PUP) ” I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindle’s on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads…. Why then does it fail? The “American Dream” as presented by John Steinbeck is, however, unattainable. This relatively simple dream is seen by one as a perfectly attainable goal that does not imply any surrealistic actions to achieve. The farm represents the possibility of freedom, self-reliance, and protection from the cruelties of the world.
It is the symbol of a paradise for men who want to be masters of their own lives. PUP) “Someday we’re goanna live get the Jack together have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs – An’ live off the fat the land”. Leonie, as well as George, needs constant reassurance that the dream will effectively come true, as the story itself is repeated a mere dozen times throughout the novel. It gives a meaning and a motivation to the lives of the characters as well as a way to keep hope that there is a better life waiting for them down the road. The dream, unglamorous as it may seem, is the lifelong goal that these individuals are striving for. Of Mice and Men puts in play two main characters and quite a few secondary ones ho have the dream of one day owning a few acres of land on which they will grow their own food and tend their own livestock and becoming stars of their own lives. As Leonie gazed out over the river, George aimed the gun at the back of his devoted friend’s head, and pulled the trigger. For the final time George solemnly recounted the story of the farm for Leonie. George too was fearful of what Curler would do to Leonie when he found him. Fortunately, it was George who found Leonie, trembling with fear, hiding among the bushes by the stream. Curler was determined to hunt down Leonie, who he considers to be a hulking, simple- harassers whose dream is not mentioned and he is the one represented as a truly sardonic being and he is the main character hindering the pursuit of the dream. After learning of the disastrous news, George grabbed a gun to join the other men who by now had been turned Into a revenge-seeking mob by Curler, the woman’s husband. She too had a dream, the one of one day becoming a famous actress, that has now come to an abrupt end. However, in his panic, the innocent but powerful Leonie broke the woman’s neck. After a while she tried to pull away, but Leonie unexplainable held on, he was confused and frightened when the girl started to scream. She even let Leonie stroke her long, soft hair. At first Leonie refused to speak to her for fear that George might not let him feed the rabbits when they finally got their farm but the girl was able to make him feel at ease. He did not realize that, through his constant and over-vigorous petting he had killed the puppy.Īs he sat in the straw of the barn playing with the animal’s fur, the Boss’s son’s wife wandered in. Later on In the novel, while the ranch hands entertained themselves with a simple game of horseshoes, Leonie stayed alone In the barn holding a pup that Slim, one of the other farm hands had given him. Sing Lien’s love of animals as a means of control, George once more warned his friend that if he didn’t keep quiet, or if he caused any trouble at the ranch, they wouldn’t get the Job they so badly needed then they couldn’t earn the money for their dream – a farm of their own. Now they were heading to a nearby ranch to sign on as farmhands. Leonie, a mentally slow yet harmless man, had cost them their previous jobs his Innocent fascination with a young girl’s red dress and his clumsy attempt to touch It had frightened the girl, forcing them to flee an angry mob. Of Mice and Men, which takes place during the Great Depression in California, begins with George and his lumbering friend Leonie following a dusty path along the banks of the Salinas River, with their only possessions, their bedrolls and a few articles of looting. This subject is the predominant theme in John Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men as well as Lorraine Handlebar’s classic play, “A Rally In the Sun”. The American Dream became the idea of an individual overcoming all obstacles and beating all odds to one day be successful. This dream Is fueled by the hope of one day leading a happy and prosperous life in a land that, more than NY other country, allows the people the chance to “write the script of their own lives”.