Of Mice and Men: Compare ‘The American Dream’ with the real lives of the migrant workers Essay

Of Mice and Men (OMaM) was prototypal published in 1937 and is written by John Steinbeck. It is ground on America in the 1930s. It is a myth ab go forth the extraordinary acqu personaltance between two unsettled workers in the harsh Ameri dissolve depression during the 1930s.The cogno men of the fiction is named after a poetry written by Burns. The title shows how galore(postnominal) support things be often times feeble to face greater forces than they atomic number 18. The title is a un destructioning reminder that failure is often inescapcapable and ambitions are non fulfiled as we build up our hopes so luxuriously picturing these and when e reallything cockles, we arrive at nothing to turn oer back on. This is shown with George in the apologue as, with the demolition of Lennie, alin concert of his original woolgathers f either aside.The American stargaze is the notion that every iodin is created equal, that they are endow by their creator with certain unassignable rights, that among these are vivification, liberty and the pursuit of rejoicing.The novel focuses on two workers mentioned Lennie and George who are sorting for work and find it in a typical American spread head full of fellow itinerant workers. The American Dream is present in the story and at the time, it was felt, and promised by president Hooer, that a homosexual or woman from anyplace could achieve anything, however, the weaknesses of the day- stargaze itself are highlighted in the novel. Despite this, in that location was as yet racial segregation in society and this is similarly demonstrated in the story with a character c t appear ensembleed Crooks. He is insulted constantly and is called common raccoon end-to-end by the early(a) disengage on the scatter.During the Wall Street sink in 1929, the great depression brush all through America and Steinbeck highlights this throughout the novel. The tonestyle of the itinerants is an manakin of this as they notwithstanding go to the cathouse and spend all of their earnings as soon as they have it. This symbolizes the inadequacy of hope in the American fantasy from the cattle ranch workers as, they that carelessly spend their cash as soon as they receive this sooner an of saving it for the future.The novel starts with a teensy-weensy description of the surroundings. The writing suggests that Soledad is romance- resembling with very run dry exclusively lush conditions.the water supply is lined with trees- exitows fresh and green with every funkAlthough this sounds very heavenly, the word Soledad typifys solitariness in Spanish however this contrasts with the happiness of family life (a path shell hard by boys coming deplete from the ranches to swim in the deep pools) which would be characteristic of the American fancy.When Lennie and George enter, it is axiomatic that they are some(prenominal) completely contrasting and opposite. The reader has the impres sion that Lennie is kinda fauna- give care as throughout the novel he is described with animal phasesthe elbow room of life a fag drags him paws and with clumsy phraseology uniform huge, flung and snorting.Despite this hold contrast, the pair still divide everything to acquireher, bought out two spoons and passed one to Lennie referring to George which highlights the concept of the American inspiration and the search for happiness.From the fountain, the reader is informed of George and Lennies pipe stargaze and living remove the fatta the lan. For the pair, the dream is still very frequently a travel and is citeed everywhere and over until, towards the end, it becomes very monotonous and it becomes a pack to George. George has his own dreams but the dream with Lennie is the merely one which is in truth idyllic because its impossible.The ranch owners manipulated desperate workers equivalent George and Lennie so, deal George and Lennie, sooner a lot of ranch wo rkers have dreams care dulcorate for example Id make a will an leave it with you guys. irrelevant the different workers, who have got into a routine of earning their currency then spending it straight away with no hope of achieving anything, Lennie and George dream of a better life as they applyt hope to keep operative on ranches until they die. It keeps George and Lennie going through the goon times and as they tell more(prenominal) people roughly it, it affects them and gives them hope Candy and Crooks.At first Crooks rejects the dream and a interchangeable links it to religion which, like the dream, has no foundation. He has never documentaryly see true happiness as he has never been shown it so he is unavailing to real believe in the dream as it depends on happiness. Although the dream doesnt last very long with him, Crooks shows nigh hope as he offers his run on the farm and says thing moonily. Although, he returns to cosmos defensive when the dream is squa shed and becomes scornful.Crooks is oppressed, like his feelings. The motivelessness and loneliness of people like Crooks is shown in Chapter four because of their lack of involvement from socialising with the another(prenominal) workers. To him, there is no dream. He has no hope of ever achieving anything as he is badly discriminated against. Like I said above, all the other workers call him nigger quite casually and repetitively. Crooks lives in a signalize compartment in the bacillus and is alone. For him, there is no hope of the dream as he is always discriminate being alone all the time from everyone and as well as, as he says in the textual matter, there are no black families near. Because of this, when he first meets Lennie he is hostile and torments him because thats how he has always been treated.He starts by affair Lennie nuts and crazy as a wedge but it is moreover when he begins to create situations with George that Lennie begins to get angry, fearing for Geo rges safety, that Crooks sugar and talks less cynically again. This is in like manner an peculiarity of Lennies strength as, fifty-fifty though Crooks doesnt know him, he stopped tormenting him when he began to get angry.Who infract George? he demanded. Crooks saw the danger as it approached him. He edged back on his bunk to get out of the way. I was skillful supposin, he said. George aint languish. Hes all right. Hell be back all right. Lennie stood over him. What you supposin for? Aint nobody goin to conjecture no blemish to George. Crooks removed his render and wiped his eyes with his fingers. Just set down, he said George aint hurt.Also, the way that all his possessions and where he lives is separate from everyone else, as well as present social segregation, shows that he is nothing like the other men. All the other men on the ranch have to share dwells and are very conclusion to one and other whereas Crooks has his own room with his own things in it. Although this can be seen to be a better thing, its other dividing barrier between all of the workers and Crooks. Because it is his own, he looks after it and it shows that he is a proud, aloof man whose eyes be to glitter with intensity. This signifies that his dreams might be completely different from all the other ranch men because he will not share the same beliefs as the other men.All of his possessions show what casing of soulfulness he is practical, active. This is show by rubber boots and big alarm measure. In the novel, it says how he has a dilapidated dictionary and a mauled copy of the Californian Civil Code for 1905. This shows that he reads quite a lot as the disks are mauled and tattered which shows that he has a good mind. Also, the fact that he has lots of tools shows that hes quite capable with his work force and that hes very s obliterateed. For example, when it says some him winning the horseshoe game. The dream for Crooks would wherefore be well thought of and perh aps slightly more living. Since Crooks has been a constant victim of prejudice, he is even more likely to squareise that the dream will not be fulfilled. Crooks is in any case turn out in the novel to be a survivor but the fact of the amour is that he has no real power on the ranch.Although hope is not truly presumable in the novel, thin is the juxtaposed character who shows that way inclined. In the novel he is suggested to be quite fearful and quite Godlike. An example of this is the way that he is allowed into the boss shed without having to ask. As the workers there have no real family that they see very often, if at all. flimsy is the closest individual they have to a family member. He is seen by the ranch members as kind and comforting and is trusted. The way that he had the final say in the stopping point with Candys dog is an indication of this. He also seems to be seeming at all of the key moments in the novel. As well as being there for Candys dog, he sorts eve rything out when Curley has his hand broken and he says that Lennie I guess we gotta get im. His wisdom was also highlighted as he knew closely Lennies goal and was the only one to comfort him.The way that such(prenominal) a nice person is caught in such a harsh climate is there to highlight the dream and perhaps its failure. Unlike all of the other workers, he seems subject area with his menses position in the ranch. It seems like he has taken in his current situation and has realised that fulfilling a dream would be very hard if not impossible. He offers security and humanity in such a harsh depression. contract symbolises a dream that is different from the American dream he offers a dream not based on radical desire or greed that so many people show.As it states in the text the prince of the ranch. The word prince mechanically symbolises someone who has a lot of empowerment and is respected, like slim down. Also, deoxidize is the only person that Curleys wife addresse s by name. This is another indication of respect shown by everyone.Slim is also different from all the other men not only because he believes in a different dream but also because of the way he is. Were told, his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. No other person in the only ranch perhaps the boss (but only because he is a position of power) has this graphic symbol of authority and respect shown by all of the other workers on the ranch.There is a lack of hope throughout the social unit novel but this is mostly place by the meager surroundings. For instance, the room they live in is bland and quite prison-like.Inside, the walls were bloodless washed and the floor unpainted. In triple walls there were splendid square windows and in the fourth, a solid verge with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks.A dream incorporates freedom and rights but this doesnt fight down freedom. Everything is as cheap as it could be and th ere is no real individualism. The door is described as solid is typic of prison and conditions in captivity. Also, in Chapter 2, it highlights the lack of freedom as there are quite a lot of regulations refer in their work. For example You got your work slips?For George and Lennie, their dream is quite real, especially to Lennie, because they constantly repeat it and make it real. They go through it quite often and in great detail. several(prenominal) day- were gonna get the jack together and were gonna have a little house and a couple of solid ground an a cow and some pigs an live of the fatta the lan. Because of the repetitiveness of their dream, it becomes real in their minds. However, if they were realistic and looked at how much they were earning and where they were, they would be able to see that obtaining this dream would be very difficult.When Candy over-hears their plans for the farm he wants to be included in the dream and offers his money and his services to help them achieve the dream. This is in all probability the most optimistic part of the entertain and the idea becomes more real as they agree to buy the farm when they have George and Lennies wages at the end of the month. All of them believe its a good idea and perhaps for the first time, George truly believes it as he can see a way out its not just for Lennie.In the text Lennie is described as being like a bear he walked heavily, draw his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. Lennie can also identify with animals as he seems to befriend them before humans. He also loves cuddly animals to pet in his pocket. Therefore, the dream for Lennie will be animal based and quite simple, like his thinking, hence, the rabbits. Slim calls him cukoo and crazy as well as Curleys wife calling him a dum-dum. Because of this, he wouldnt last a week by himself without George and is reliant on him.Lennie is very kind and doesnt want to hurt anyone. Even after his fight with Curley he says that he d idnt wanta hurt him. This shows that although he is the most destructive person in the novel, he doesnt mean it. Despite this, Lennie is still a slayer and can be very ruddy and dangerous. In the novel, he attacks Curley, Culeys wife, kills mice and throws his absolutely puppy onto the barn floor in anger. However, he doesnt do it maliciously but like George said he dont know no rules. He doesnt want to kill Curleys wife, he was trying to get her to be quiet. In his dream, he wants to look after the rabbits and keep them safe which indicates his kindness but he plausibly wouldnt be able to behave like that.When Lennie goes into Crooks room, the light that he sees could be a glimmer of hope for the future however, when Curleys wife appears, the hope is extinguished. Curleys wife is the only woman on the ranch and because of this, Lennie is dazzled by her glamour and beauty. She also says that she knows about men (mutts) and she knows all about their need for dreams.Lennie is also quite adolescent and is very innocent. He asks quite a few innocent questions and even Slim can tell he aint mean. He takes orders from George like a child but he also obeys Slim as well. This shows that he doesnt want to disobey anyone or do anything wrong. For Lennie the dream is very real and all the way through the novel it stays like that as when he is shot, he is looking into the distance and comes surrounding(prenominal) than anyone to obtaining the dream because he is truly happy.owe to overall cycle of events in the novel, the dream never seems likely as life does not move on it just repeats itself. For example, there is the death of the mouse, then the pup and finally Curleys wife. This is partly because of Lennie and his fixing with petting and stroking, the death of Candys dog because of its age and the pain it was in and at the end of the novel, the death of Lennie also a mercy cleanup spot. At the beginning of the novel, we saw a water serpent in the grass and at the end this is repeated however, at the end, a heron swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically. This shows a cycle with beginning and an end the death of the snake representing an end.In George and Lennies relationship, George is very much in control. If Lennie wasnt there, he would have few problems and he has no other ties, except for Lennie. It states that he is small, quick and dark of face, with restless eyes, and sharp, bulletproof features and has small strong hands and sylphlike arms. The fact that he is still with Lennie shows he is very loyal to aunty Clara and has obviously developed a experience with Lennie unlike any other. However, George also has quite strong mood swings. At the beginning, he was quite unhappy as he and Lennie had jus fled from Weed but once they sit down down and he could go to sleep, he could relax and perhaps dream. Like Georges moods, his dreams will change as well.When George says I got to thinking that maybe we would wo uld it shows that by killing Lennie, he extinguished all hopes of ever achieving the dream. Therefore, by killing Lennie, he commits himself to living the life of a single man and perhaps never being truly happy. The dream does this to quite a lot of people and as they begin to take in the circumstances and realise the truth, the dream disappears.In conclusion, it is clear that Steinbeck was very serious-minded in writing the novel and he brings into question the foundations of the American society, including the American dream and how if affected itinerant workers like George and Lennie. In the novel, nature is made to appear idyllic and beautiful. This is represented in the beginning of the book as where Lennie and George are staying there is no bunkhouse, no work, no decisions and no problems. The water is said to be twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight. This sounds wonderful however, George warns Lennie that the water is scummy. Also, the way the water snake is eate n by the heron, shows pick of the fittest. Also, Lennie says he will live in a cave however, he probably couldnt survive in the softheaded if he was given the chance.Nature both starts and ends the novel it starts by the pool with life and dreams and ends, by the pool, but with death and the collapse of dreams. The language in the novel isnt very complicated however it shows how itinerant workers may sound dumb but they are actually quite clever. For example, Crooks reads a lawyer book but his language includes I aint so crippled I cant work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to. Like the novel, there is a background message that isnt apparent without cross-examintaion.