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

Words: 675
Pages: 3
Open Document
The American dream, a very relative term for the most part. Some believe it is about money and power, while others think it is to achieve happiness and reach your goals and fulfill your dreams. For example, George’s dream is to own farmland and own his own property, whereas Lennie has the simple dream of owning a fair amount of rabbits. There is a very distinct difference between them, and it really does show what type of person they are, and even what they might find the American dream is. People’s ideas of the American dream can influence their decisions and hopes to what their future will look like. Lennie and George are very focused on their goals, bringing up their ideas of the perfect place often. Lennie every once in a while asks about …show more content…
Steinbeck creates this female character, who is perceived to be bad/annoying, and takes on a slightly more morally lose appearance. She starts ranting to Lennie about how she never got what she wanted, and how she actually had the opportunity to be famous.
“Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me. When they had them previews I coulda went to them, an’ spoke in the radio, an’ all the m nice clothes like they wear, because this guy said I was a natural.”(Steinbeck 97)
She definitely had the opportunity to become a famous person, but she somehow ended up on the farm. She has practically every reason to be mad, she had it all in the palm of her hand, but she let it slip away. So the American dream, after breaking it down it doesn’t seem so perfect, does it? Most likely, anyone who has one will not obtain it, that’s just life. But it’s important to have one, because your dream will set up your goals for the future, and if you reach those goals, success will follow. You can’t plan success without planning goals for your future, it just doesn’t work like that. Don’t depend on your dream to come true, but depend on yourself to pursue that dream and set up your future and your
Show More

Related Documents: Comparing The American Dream In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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

The American dream If there was one word to define the American dream, it would be happiness. The American dream means controlling day to day responsibilities while aspiring for a greater future. Steinbeck writes how the American dream symbolized a piece of land and rabbits in Of Mice and Men. Today, many economists believe that the percentage of kids passing their parents economically has decreased. Others believe that the definition of the American dream has changed over the time. From owning…

Words 914 - Pages 4

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

What exactly is the american dream? Is it owning a sports car or having lots of money? Or is it accomplishing goals and being truly happy? In Of Mice and Men John SteinBeck shows the american dream as it was and that was to own your own land and to be successful. Throughout the story Lennie and George are talking about their dream. That dream was to own a farm by themselves. Lennie dreamed of all the rabbits he could tend to and George encouraged him to dream. If they had their own land then they…

Words 253 - Pages 2

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

In the book, Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck during 1930s, the theme of book is the American Dream. The American Dream is the opportunity to achieve prosperity through hard work. The main characters are George Milton and Lennie Small, their American Dream is to own their own farm, but does not go as planned. In the book, Steinbeck’s message regarding the American Dream is, even if you may work really hard sometimes the dream will not come true. In the book Steinbeck to says, "I seen hundreds…

Words 513 - Pages 3

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

to think, before the ball was in the back of the net. Everyone has a dream, along with George and Lennie in the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. All they want is a happy life, and piece of land. The American Dream is prevalent in the novel because people don’t always get what they dream of in the unfair world of challenges. Living life can be hard, when you have dreams that may never…

Words 699 - Pages 3

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

For most, the thought of achieving their dreams provides hope and stability, but for others the impossibility of acquiring it is detrimental. The Great Depression was a time in which the American dream was as simple as having a job or an education. The old portrayal of the great American dream may seem silly to the modern day society; but for those living during that time period, this dream was everything. It provided a way to get through the day and live a better life than they would have if…

Words 964 - Pages 4

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

Although most dreams die, Gail Devers once said, “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication.” In the novella Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie struggled to achieve their dreams. They acquired new jobs at a ranch where they met several people who were also in the process of achieving their dreams or had already failed to do so. Having a dream has negatively impacted all…

Words 1129 - Pages 5

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

In Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is far from attainable. The hope being crushed from all members of the ranch who have given up and lost their ambitions. George and Lennie may have a dream and desires, but they are not living the American dream. George and Lennie's dream is not to live under someone else. However, under circumstances their independence is unrealistic, making their dream unattainable. In order to survive and live, George and Lennie have to settle for living and working…

Words 201 - Pages 1

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

In John Steinbeck’s “of mice and men” book, there are many themes. One of which is its correlation with the American dream. It develops throughout the story strongly. In every chapter there is at least one reference to the American dream. The first example of the American dream is in the beginning, when Lennie and George are sitting down at the ponds edge when Lennie asks George about their dream and they discuss about they will have a plot of land and a decent house where Lennie can attend to the…

Words 198 - Pages 1

Falsehood In The Great Gatsby

The falsehood of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men Both of these influential works of literature portray and comb through the aspects of The American Dream during two very unrelated time periods yet still find a way to correlate to each other. Fitzgerald sets The Great Gatsby on the time period of the “Jazz Age” while on the other hand Steinbeck takes a slightly dissimilar approach when writing his prestige novel of Mice and Men during the Great Depression. Although they…

Words 1177 - Pages 5

The Role Of Disabilities In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

born with or developed disability due to age (Langtree, Ian). Both types of impairments are utilized on the characters Candy, Crooks, and Lennie in the novel Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck's novel of George and Lennie's desire of owning their own farm, which they allow their co-workers in on, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that dream, reveal the major thematic topics of the novel, and Lennie, who makes George's ambition of owning a farm worthwhile, ironically becomes a substantial obstacle…

Words 970 - Pages 4