The Failure Of Dreams In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

This also shows the overpowering control George has over Lennie’s conscience, and the consequence that Lennie can’t remember his own actions, only the stories George repeats. He is never truly angry with Lennie for his petty mistakes, he is simply thinking of the limitations of their dreams because of Lennie’s unpredictable actions. It seems George can only control Lennie by threatening him with the thing he cares about most which is the farm, “But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits” he threatens, trying to make Lennie remember the importance of his actions (36). George is constantly complaining that he could have a better life and even have a farm without Lennie to look after, but he also wants a companion. Lennie is often simple minded and easily influenced, but intuitive enough to manipulate George’s loneliness, “If you don’t want me George I can go up in that cave over there and leave,” George quickly denies this saying “No, look I was just foolin’ Lennie, ‘cause I want you to stay with me” (20).

“I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself” (Steinbeck 13). George views his dream of being super practical for the kind of life he lives. Living on his own ranch with Lennie will let him have less of a worry about Lennie making decisions that will put the both of them in jeopardy. Living secluded on their own property will only make life easier.

Unfulfilled Dreams Hope is one of the key motivations towards a better future. It continually pushes people towards their goals, no matter how unattainable those goals may seem. This is exemplified within the book Of Mice and Men when the readers see how men like Candy, Lennie, Crooks and George get through the hard times with hope of what they’ll become later on in life. As well as the significance of the damaging effect of Curley’s Wife being robbed of her dreams. This novel demonstrates through it’s characters, that the hope the dream brings can be more important than the dream itself.

Hence George often describing their dream farm to Lennie to renew their hopes for the future (Steinbeck 14). After Lennie accidentally murders Curley’s wife, not only did they lose their dream but Lennie also loses his life, and George loses his best friend. In Chapter 1, George foreshadows his future

In chapter one, George and Lennie are camped out in a forest clearing. They’re sitting around a campfire, cooking beans and Lennie requests George speak about the duo’s grand goal. “‘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-’... An’ live off the fatta lan’,’ Lennie shouted. ‘An’ have rabbits.

Dreams are just conceptions of our mind for longing for more out of our selves. The problem of trying to process or make these dreams happen is the fact that we feel that these dreams will become burden upon not just our body, but our mind as well. For many this may be true, but in the case of George Smalls, this is not the case. George’s Dream or main goal is to be able to care of Lennie. This one dream has influenced most of his choices and has actual become a part of him.

“No matter how much sometimes you dare to dream, send happy thoughts into the universe, no matter what you do some of your dreams will never come true” (Unknown). In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, at the time of the Great Depression, two men, George and Lennie, venture to California in hopes to find work. Because Lennie is wanted for raping a woman, George and Lennie must escape the “law” by fleeing to the next town. Through the character of Lennie, Steinbeck shows that issues outside the control of an individual often limit the achievement of his dreams. “‘But he never hurt her.

In order to be motivated Lennie constantly ask George to explain the ranch and its surrounding areas. After being told multiple times about the ranch, George and Lennie feel hope and believe that they could get the ranch. Dreams can go two ways, a good way, and a bad way. But in the novel George and Lennie’s dream went in a good because it helped them believe they could achieve it.

Throughout the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme of the unrealized dream is displayed through characters such as Lennie, George, Candy, and Curley’s wife. The unrealized dream, also known as the American Dream, is portrayed differently for a few different characters in the book. Best friends George and Lennie have a shared dream which is to have a serene farm ranch, even if it is small, with a mediocre house, a rabbit pen, and a garden where they can grow their own vegetables and herbs. They long to live independently away from rude bosses and harsh ranches. This is seen differently for a character such as Candy who only wants to keep his job even though he is disabled.

Despair Among People During the Great Depression People who face great odds will hang on to hope, however, many will lose it to the cruel reality they live in. This is the story told in the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In this novel, Lennie and George are traveling bindle stiffs who experience the losses that come with the Great Depression, and the hope of others that is dashed by the death of one person. This theme of hope and loss is shown through Curley's wife, Candy, and George.

Both Lennie and George have a similar idea of what they want for their American dream and that is to someday owning a farm. If they achieve this it would offer protection and financial care. Crooks tells them that they won’t be able to achieve their American dream and this ends up being true for them. Lennie explains their dream and says " 'Well, ' said George, '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 going ' to work, and we 'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an ' listen to the rain coming ' down on the roof... '"

The importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men is to give the character purpose and hope. The novel takes place in the 1930’s during the Great Depression, and life was hard because of the tough economic conditions at this time. Dreams play an important role in the novel Of Mice and Men, because the characters need an escape from the loneliness and poverty that is their reality, and it gives them something to work towards. The characters use the idea of the American Dream to feed their desire to have a better life. The characters face many obstacles along their journey, and each obstacle will have a direct affect on shaping how the character develops as well as if they reach their dream.

Dreams can be very persuasive and uplifting as well as discouraging, in the right moments. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck introduces the readers to a story of dreams and how those dreams can affect you and others. Steinbeck explains through his novel how dreams can give reasons for people to succeed in life, how they can draw others in and encourage others or how dreams can stray away from reality and how the dreamer can get lost in their own fantasies and never accomplish their dreams at all. Dreams have the power to change lives by giving hope.

In the novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck incorporates many thematic ideas into his text. He includes the ideas of dreams and reality, the nature of home, and he difference of right and wrong. He develops these ideas throughout the story. The first theme incorporated is the idea if dreams versus reality. Lennie and George have a plan.

The characters in Of Mice and Men all have original and unique characteristics inside of them, but no matter how different, they all have the same reactions of giving up when thinking about dreams. The main characters George and Lennie, recently unemployed migrant workers, move to a new ranch for work. Thrown into a cruel, misshapen life that doesn’t end well for the majority of characters, George and Lennie find themselves in a dilemma that seems all too familiar. John Steinbeck uses the characters in Of Mice and Men to show that dreams are fragile and they need friends to support them.