Of Mice And Men American Dream Analysis

For hundreds of years people have come from all over the world to America to chase a dream coined “The American Dream”. This dream presents the belief that America offers vast opportunities to everyone who is willing to work. While the American Dream most frequently promises to improve the lives of the immigrants and those they care about, often including gaining land or running a business of their own, it also quite frequently includes fame and fortune. These ideals have the great power to give people hope, voices, happiness, and at times, even life. However, when something so powerful is taken away, the damage caused is, more often than not, substantial. As is shown in the novella by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men and S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, characters react differently when they are disenfranchised from pursuing their dreams.
In Of Mice and Men, this is shown by Candy’s change in voice when given the opportunity to go with George and Lennie and get land. Candy was the swamper of the ranch, and because of his old age and disability, he was unable to complete many tasks and believed he would soon be fired from the ranch. This form of the American dream was not only a form of shelter for Candy, it was a place where he would have company, and security. He wouldn’t end up fired and dying alone with no job or home, as he had presumed his fate would be without the land. Candy had enough confidence in this dream that he no longer felt he was walking on eggshells, trying to cling to his swamper job and companionship. With the dream as his