Theme Of The American Dream In Of Mice And Men
The “American Dream” is the ideal that every American citizen should have the equal opportunity for freedom and prosperity regardless of class, race or gender. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck writes of multiple people that pursue their dreams, but often fall short. The theme of the dreams and hopes of the lower class in regards to the “American Dream” is shown in George and Lennie and their goal of owning a farm, Crooks with his lack of rights, and Curley’s Wife with her aspiration of being an actor.
The first of many examples of the dreams and hopes of the lower class are the main characters, Lennie and George. Lennie and George are hired farmhands that lead a nomadic lifestyle, and do not have a permanent home. They travel …show more content…
Crooks is the black stable hand that works at the farm. Crooks lived in an attachment to the barn, in insolation because of the color of his skin. When Lennie stumbled into Crooks’ room, Crooks told Lennie to leave. They spoke briefly and Crooks soon found that Lennie did not pose a threat, and did not hold prior judgement of Crooks because of his skin. As Crooks and Lennie started to talk, Lennie told Crooks about his goal with George to buy a farm. Crooks liked the idea, and started to explain that he could help out at the farm and hoe in the garden, and immediately got his hopes up. During this, Curley’s Wife walked into the barn. Curley’s Wife was often seen as trouble to the farmhands, so Crooks told her to leave. This angered Curley’s Wife, and she threatened to hang Crooks by a tree because of the way that he acted. This led to Crooks realizing the truth of his position, as shown in the following quote. “ ‘ Member what I said about hoein’ and doin’ odd jobs?’ ‘Yeah,’ said Candy. ‘I remember.’ ‘Well jus’ forget it,’ said Crooks. ‘I didn’t mean it. Jus’ foolin’. I wouldna’ want to go to a place like that’”(83). This quote shows that even though Crooks did have a dream, he would not have been able to achieve it because of the fact that he was black, and because he was of a low social
The first of many examples of the dreams and hopes of the lower class are the main characters, Lennie and George. Lennie and George are hired farmhands that lead a nomadic lifestyle, and do not have a permanent home. They travel …show more content…
Crooks is the black stable hand that works at the farm. Crooks lived in an attachment to the barn, in insolation because of the color of his skin. When Lennie stumbled into Crooks’ room, Crooks told Lennie to leave. They spoke briefly and Crooks soon found that Lennie did not pose a threat, and did not hold prior judgement of Crooks because of his skin. As Crooks and Lennie started to talk, Lennie told Crooks about his goal with George to buy a farm. Crooks liked the idea, and started to explain that he could help out at the farm and hoe in the garden, and immediately got his hopes up. During this, Curley’s Wife walked into the barn. Curley’s Wife was often seen as trouble to the farmhands, so Crooks told her to leave. This angered Curley’s Wife, and she threatened to hang Crooks by a tree because of the way that he acted. This led to Crooks realizing the truth of his position, as shown in the following quote. “ ‘ Member what I said about hoein’ and doin’ odd jobs?’ ‘Yeah,’ said Candy. ‘I remember.’ ‘Well jus’ forget it,’ said Crooks. ‘I didn’t mean it. Jus’ foolin’. I wouldna’ want to go to a place like that’”(83). This quote shows that even though Crooks did have a dream, he would not have been able to achieve it because of the fact that he was black, and because he was of a low social