Similarities Between Of Mice And Men

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” This quote by Colin Powell explains how in order to achieve a dream you must work for it as the characters in The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men worked to achieve their dreams. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, set in the 1920's, the main character Gatsby is on a quest to find the love of his life as well as live the prosperous life he has always dreamed of. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, set in the 1930's, the main characters George and Lennie, migrant farm workers, travel together working to have the lives they have dreamed of. The characters in both novels used their dreams to motivate them. In both The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men, the idea of the American Dream plays a major role in impacting the theme of both novels.
The American Dream, a hope and dream of prosperity that hard work can lead to success to become the person you wish to be, to live the life you wish to have; but the hope is either alive or dead depending on who you are.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s dream of being wealthy and having the woman he loved to motivate him to become successful. In this story, Gatsby’s hope is alive so much that it is nearly overwhelming because of this Gatsby diligently works to achieve his dream. In Of Mice and Men, the author uses George and Lennie's dream of owning a farm with rabbits to encourage Lennie to work and behave as he should. Knowing that bad behavior will result in not being able to tend the rabbits, Lennie tries his best to be on his best behavior, fearing George will take away his ability to care for the rabbits. Dreams can be influential, whether it is a positive or negative influence is on
you. In both novels, the theme is based on dreams. Riches and fame are worthless without true bliss from the owner is the reoccurring theme throughout The Great Gatsby. Gatsby was a rich man that many people were jealous of, but he was without true happiness because he was without the love of his life. Gatsby was determined to go from rags to riches and would do anything to reach his goal. After, Gatsby became rich he never was truly happy because he was away from the woman he loved. The speaker, Nick Carraway, was unwealthy, but it didn’t matter because he was happy. Bliss is true happiness, and without it fame is nothing. Of Mice and Men’s theme is that hopes and dreams inspire and give life to those that most need encouragement. Lennie needed encouragement to behave due to his mental illness. Without the dream of tending the rabbits Lennie would have been into trouble earlier in the story. The influence of dreams is what ties the theme together for both novels. The theme of both The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men is impacted by the characters and their dreams of prosperity. Gatsby was negatively impacted by dreams because he dreamed of riches and love, but instead of fairly working towards his dream he cheated his way to fame. Gatsby made his way to fame by illegal activity because he was so caught up in being the best that he did all it took to reach the top. Lennie was positively impacted by dreams, because his dreams were an encouragement to behave. Without the impact of dreams both The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men wouldn't have strong themes. Fitzgerald and Steinbeck used dreams to tie their novels together. Though both novels were set at different times the dream of prosperity was current throughout both. The two authors used the motivation from dreams to impact the plot. The American Dream plays a major role in impacting the theme of The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men.