Literary Analysis Of American Dream Theme In Of Mice And Men

John Steinback was an author of many novels and also won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature for his realistic and imaginative writing. One novel he wrote was Of Mice and Men which focused on two characters Lennie and George who dream of living on the “fatta the lan”. Lennie and George both want a future of living on a ranch with a garden and animals. Lennie would tend the rabbits like he always wanted. The conflict in the story is they don't have enough money and wherever they end up working at, Lennie stirs up trouble for both of them. In this novel, Steinback brought up many motifs, one in which was the American Dream. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts that the American Dream was not possible during the Great Depression.

The author portrays that the American Dream is unimaginable by applying emotion at the end of the novel when Lennie dies. It mentions in the novel, “Lennie turned his head and looked off across the pool and up the darkening slopes of the Gabilans. “We gonna get a little place,” George began. He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger; he snapped off the safety, and the hand and gun lay on the ground behind Lennie’s back. He looked at the back of Lennie’s head, at the place where the spine and skull were joined. A man’s voice called from up the river, and another man answered. “Go on,” said Lennie. George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again. “Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.” “We’ll have a cow,” said George. “An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens. . . . an’ down the flat we’ll have a. . . . little piece alfalfa—” “For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted. “For the rabbits,” George repeated. “And I get to tend the rabbits.” “An’ you get to tend the rabbits.” Lennie giggled with happiness. “An’ live on the fatta the lan”.…...close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.” (Steinbeck 105-106). He dies peacefully with the dream still clear in his head. In the end, the reader is unhappy because he/she realizes that the dream will never be achieved. Steinback prepares us for this tragic ending by showing us what Lennie did at Weed, his petting of the dead mouse, and killing of his puppy which foreshadowed his killing of Curley's wife. The American Dream is impossible because this dream is about an opportunity, democracy, rights, equality, and liberty. This freedom was never a reality in the years of the Great Depression or in this novel Of Mice and Men

The author narrates that the American Dream is not possible by representing another character Crooks, whose dream was overpowered by Curley's wife. It touches upon this in the novel “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny.' Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego—nothing to arouse either like or dislike. He said, 'Yes, ma'am,' and his voice was toneless.” (Steinback 120-121). The reason that Crooks changes his mind is because Curley's wife had robbed him of all hope for the future. Before Curley's wife comes into the bunkhouse, Crooks has started to buy into the idea of going along and chasing the dream that George and Lennie have been chasing. He is finally feeling some hope but that is destroyed once Curley's wife enters the scene. When she enters, she was angry because Crooks told her to leave his room, she then tells Crooks to shut up because she could have him lynched. This represents another reason why the American Dream was out of the question during the Great Depression where African Americans were not treated fairly. This also shows that African Americans were not valued in this Era, there was no equality back then and that is a factor in why the American Dream was not possible during the Great Depression.

The author informs the readers that the American Dream was not possible during the Great Depression when he puts the dream to use in the exposition, climax, and resolution. There is repetition in the novel about the dream. The readers' view on this dream changes from not worth considering to achievable and then back to unbelievable. In the beginning, George recites the dream like a story to Lennie. He is uncertain of it coming true, he only does it for Lennie's sake. George believes that this dream will not be literal because of Lennie’s disability and people may not accept who he is. Individuals during the Great Depression did not know much about this kind of disorder and they did not welcome these types of citizens. It says in the novel “No, you. I forget some a’ the things. Tell about how it’s gonna be.” “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 the lan’,” Lennie shouted. “An’ have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that, George.” (Steinback 13-14). Then later on in the novella, the dream is talked about again in the bunkhouse. Candy listens in and wants to be part of this dream. He says he has enough money and can help them. George realizes that dream may become a reality. They have enough money and would be able to buy the ranch. But close to the end Lennie ends up doing something wrong which leads to a twist on the novel and concludes the dream being unrealistic for George and the audience.

The American Dream was hopeless in the Great Depression. However, in the novel, it could have been realistic if Lennie didn’t behave the way he did. But Lennie was friendly and enjoyed having company like George, other people liked being lonely and that didn’t bring them happiness. And the people who didn’t have anyone would feel unwanted or feel like no one cared. Lennie and George both got the chance to have each other which helped their dream be somewhat practical. It says in the dream “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go into town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.” Lennie was delighted. “That’s it—that’s it. Now tell how it is with us.” George went on. “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that cares about us. We don’t have to sit-in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody cares. But not us.”(Steinback 13-14). This means that the dream was not possible because, in the end, George needs to kill Lennie before he is killed by Curley and the rest of his crew.

In conclusion, the American Dream is intolerable. The author uses many literary devices to show the audience that the American Dream is illogical. He describes the dream as a perfect fantasy for a person who lived during the Great Depression. He wrote about his appreciation of the land and his idea of the American Dream. He believed you had to work to reach your goal. Steinbeck pushed himself to be an author and reach his dream. Steinbeck's American Dream was to live on nice land owned by yourself but to work for what you owned. He describes the dream as The American Dream which is the term used for the dream that all American people share particularly during The Great Depression. The main characters in 'Of Mice & Men' have a dream which was to get a plot of land and live on it and become independent. This did not come true for many reasons which backed up Steinback's main theme in the story that the American Dream in impractical. The American Dream is written into the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Lennie and George's dream of owning a farm and living off the 'fatta the lan' symbolizes this dream. Overall the audience of this novel should understand that the American Dream was unlikely.