Essay On Dreams In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Many people aspire for greatness in life; whether it’s being famous, or living the American dream, there is always more out there that people want. In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, an unlikely pair of working men, Lennie Small and George Milton, go out in search of work and end up on a ranch. Some of the people that they meet at the ranch are Curley, Slim, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. The ranch is owned by Curley’s father, which causes trouble for the men because of Curley’s aggressive behavior towards them. Curley’s wife is unfulfilled and is always slinking around the barn and attempts to talk to the men working, which usually ends in failure. Curley’s wife has one similarity to Lennie and George. The three of them are missing out, or missed out on the chance for a better life and end up in a cycle of disappointment. Lennie and George share a dream of owning a house and raising animals on a ranch, while Curley’s wife fantasizes of the life that could have been. Unfortunately, all of their dreams fall short of coming true. 3 characters in the novel with bold ambitions that never come to fruition are George, Curley’s wife, and Lennie.
Curley’s wife was a stereotypical
housewife in the 1920’s. She never had much to do, so she was always in search of Curley but he was never there for her. She never truly wanted to live the type of life she was leading. On page 89, she explains to Lennie, “‘Coulda been in the movies, and’ have nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, ‘an had pitchers took of me”. The reader can infer Curley’s wife was not too satisfied with her life. As a result of her unhappiness, she floated around the ranch in search of the attention and affection that she was missing out on. Because of Curley’s negligence, she often felt alone. The reason why she was trying to talk to the workers was not to try to get them in trouble, or have Curley get upset, but she was just searching for someone to really notice and talk to her. When she vents to Lennie, her emotions seemed to bust at the seams when she finally confessed those long kept secrets. The men assumed that she was a bad person because she seemed attention-seeking, but she wanted nothing more than a friend. She seemed to merely exist, Curley’s wife’s aspirations were torn from her by her mother and had to get hitched to Curley so she could live a decent life.
Alternatively, George Milton had to work to get his money unlike Curley’s wife.
His life revolved around finding work, working, and running from the mischief Lennie created. George wanted nothing more than to live simply and have no worries, but he could never accomplish it. On page 7, George says “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl”. This revealed to the reader George’s true feelings, and that his ambitions in life were not anything too extreme. He knew Lennie was a bit of a burden, but he needed him. For him, it was about being in charge and not having to listen to someone else for once. George faced many obstacles and was not able to make his dream a reality because of what life handed
him.