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The American Dream:  a reality or an illusion?

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The American Dream:  a reality or an illusion?

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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, ##)

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Which to choose?  Friendship or Isolation...

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Which to choose?  Friendship or Isolation...

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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, ##)

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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, ##)

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Racism, sexism, ageism: just parts of our human nature?  

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Racism, sexism, ageism: just parts of our human nature?  

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"Well I think Curley's married ... a tart"
(Steinbeck, 19)
The point of view from certain workers on Curley's wife is very discriminatory. Since she is a woman they mistreat her and don't aknowledge her presence. They treat her like a machine and call her lots of names because they think she goes around sleeping with other guys. This is a very sexist point of view on women.

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No mess at all, and when the end of the month ... Every damn month. -Lennie p.29

Georg's dream is to own a farm. He talks about that dream during the whole novel. Owning a farm with animals on it, having nobody to tell him what to do and chosing when he works is his dream.

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George said "Well, we'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens...Down on the roof, Nuts!" (Steinbeck,33)
The ammount of times he tells Lennie about their dream to have a farm in the novel with their own crops and no one to give them orders, is inspiring. The american dream gives hope to many citizens that live in a bad climat and dont have a good work conditions.

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"Guys like us..." -Goerge(Steinbeck,31-32)

George's opinion on "guys like us" give us a point of view of what its like to travel with someone you care deeply about. Everyone is lonely on the ranch. They have no friends nor family to talk to and travel together. That's why george is so close to Lennie. Because he doesn't want to become like the lonely other people who spend their money on booze. He needs someone to open up to.

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"Hardly any of the guys (...) give a damn about nobody" (Steinbeck, 65)

Candy tells george about how he never seen no one travel together. The loneliness of workers on the ranch is very depressing. The workers don't talk much to each other except when they play cards or have a point in common against another worker that's different. That's why George and Lennie travel together. They support eachother and help eachother get through tough times.

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"I'd have my own little place, and I'd be bringin' in my own crop'" (Steinbeck,65)
The american Dream is to have a farm, live with other people, have a family and not worry about much, just your little crops and some animals to provide food. The american dream for George and Lennie as well as so many others is to be disregarded of the misery and the bad work envirronement the ranch offers.

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"(...) kinda funny a cuckoo like him and a smart little guy like you travelin' together" (Steinbeck,65)

Candy tells George about how unusual it is to travel with a mentally disabled person. He insulted Lennie but George stood up for him. The discrimination towards mentally disabled people is not inspiring. They see them like a different specie of animal of sorts and treat him like he's nothing.

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'I ain't much good with o'ny one hand (...)that' 350 bucks that I'd put in."(Steinbeck,87)
Candy feels useless and lonely until he overhears a conversation between george and lennie discussing about buying a farm to have a good life, but they dont have enough money to do so. Candy has a plan to give up his entire fortune he made by losing his hand to buy the farmn and live there with the boys.

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"Um, says Candy does this mean they can't have their farm? Pretty much. George says that he thinks he knew all along that they'd never really get a farm, but he tried to believe"(Steinbeck,1310
Because Lennie liked to hear about it."
Since Lennie killed Curley's wife by accident, George and Candy fear that there is no dream to believe in. Now that there's no dream to believe in, George figures that he'll be just like the other ranch hands, spending all his time and money on booze and bad women.

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Lennie said : "George ain't gonna let me tend the rabbits now" (Steinbeck,123)
George loves to play with little furry and soft things. He got a dog and killed it because he was petting too hard. Now he fears that george wont let him tend the rabbits on the farm.

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Curley's wife said "Listen Nigger. You know what i can do to you'" (Steinbeck, 113)

Since Crooks is black, he is suppositively inferior to others on the ranch. The workers treat him like garbage and disrespect him constantly.