There American Dream can be described by one word, success. This is what mostly every lower class citizen during the Great Depression was trying to achieve. Lennie and George are no exception to this as they are striving towards owning a ranch of their own with multiple, strangely colored rabbits for Lennie to pet. But, throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, there are various occasions where he utilizes his writing in a way as to prove that this dream, for most, is simply an illusion, and that it is not possible. This idea is set early on in the novel when the two men are walking through the wilderness. Right after Lennie drinks a lot of water from the small pool near them they begin a discussion about how Lennie
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This is the first time that anyone mentions the dream and we can tell how excited Lennie is about it. George though seems to dismiss the idea and makes it seem as if the whole thing is silly. Later we learn they are both excited about the dream, George is just much more cautious because he is more world-weary than Lennie. This is a hint early on that Steinbeck is using his writing to show that this dream is not achievable because George doesn’t really believe in it. Steinbeck even used the lesser characters as ways to present the impression that this isn’t possible. While Crooks and Lennie were sitting together in the barn, Steinbeck sticks in another example of how unrealistic the dream is. While Crooks is speaking to Lennie he says, “I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land” (Steinbeck 74). In this quote Crooks is talking about how he works hard and tries to read books to become smarter, but it’s getting him nowhere even close to achieving this impractical dream. Also when he says this, it can be inferred that Steinbeck means that even if you work hard and give everything that you have, you still won’t achieve what you want
This is the first time that anyone mentions the dream and we can tell how excited Lennie is about it. George though seems to dismiss the idea and makes it seem as if the whole thing is silly. Later we learn they are both excited about the dream, George is just much more cautious because he is more world-weary than Lennie. This is a hint early on that Steinbeck is using his writing to show that this dream is not achievable because George doesn’t really believe in it. Steinbeck even used the lesser characters as ways to present the impression that this isn’t possible. While Crooks and Lennie were sitting together in the barn, Steinbeck sticks in another example of how unrealistic the dream is. While Crooks is speaking to Lennie he says, “I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land” (Steinbeck 74). In this quote Crooks is talking about how he works hard and tries to read books to become smarter, but it’s getting him nowhere even close to achieving this impractical dream. Also when he says this, it can be inferred that Steinbeck means that even if you work hard and give everything that you have, you still won’t achieve what you want