“In life your dreams may not come true, but sooner or later one of your nightmares will.” This idea is demonstrated throughout John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. In this novella, characters in the Great Depression struggle to find and keep work, make money, and achieve their goals. Friends, George and Lennie, are motivated by the image of their dream ranch and earning their own money. Other characters, including a stable buck named Crooks and a housewife watch as their lives crumble before them, their dreams turned to rubble as a result of death or injury. In Of Mice and Men, everyone has dreams, but dreams and plans do not become a reality. George and Lennie never arrive at their goals, Curley’s wife missed out on her ideal opportunities,
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After a life of traveling and Lennie getting them both in trouble, they look forward to settling down and making a life of their own. “We’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and- an’ live of the fatta the land.” (Steinbeck, 14) The idea of their future home often comforted Lennie, and it was all he had to look forward to. Lennie never got to his dream. Instead, George was forced to make the hardest decision he could ever make: he killed his best friend, while u “‘Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now…’ George raised the gun and steadied it and brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head… He pulled the trigger.” (106) Lennie never lived to see his goals through. Meanwhile, George was left alone- but while his dreams were destroyed, his nightmare came true. His best friend, left dead. Despite only Lennie being killed, death interrupted both George and Lennie’s dreams. In the Great Depression, death was a common obstacle that had to be …show more content…
She was a simple housewife that missed out on her opportunities. She had dreamed of being in the movies. “‘Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes- all them nice clothes like they wear.’” (74) This was disrupted by her family and her relationships. Instead, she had obtained a life she never wanted. She ended up being discontent with a husband who expected her to lead the lonely life of a housewife. Although Curley’s wife understood dreams do not come true, especially for the ranchmen, her goals were still present. “‘I coulda made something of myself… maybe I will yet.’” (89) Like the ranch workers Curley’s wife had seen, she never met her fantasies. Her last wishes were suppressed by her death, after she had finally opened up about her past to Lennie. After failing to reach her ambitions once, she continued to wish for a better life- a life that was not
After a life of traveling and Lennie getting them both in trouble, they look forward to settling down and making a life of their own. “We’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and- an’ live of the fatta the land.” (Steinbeck, 14) The idea of their future home often comforted Lennie, and it was all he had to look forward to. Lennie never got to his dream. Instead, George was forced to make the hardest decision he could ever make: he killed his best friend, while u “‘Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now…’ George raised the gun and steadied it and brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head… He pulled the trigger.” (106) Lennie never lived to see his goals through. Meanwhile, George was left alone- but while his dreams were destroyed, his nightmare came true. His best friend, left dead. Despite only Lennie being killed, death interrupted both George and Lennie’s dreams. In the Great Depression, death was a common obstacle that had to be …show more content…
She was a simple housewife that missed out on her opportunities. She had dreamed of being in the movies. “‘Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes- all them nice clothes like they wear.’” (74) This was disrupted by her family and her relationships. Instead, she had obtained a life she never wanted. She ended up being discontent with a husband who expected her to lead the lonely life of a housewife. Although Curley’s wife understood dreams do not come true, especially for the ranchmen, her goals were still present. “‘I coulda made something of myself… maybe I will yet.’” (89) Like the ranch workers Curley’s wife had seen, she never met her fantasies. Her last wishes were suppressed by her death, after she had finally opened up about her past to Lennie. After failing to reach her ambitions once, she continued to wish for a better life- a life that was not