The American Dream in Of Mice And Men

Lennie and George

01

"O.K. Someday-We're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and-"

"an' live off the lan'," Lennie shouted."

This quote shows that Lennie and George have a common American Dream. They both want to own a house with a farm without anyone getting in their way.

Lennie's Rabbits

02

"An' have rabbits. Go on George! Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages..." (Pg.15)

This quote by Lennie shows how much he wants to have rabbits and take care of them. This could be counted as his American Dream since it is something that Lennie wants to work up to.

George's Life Without Lennie

03

"... God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an' work an' no trouble. ..." (Pg.12)

This quote was made after Lennie told George that he wanted ketchup. George feels that he can have an easier life without Lennie because he always gets in trouble and George has to leave whatever job he gets. The American Dream for this could be that George mostly wants to get a stable job and earn good money out of it.

Candy's Life With Others

04

"... Maybe if I give you guys my money, you'll let me hoe in the garden even after I ain't no good at it. ..." (Pg.66)

Candy said this after hearing about Lennie and George's American Dream about the farm. Since Candy has no remaining family or a place to go after he gets kicked out of the ranch for his old age, he offers to help Lennie and George with their American Dream.

Crook's loneliness

05

"... S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here and read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody- to be near him." (Pg. 80)

In this qoute Crooks explains his loneliness to Lennie. This could be counted as an American Dream because Crooks wants to have someone he can talk to but can't because of the racism in these times, and there are no other black people near that area.

Curley's Wife as an Actress

06

"... Well, a show come through, an' I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol' lady wouldn' let me. She says because I was on'y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I'd went, I wouldn't be livin' like this, you bet." (Pg. 96)

Before Curley's wife met Curley, she had a dream to become an actress when she met an actor, but her mother wouldn't allow it because of her age.

Owning Land

07

"... Seems ever' guy has land in his head" (Pg. 83)

Crooks told this to Lennie and Candy after hearing the American Dream they had. This qoute makes the reader understand that owning land is a common American Dream most people have when they get a job.

Impossibility of The American Dream

08

"Now Candy spoke hs greatest fear. "You an' me can get that little place, can't we, George? Can't we?

Before George answered, Candy dropped his head and looked down at the hay. He knew." (Pg. 103)

This quote is an example that not everyone can achieve their American Dream according to Steinbeck. The dream Lennie and George had was to live a perfect life with absolute freedom in their farm.

Summary

The American Dream was a recurring theme throughout the story Of Mice and Men. Every character had a dream they wanted to achieve. Either it being owning land or becoming a famous actress, every character in the story wanted to achive something, even if they knew it was impossible.