Of Mice And Men American Dream

" The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost which in turn destroys the vision and the dream." ~ Azar Nafisi Dreams are something that an individual must work towards in order to fulfil. However, an urgency to fulfill the dream will lead to a change in attitude and the decisions you make. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck chooses to express the impact of dreams and the need for untouched happiness. Lennie 's dream of tending rabbits on his own farm completely take him over and begin to affect his judgement. Curley 's Wife 's desires of becoming famous reflect upon her desperation which is similar to Crooks ' dream of working on the farm and having friends. Through the portrayal of these …show more content…
Curley 's wife 's dream of becoming famous is next to impossible, and yet she make it her primary focus in life. While talking to Crooks, Candy and Lennie on page 78 she says, " I tell ya I could of went with shows. Not jus ' one neither. An ' a guy tol ' me he could put me in pitchers." This shows the reader an obsession over an unrealistic dream can cause you to believe whatever is told to you. This causes a discrepancy between what is anticipated to happen and what actually occurs in real life. It is the harsh truth that one must face. On page 88, Curley 's wife tells Lennie of how she only married Curley to make the guy that lied to her feel jealous. This was because she felt unwanted. She says, "Nother time I met a guy, an ' he was in pitchers. Went out to the Riverside Dance Palace with him. He was going to put me in the movies. ...Soon 's he got to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it...I never got that letter...So I married Curley. This quote proves that when a valuable dream can no longer be fulfilled, an individual will feel so betrayed that he/she will make an irrational decision that will negatively impact their life. The person will be compelled to act unreasonably, and thus Curley 's wife also demonstrates the idea that gullible people are often the ones that have ambitions and aspirations that are impossible to achieve, and they do not realize that until it completely ruins them. In summary, Curley 's wife 's felt betrayed and unwanted when her dream of becoming famous was not fulfilled and how the whole time she was living a lie. The author chooses Curley 's wife to best express how broken dreams cause an individual to react in ways that are not always the wisest, which lead he/she to face a bitter