Comparing The American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Not only the physical death can be identified as “deaths,” but also the figurative, emotional deaths can still be labeled as “death.” When the reality and physical things, things seen with one’s eyes, are too harsh to bear through and accept, one can only try to live on by finding an figurative “refuge.” The term “American Dream” was created during the 1920’s of America, the forlorn time period known as the “Great Depression.” Only thing the inconsolable Americans could do to live on was to stay in their figurative “refuge,” dreaming the “American dream,” hoping for a better future. In the story, “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck demonstrates the power and importance of dreams, which leads to hopeful lives of people during the Great Depression…show more content…
Dream is the remedy and motivation through the harsh reality during the Great Depression, rescuing people from imagining the granting of peace and satisfaction through death. In this story, the contrast between the two types of people, people with and without dreams, is extremely distinctive. George and Lennie, the two main characters with dreams, have obvious difference between other people on the ranch; they have hope, they care about others around them, and think and seek for positive solution before giving up. Their dream has become the motivation to strive through the dire reality, thinking and seeking of a positive solution and escaping that situation as they did in the beginning of the story from the other ranch. Few other characters join George and Lennie and the idea of “dreams” throughout the story. Crooks, who suffered with severe discrimination of his racial differences of the society, first tries to reject and make Lennie insecure and dubious about his dreams. However, he eventually opens up to Lennie and offers his help for…show more content…
Candy is another character who becomes dependent on the idea of dreams. He was the exemplar character of ordinary workers of the time without any directions or purpose in life. The past years of his life were just to live on, without any particular goals. His only friend who kept him company over the years was his dog, who eventually was killed by Carlson because he was labeled smelly, old, blind, deaf, helpless, and useless. Candy later on says that “He said miserably, ‘You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, and’ I can’t get no more jobs’” (Steinbeck 60). Candy is completely hopeless before he decides to follow George and Lennie for a direction in life. He describes himself as a person no different from what others described his beloved dog, desiring death because of low self-esteem and feeling of his uselessness. He doesn’t expect anything from himself or his life. However, after joining George and Lennie with their dream, Candy had motivation in his life. Later on in the book, he was
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