Curley's American Dream

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck writes about the work of reaching goals by describing the actions of various men working on a ranch. Most of the characters in Of Mice and Men admit to dreaming of an alternate lifestyle. In the time of 1930, the poor dreamed of surviving while the more fortunate strived to become respected. Many shared the American Dream defined as owning their own land to live off of instead of the back breaking work at a ranch for minimal wages. Overall, each of the dreams proposed in the novel could have been reached simply by common sense. John Steinbeck demonstrates through his fictional characters that often times people are capable of reaching their goals, but go about achieving them in the wrong way. Curley, the boss’s son, wishes to obtain respect from the other men, but goes about it in a negative manner. Curley believes that he would be able to gain respect from his peers by boxing to assert dominance. He tends to pick fights with men who are much larger in size to prove his superiority, but this backfired when the bigger man won. In chapter 4, Lennie, the largest man on the ranch, and Curley got into an altercation. As a result, Lennie crushed Curley’s hand, affirming his physical power. To keep Curley quiet, Slim, the most skilled laborer, told him, “I think you got your …show more content…
Steinbeck demonstrates this phenomenon through his fictional characters developed in the novel Of Mice and Men. Many find themselves in a route that’s hard to break. Overview and insight on matters pertaining to life dreams aid in getting back on the right track as opposed to going about a goal in the wrong way. Many have the ability to find success in large or even minuscule situations and the novel serves as a reminder to take a step back in order to take a step forward in achieving a goal in the correct