Ambition In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

A dream, a hope of something that could be, can be thought of as the force driving us to do more, to accomplish things that are currently beyond our reach but yet are still obtainable. It may be considered as the driving motive of ambition. That, in a sense, is what George and Lennie had in the story Of Mice and Men. They had a dream of a better life, a life that consisted of them owning a place of their own where no one could kick them out, and they could live of the fat of the land. Their ambition to achieve this dream came from the hope itself. The mere thought of accomplishing this goal was enough to set them about working for it, earning enough money to actually make it happen.

But then, the question must be asked: Could George and
Lennie really achieve a dream like this? In theory, yes, this is a realistic dream for the two men. If they worked hard enough, and long enough, and focused entirely on the eventual objective, then it would all be able to work out for them. However, as circumstances had it, Lennie was a bit dingy in the head, and was not able to keep out of trouble long enough for anything real to come of the dream. They were bound to the lives they had by the unavoidable circumstances that surrounded them. If it had been just George by himself, then the idea of earning enough money to buy a place of his own would be perfectly believable. But since George had to take care of Lennie as well, the dream faded from something obtainable to just a nice idea of what a good life would be like. Although, this thought gave both men enough ambition to set out and try to accomplish the task.

The author of this story has the philosophy that fate keeps you set where you are, and no matter what you do, fate will keep reign over what is actually available to you in your life style. George and Lennie came very close to proving him wrong. They were only mere weeks away from achieving their goal, what with the help of Candy. But yet fate was against them and they ended up as they most often had, with Lennie accidentally causing something to go wrong and George having to bail him out of trouble. Thus, the two of them were once again stuck where they had started, with nothing, and only the dream to keep them company. By doing this they followed in the author’s theory that one can only acquire what is available to you in your set life style.

Steinbeck’s philosophy is quite preposterous, really. Have not people time and time again proven this theory incorrect? Just think of everyone that, at one point, had absolutely nothing, then has worked hard to rise up and accomplish a life long dream. The media even reports these types of stories to us. One of them featured a woman that had grown up sleeping on park benches and eating out of trash cans because her family was so poor. But she was determined to do something productive with her life, and studied hard, going to school and learning the things she needed to know to get a job, make some money, and move in off the streets. She has since become very successful in her profession.

This story just goes to show that hopes, such as George and Lennie’s, are not that ridiculous at all. The only thing that stands between them and their goal are themselves. If it had not been for Lennie’s unfortunate accident, they would have surely accomplished their lives’ dream. If we only believe that we are not bound to the lives we currently live, and if we strive to obtain something our heart desires, and are willing to put in the necessary time and effort, everything is within our reach.