# data[].attributes.body
Candy said, "We gonna have a room to ourself. We're gonna have a dog an' rabbits an' chickens. We're gonna have green corn an' maybe a cow or a goat" (Steinbeck, 109)
This is Candy's vision of his hopes and plans with George and Lennie on having their own land

# data[].attributes.headline
Which to choose?  Friendship or Isolation...

# data[].attributes.subject
Which to choose?  Friendship or Isolation...

# data[].attributes.body
In this novella, George and Lennie represent THE ideal male friendship.  They don’t talk about how they feel about each other or why they should stay loyal – they just stand by each other, and that’s that.

In contrast, everyone else is isolated from one another.  Everyone seems to get along quite well together by talking about how isolated they are, even though the men on the ranch are constantly together and chatting.

Although they are always together, George and Lennie are isolated from the rest of the world. Friendship is a negative relationship in the novella; every time any character gets close to any other, something goes wrong.

LENNIE exclaimed, "But I wouldn’t eat none, George. I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans

with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it." (Steinbeck, 93-95)

VS.

LENNIE whined, "If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time." (Steinbeck, 31)

# data[].attributes.headline
Racism, sexism, ageism: just parts of our human nature?  

# data[].attributes.subject
Racism, sexism, ageism: just parts of our human nature?  

# data[].attributes.body
Of Mice and Men deals with many of America’s age-old, hot-button issues, including sexism, racism, ageism, and discrimination against those with disabilities. Most importantly, this prejudice isn’t ever explicitly noted or fought against – those who are discriminated against accept the prejudice against them as a way of life.

Prejudice is a fact of life on the ranch because it was a fact of life everywhere in America at

that time.

Crooks said darkly, "Guys don’t come into a colored man’s room very much." (Steinbeck, ##)

# data[].attributes.body
In Of Mice and Men, dreams, hopes, and plans are the very foundation of what makes life worth living, but they are also double-edged. What does this mean?

The word "dream" is never used in the book in reference to anything like a hope or aspiration.

The characters never regard their hopes as impossible things to

fulfill. Instead, they see them as concrete and realistic plans.

GEORGE said, "O.K. Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and ...." (Steinbeck, 38)

# data[].attributes.body
George said, " We'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an listen to the rain comin' down on the roof" (Steinbeck, 33)
This represents the American Dream very well because in this future, they have they're own land and don't need to work on it and can take breaks whenever they want.

# data[].attributes.body
George said, "And when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cat house all night: I could eat any place I want, hotel, any place" (Steinbeck, 29)
In this quote, George states that if he works hard enough, every month he'd have enough money to do whatever he wants with it, a vision of the american dream.

# data[].attributes.headline
The American Dream:  a reality or an illusion?

# data[].attributes.subject
The American Dream:  a reality or an illusion?

# data[].attributes.body
Of Mice and Men captures the feel of rural America during the Depression. Different outlooks are presented:
--the never-will-be starlet trying to make it to Hollywood,
--the isolated black man born and raised in California,
--a ranch full of men that like to go to whorehouses, play pool, and drink away their earnings
--men that are constantly bouncing from job to job just shy of making ends meet.

The America of Of Mice and Men is populated with dreamers who are constantly struggling to achieve their dreams.

This novella argues that there is no single America. Rather, there are many different groups

(women, blacks, farm workers, farm owners), each with their own unique struggle.

Quote:

GEORGE complained, "…If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringin’ in my own crops, ‘stead of doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outa the ground." (Steinbeck, ##)

# data[].attributes.body
George said, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place [...] But not us! Beacause i got you to look after me , and you got me to look after you." (Steinbeck, 31-32)
George explains how farm workers like him and Lennie shouldn't have any friend, family or future but they are different and have each other's back, comparing their friendship to most farm workers isolation.

# data[].attributes.body
Candy said, "Well I think Curley's married ... a tart" (Steinbeck, 50)
This shows that Candy is quick to judge and give his opinion on people by doing a prejudice to Curley's wife

Curley said "Where the hell is that God damn n***ger" (Steinbeck, 50)
This shows that Curley discriminates dark skins just because of their skin color.

# data[].attributes.body
Slim said, "Hardly none of the guys ever travel together. I hardly never seen two guys travel together. You know hoe the hands are, they just come in and get their bunk and work a month, and they quit and go out alone. Never seem to give a damn about nobody" (Steinbeck, 65)
This shows how lonely and isolated farm workers usually are but Slim is surprised how their can be friendship in between two farm workers, especially with a dumber frien

# data[].attributes.body
George said, "If i was bright. if I was even a little bit smart, i'd have my own little place, an' I'd be bringin' in my own crops, 'stead of doin' all the work and not getting what comes up outta the ground'."
(Steinbeck, 65)
This shows George's dream of owning a land but can't because his lack of knowledge.

# data[].attributes.body
Slim says, "Seems kinda funny a cuckoo like him" (Steinbeck, 65)
Slim judges Lennie as a cuckoo before getting to know him .

# data[].attributes.body
George said, "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean . They get waintin' to fight all the time."(Steinbeck 67)
George states how some farm workers tend to get to aggressive if they don't have friends and isolate themselves from everybody.

# data[].attributes.body
Carlson says, "This ol' dog jus' suffers hisself all the time. If you was to take hime out and shoot him right in the back of the head [...] he'd never know what hit him" (Steinbeck, 71)
This shows how Carslon discriminates old animals and probably old people and how he wants him to stop "suffering" because he's old.

# data[].attributes.headline
George describing once again his "American Dream

# data[].attributes.subject
George describing once again his "American Dream

# data[].attributes.body
Lennie asked George,"Geroge how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an live on the fatta the lan- an' rabbits [...] we gotta get a big stake together [...] Well, it's ten acres [...] Got a little win'mill. Got a little shack on it an' a chicken run. Got a kitchen [....] got a few berries." (Steinbeck, 84-86)
George describes the land he saw for cheap and describes it as this big farm with all the fruits and animals in the world.

# data[].attributes.body
Crooks said, "I ain't wanted in the bun, house [...] cause I'm black. They play cards in there but i can't because I'm black. They say i stink" (Steinbeck, 100)
This shows that Crooks is discriminated and isn't allowed in the bunk house because of his skin color.

# data[].attributes.body
Crooks said, "If I say something, why it,s just a ni**er sayin' it" (Steinbeck, 102)
This shows that colored people don't have much power in their speech

# data[].attributes.body
Crooks said, "I was talkin' about myself. A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin, an' he got nothing to tell him what's son an' what ain't so. Maybe if he sees something, he don't know wether it's right or not.he can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can't tell." (Steinbeck, 105)
Crooks explains how badly isolated he is that he doesn't know all the time what's right or wrong and has no one to tell him if it is or not.

# data[].attributes.body
Curley's wife said, "An' what am I doin'? Standing here talkin to a bunch of bindle stiffs- a ni**er, an' a dum-dum and a lousy ol' sheep" (Steinbeck, 111)
Curley's wife shows judgement to the 3 workers still at the farm.

# data[].attributes.body
Curley's wife says, " Why can't i talk to you? i never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely [...]You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. (Steinbeck, 122-123)
It's shows that Curley's wife can't talk to nobody because of how possessive Curley is and she gets lonely often.

# data[].attributes.body
Curley's wife says, " I tell you I ain't used to livin' this. I coulda made somethin' of myself. [...] Maybe I will yet {...}Well , a show come through, an' I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol' lady wouldn't let me. [...] But the guys says I coulda. If I'd went, I wouldn't be livin' like this, you bet.[...] Nother time I met a guy an' he was in pitchers [...] He says he was gonna put me in the movies [...] he was gonna write to me about it[...] I never got that letter" (Steinbeck, 124-125)
This shows that Curley's wife had and still has a dream about becoming an actor but it never happened.

# data[].attributes.body
Candy says, " You an' me can go there an' live nice, can't we, George? Can't we?" Before George answered, Candy dropped his head and looked down at the hay. He knew. George said softly "- I think i knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her [...] I'll work my month an' I'll take my fifty bucks an' I'll stay all night in some lousy cat house. (Steinbeck, 131)
After Lennie killed Curley's wife, George realizes that his dream and hopes may no longer happen and that he knew in the back of his head, that it would never happen. Thus, all his hopes and dreams disappear.

# data[].attributes.body
Candy said, "I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys [...] If they was a circus or a baseball game... we would of went to her ... jus' said to hell with work an' went to her. Never ast nobody's say so. An' they'd of been a pig and chickens" (Steinbeck , 132)
Candy states what he hoped his future would of been if Lennie hadn't killed Curley's wife