Of Mice And Men Broken Dreams Analysis

The novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, focuses on the theme of broken dreams. The theme of broken dreams is deeply intertwined with the plot, which revolves around the struggles of George Milton and Lennie Small (who has a mild mental disability) to achieve their dream of independence through owning a small farm. However, while they work as ranch- hands in Soledad, Lennie shatters the dream by accidentally murdering Curley’s (the boss’ son’s) wife (who had shortly before this admitted to Lennie her lost hope of becoming a movie star). This necessitates Lennie’s death, and therefore that of the dream, as George will not pursue it without Lennie. While the plot evolves, the theme of broken dreams is shown through the circumstances surrounding …show more content…
Curley’s wife is discontented with her life on the ranch, and wishes to receive the attention she would have been afforded as a movie star (and should be afforded by her husband). Therefore, she turns to a third party, the ranch hands, for consolation and seeks to engage them through coquettish teasing, or simply by taunting and aggravating the more vulnerable men. However, her behaviour merely repulses the men, who consider her to be a tart, and serves to further the extent of her isolation. Additionally, she only tells the story of her dream to Lennie, who is unable to understand or remember, and seems to find great comfort in doing so. This example shows Curley’s wife attempting to recreate what she feels she has lost. She naturally craves attention, ergo, the possibility of wide recognition as an actress entices her. When her dream falls out of her grasp, she reacts by trying to reconstruct it by means of attracting attention on the ranch as if she were a well-known celebrity. She seems to find solace in recollecting and recounting her dream to Lennie (the only man who does not seem repulsed by her) because doing so allows her to shape her reality to resemble it as closely as possible, without being