American Dream
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The American Dream is a recurring theme in John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. The American dream is the believe that anyone can make it big and get what they want if they work hard enough. This was mostly personified through George's and Lennie's dream of having their own ranch after they build up their stake. When they share their dream with Candy and Crooks, they too wanted to be part of it. At the beginning of the story, George and Lennie, when talking about their dream, describe it as "...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"(Steinbeck 14). Although it may seem like an unusual dream to us, it was the perfect scenario for them. It incorporated all of their dreams into one perfect one. It gave Lennie his dream of having rabbits to tend. It also gave George his dream of being able to own his own ranch and not having to work for anyone else. It later gave Crooks and Candy the hope of having a job after the ranch they are currently at. It all appeared to be just within their reach and that they would succeed with their plan; that was until Lennie accidentally killed Curly's wife.
When critic Peter Lisca talks about Of Mice and Men, he says, "...George never mentions the dream except for Lennie's benefit. That his own "dream" is quite different from Lennie's is established early in the novel"(345). What Peter Lisca is referring to is when George was talking about what he would do if he didn't have Lennie with him, how he would go blow his stake in it brothel and go get drunk, basically party it up the rest of his life. I disagree with this however, it might sound like George's dream when taken out of context, but George only said that because he was in a fight with Lennie and he wanted to get under his skin. I do agree with the fact that George's dream differs from Lennie's. I believe that George's dream is for Lennie to be happy. Why else would he sacrifice so much for him?
When critic Peter Lisca talks about Of Mice and Men, he says, "...George never mentions the dream except for Lennie's benefit. That his own "dream" is quite different from Lennie's is established early in the novel"(345). What Peter Lisca is referring to is when George was talking about what he would do if he didn't have Lennie with him, how he would go blow his stake in it brothel and go get drunk, basically party it up the rest of his life. I disagree with this however, it might sound like George's dream when taken out of context, but George only said that because he was in a fight with Lennie and he wanted to get under his skin. I do agree with the fact that George's dream differs from Lennie's. I believe that George's dream is for Lennie to be happy. Why else would he sacrifice so much for him?