John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men: Formalist Criticism

Formalist Criticism
Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal,” through which he communicates the reality of the human struggle in the search for substantial happiness. Ultimately, Sartre supposes here that one will never obtain this sense of purpose or happiness in life once he or she learns that happiness and existence are not everlasting. When one realizes that happiness, just like each individual’s existence in the world, is temporary, he or she will finally be able to appreciate the small moments of “happiness” obtained through escape from such a reality. This escape from reality can be a dream or a passion, which through pursuing, one can establish a hopeful future and an optimistic
Their dream ranch was supposed to depict a happy life, which, in real life, did not exist. Ultimately, George is forced to shoot Lennie in order to save him from future suffering and from Curley and his mob. Although in the end Lennie cannot achieve happiness, due to his death, he is, at least, no longer suffering. George, on the other hand, because he will have to live with his decision for the rest of his life, will never gain his “happy life,” despite having to no longer watch over Lennie, due to the tragic loss of a friend and thus a part of his identity. George’s reality check here is similar to that of Crooks’s earlier, when Curley’s wife asks him if he knew what she “could do to him if he opened his trap,” to which Crooks “stared hopelessly at her” and “seemed to grow smaller” (Steinbeck 78). This leads to Crooks’s later pessimism about the dream, as he realizes that he has “no rights” and the dream is practically unattainable. For both Crooks and George, the “dream,” which was supposed to be symbolic of eternal freedom and happiness, has now become beyond