Role Of Hope In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

[A] Hope is a vital part of accomplishing hopes, dreams, and goals. Without hope, we will never accomplish anything meaningful. [B] In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George demonstrates this, as does the children is War Dance and Walter Mitty in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. [C] Scott Kaufman and Joe Wilner wrote articles about the psychological effect of hope on humans that helped me better understand hope. [E]In Of Mice and Men, George is always telling Lennie about the farm they plan on getting, but [F] George never actually believes the farm could be a reality until Candy chips in over half the cost and they start planning the farm. [G] According to Joe Wilner in How we Lose Hope and How to Get it Back, “In order for goals to uplift and enliven us, we need goals that are challenging and motivating...” (Wilner 1). [H] George had lost hope and was just saying these things about the farm because Lennie enjoyed hearing it. [I] Candy donating $350 to the farm helped George see that the farm could be a reality. [J] Joe Wilner also said “Hope is the life force that keeps us going and gives us something to live for” (Wilner 1). George had nothing to
live for even though he kept telling Lennie about the farm. Candy contributing the three hundred fifty dollars showed him that the farm could be a reality and gave him something to live for. In War Dance, a documentary on the terrorizing reign of Joseph Kony in Northern Uganda, [E] shows how three children utilize music to retain their hope.
[F] They try to reach a regional competition for music. [G]According to Scott Barry in “The Will and Ways of Hope” “hope involves the will to get there and different ways to get there” (Kaufman,1). [H] The children had the will to reach the music festival and made it. [I] Even though they were going through tough times, losing parents/siblings/friends, they used music to keep a positive attitude toward life. [K] Scott also said later in the same article “Hope allows people to approach problems with a mindset and strategy-set suitable to success” (Kaufman,1). [L] They are able to approach the problems in the music with a positive attitude because they have hope.
[M] [E]The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a movie about a man who lost his father at a relatively young age and had no hope after this point. [F] After the cover photo goes missing, he goes on an adventure to find it, and gets his hope back along the way. [G] according to Joe Wilner in How we Lose Hope and How to Get it Back, “... empowering yourself by setting effective goals is the key” (Wilner 1). [H] Mitty empowers himself by setting a goal to find the missing picture. [I] This causes him to be more confident than ever since his bankrupt father died. [K] Wilner also writes “We need to be ready to be ready to deal with obstacles and drawbacks” (Wilner 2). [L] The entire movie is just Mitty dealing with the drawback of losing the final cover for the TIME magazine. He travels to Greenland, Iceland and finally the Himalayas to find the “quintessence” his boss was looking for. [M] [O] Hopes, dreams and goals provide people with an endpoint or something to achieve. [P] Even though people go through rough times, hope can push you through and see you the other side. George and Lennie had nothing, they were just people desperate for work, and yet the possibility of their own farm kept them going. The children in War Dance had lost their families or had unsupportive relatives and yet found the hope to push through problems and finish in first place. Mitty lost his father at a young age and just kind of went through life. His adventure caused him to find the hope that he needed in his life. [Q] They all had no reason to have hope, but they held on anyways and their life, and everyone around them, was better for it. [R] Hopes, dreams and goals improve people's lives and encourage them to do more.