How Does Steinbeck Present The American Dream In Of Mice And Men

In Of Mice and Men, each character has their own American Dream and the desire to fulfill it. However, the novel depicts the notion of an American Dream as something unattainable. The story takes place during the Great Depression and shows the life of two middle aged men, what their individual American Dreams are, and how they were unsuccessful at attaining them. Of Mice and Men depicts the harsh reality of life during the Great Depression and how it affected people’s dreams and aspirations. In Of Mice and Men, George, Lennie, and Curley’s wife were individuals who suffered during the time of the Great Depression, yet persisted on their American Dream, that unfortunately was unattainable. George’s American Dream was to own a farm and produce his own crops and be successful. …show more content…
His American Dream also consisted of him having enough freedom that he could leave work to see a baseball game and most importantly, freedom from people like Curley and Curley’s wife, who constantly abused and attacked George and Lennie. While it may seem like simple wishes to readers of today, they were dreams of those laborers and low-class individuals during the Great Depression. George stopped believing in his American Dream towards the end of the novel when he realized there’s no way for it to be attained. After he shot Lennie to spare him a painful death, George’s dream of being successful alongside Lennie and having a friendship as the only relationship in his life ends. Despite George having a more tough character, he was an idealist for truly dreaming in things that he knew could possibly never happen. Lennie’s American Dream is to own a farm in the future so he can take care of rabbits. He is the first character to present his American Dream, which influences George and eventually Candy to form their own. Because of his mental