light”, Daisy, but he ultimately fails to make his dream come true. Another relevant symbol in the novel are “[Doctor

The men are working hard because they believe that their hard work will allow them to purchase their own land to cultivate and enjoy. However, their dream fails to come true when Lennie, who faces mental challenges, causes trouble for them. Ultimately they realize that the vision they had of their future was impossible to achieve. When Lennie speaks with the ranch’s stable buck, he tells him that he has “‘seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with… a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God d**n one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land’” (Steinbeck 81). Crooks has been on the ranch longer than the other men, and his words prove that Steinbeck saw The American Dream as a facade that makes men work to their graves. The book especially points out that The American Dream is farther from some than others. Crooks, who is an African American, Lennie, who has a mental disability, and Curley’s wife, who is a woman, all have their prosperity taken away in the novel because of their differences. Steinbeck paints the picture that The American Dream is not achievable to