"Of Mice And Men" And American Dream

 The American Dream is the idea that anyone that comes to America has an equal opportunity for their dreams to come true. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinback, the main characters Lennie and George work hard to achieve the so-called American dream. The experiences of Lenny and George in Of Mice and Men prove that the American Dream is not achievable, but serves as a source of hope for Americans.

Lennie is unable to succeed because of his lack of intelligence this is showing that disabilities or flaws can keep someone from achieving the American Dream. Due to an incident, because George and Lennie got kicked out of Weed. Lennie has no concept of consequence when it comes to knowing that what he did cause them to leave Weed. “A light of understanding broke on Lennie’s Face. ‘They run us outa Weed,’ he exploded triumphantly. ‘Run us out, hell,’ said George disgustingly.” This quote helps understand their mental state of Lennie and how he doesn't understand his consequences. Without George, Lennie wouldn't be able to do most of the things he has experienced for example working at weed. Lennie depends on George for the sense of right and what to do. Lennie hopes to be like George and that is why he is determined and always listens to George. The flaw in the American dream is that people like Lennie wouldn't be able to achieve this so-called “American dream”. Due to his intelligence and disability. Steinback shows that the American dream is not available to all Americans but only to the ones that are not affected by disabilities.

George is also not able to reach the so-called American dream due to helping someone out, that is not as stable as him. George always gets into trouble due to Lennie being with him. George just wants to live a normal life but has the burden of having Lennie to take care of. George is just being helpful to help Lennie be guided in a world that is difficult to work in by himself. “Lennie- if you just happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here and hide in the bush….Hide in the bush till I come for you.” This quote shows that George is just helping Lennie when he needs it. George is just trying to be helpful to someone that doesn't know how to take care of themselves. Lennie has gotten into lots of trouble and George is always by his side to help him out of the tough situations. The American dream is also not reachable for someone like George because he is just trying to do the right thing but has a burden as a friend. And he can't just leave him in the dark because he is a kind person. So the American dream is not beneficial to people who are kind and caring and willing to be pushed back for the well-being of someone else too. It pushed George to help Lennie because he has hope that one day Lennie will be able to take care of himself and be like George.

The so-called American Dream is flawed in multiple ways and is not that beneficial. It doesn't help every American as it is claimed. The American Dream is just a claim to keep people motivated. The American dream in theory helps everyone out. But if you are like Lennie or George not only doesn't it help you but it hurts you. In conclusion, is the American Dream something that people know exists or wish it existed?