Friendship, And Determination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
Having a Dream Creates Hope, Friendship, and Determination
In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men George Milton and Lennie Small are on their way to work on a ranch in Northern California after Lennie’s childlike brain and his odd fetish for petting things like mice, rabbits, puppies, and women get him into trouble. One of the major themes in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination. The first example of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination is George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own place. If George could somehow muster up the money to buy the land to have his own farm he could keep Lennie out of trouble. If Candy didn’t put in the $350 towards the …show more content…
land then George and Lennie’s dream would not be close to a reality. They realise that the dream may come true “right squack in one month”(Pg.44) partly because George is determined to save every cent possible to pay off the land. When George says ”...We’ll fix up that little old place an’ we’ll go live there” (p.45) it shows the determination of owning land. George and Lennie's dream creates hope and a strong friendship between themselves and Candy.
The second example of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination is Crooks’ memory of his father’s chicken ranch. In his dream he remembers the good times he had as a small boy on his father’s chicken ranch. Crooks tells Lennie that the “white kids [came] to play at our place, an' sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them were pretty nice” (p.46). He dreams of being able to talk and be with others on an equal basis which wasn’t. He tells Lennie that his “’ol man didn’t like” the white kids playing with Crooks because he was black and they were white. Crooks’ longing for equality in the form of friendship is shown later when Crooks bitterly tells Lennie, “Spose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. . .A guy needs somebody – to be near him. . .a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. . .a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick” (p.51). His illness comes from complete isolation and total discrimination by whites. Crooks’ bitterness also disappears when Candy and Lennie include him in the dream of owning land. George crushes Crooks’ new hope of owning land because Crooks does not want Crooks to be part of the farm even though Crooks said he would work for no pay. Crooks shows the fulfillment of his dream when he tells Curley’s wife, “You got no right messin’ around in here at all. . .Now you just get out and’ get out quick” (p. 51). He speaks to Curley’s wife with authority because in the moment he forgets the fact that he is black and discriminated against, as Curley’s wife reminds him when she threatens Crooks and calls him a “nigger.” Crooks does this because he finally feels like an equal because of Lennie and Candy. Furthermore showing the theme of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination.
The final example of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination is when Candy’s (an old man with one hand who also works on the ranch) dog gets shot and his joining of George and Lennie’s dream of owning land.
After the death of his dog, Candy experiences a deep sense of loss and he feels empty inside. When Candy overhears Lennie and George talking about owning a piece of land his emptiness begins to fill with the dream Lennie and George share. Candy tells George, “Tell you what-... Spose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I put in” (p.33). George’s reaction to what Candy said prompts Candy to bare his soul to him and tell George that he will “´make a will an’ leave [his] share to [Lennie and George]” (p.34). But more importantly, Candy develops a friendship with George which is seen later in the story when Candy divulges to George his inner feelings regarding his dog, showing the beginnings of a friendship, “I ought to of shot that dog myself. . .I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog” (p.39). Candy’s actions portray the theme in Of Mice and Men that having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination.
On the other hand others who read the book might say the theme of Of Mice and Men is that taking care of your friends leads to stronger friendships. They might conclude that taking care of your friends leads to stronger friendships is the theme because of the friendship that George and Lennie have. The theme of taking care of your friends leads to stronger friendships is true but it doesn’t fit in with all of the characters as Crooks didn't really take care of his friends, he just played with them because they were nice to him and vice
versa.
In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men George Milton and Lennie Small are on their way to work on a ranch in Northern California after Lennie’s childlike brain and his odd fetish for petting things like mice, rabbits, puppies, and women get him into trouble. One of the major themes in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination. The first example of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination is George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own place. If George could somehow muster up the money to buy the land to have his own farm he could keep Lennie out of trouble. If Candy didn’t put in the $350 towards the …show more content…
land then George and Lennie’s dream would not be close to a reality. They realise that the dream may come true “right squack in one month”(Pg.44) partly because George is determined to save every cent possible to pay off the land. When George says ”...We’ll fix up that little old place an’ we’ll go live there” (p.45) it shows the determination of owning land. George and Lennie's dream creates hope and a strong friendship between themselves and Candy.
The second example of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination is Crooks’ memory of his father’s chicken ranch. In his dream he remembers the good times he had as a small boy on his father’s chicken ranch. Crooks tells Lennie that the “white kids [came] to play at our place, an' sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them were pretty nice” (p.46). He dreams of being able to talk and be with others on an equal basis which wasn’t. He tells Lennie that his “’ol man didn’t like” the white kids playing with Crooks because he was black and they were white. Crooks’ longing for equality in the form of friendship is shown later when Crooks bitterly tells Lennie, “Spose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. . .A guy needs somebody – to be near him. . .a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. . .a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick” (p.51). His illness comes from complete isolation and total discrimination by whites. Crooks’ bitterness also disappears when Candy and Lennie include him in the dream of owning land. George crushes Crooks’ new hope of owning land because Crooks does not want Crooks to be part of the farm even though Crooks said he would work for no pay. Crooks shows the fulfillment of his dream when he tells Curley’s wife, “You got no right messin’ around in here at all. . .Now you just get out and’ get out quick” (p. 51). He speaks to Curley’s wife with authority because in the moment he forgets the fact that he is black and discriminated against, as Curley’s wife reminds him when she threatens Crooks and calls him a “nigger.” Crooks does this because he finally feels like an equal because of Lennie and Candy. Furthermore showing the theme of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination.
The final example of having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination is when Candy’s (an old man with one hand who also works on the ranch) dog gets shot and his joining of George and Lennie’s dream of owning land.
After the death of his dog, Candy experiences a deep sense of loss and he feels empty inside. When Candy overhears Lennie and George talking about owning a piece of land his emptiness begins to fill with the dream Lennie and George share. Candy tells George, “Tell you what-... Spose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I put in” (p.33). George’s reaction to what Candy said prompts Candy to bare his soul to him and tell George that he will “´make a will an’ leave [his] share to [Lennie and George]” (p.34). But more importantly, Candy develops a friendship with George which is seen later in the story when Candy divulges to George his inner feelings regarding his dog, showing the beginnings of a friendship, “I ought to of shot that dog myself. . .I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog” (p.39). Candy’s actions portray the theme in Of Mice and Men that having a dream creates hope, friendship, and determination.
On the other hand others who read the book might say the theme of Of Mice and Men is that taking care of your friends leads to stronger friendships. They might conclude that taking care of your friends leads to stronger friendships is the theme because of the friendship that George and Lennie have. The theme of taking care of your friends leads to stronger friendships is true but it doesn’t fit in with all of the characters as Crooks didn't really take care of his friends, he just played with them because they were nice to him and vice
versa.