A writer, George Monbiot, once said, “If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire”. John Steinbeck’s views on the American Dream in his novella Of Mice and Men agrees with Monbiot because Steinbeck expresses the American Dream as obtainable, but not for everyone. In his novella, the characters George Milton and Lennie Small acquire a job at a ranch in the Salinas Valley during the Great Depression. These men have their own American Dream that they work towards, yet don’t achieve. Through these characters, Curley’s wife, and Crooks, Steinbeck illustrates that even through hard work and the drive to succeed, people may not ...view middle of the document...
They are all he thinks about, even until his last breath, since this quote was said before his death. This commitment would have gotten Lennie and George a little place. Sometimes though it isn’t meant to be, even if they had worked harder.
Steinbeck also demonstrates the same thing through Curley’s wife. She has dreamed of becoming an actress and imagines what her life could have been if she hadn’t married Curley. Curley’s wife had a dream to become an actress, when a traveling show had come through Salinas. Curley’s wife tells Lennie, “‘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.’”(88). When she talks to Lennie, it shows her passion to be an actress, but instead she was held back by her mother. Curley’s wife marries Curley because she wants to become successful. Instead, it also holds her back from being victorious. Yet, Curley’s wife still dreams, she dreams of what could have been. She proclaims her thoughts to Lennie and says, “‘Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes ---- all them nice clothes they wear.’”(84). Curleys wife continues to dream about her future expressed through this quote. She thinks she could have been a star, but now she can’t be free because of her marriage with Curley. Steinbeck uses her own name, “Curley’s wife,” as a way to symbolize how she is tied down to Curley. Curley’s wife has yet to fulfill her dreams because sometimes relationships and the people around her hold her back.
Lastly, Steinbeck uses Crooks as support for his idea of the American Dream. Through Crooks’ work at the ranch, his limitations keep him from achieving a better future. Crooks’ limitations plays a part in his success and are major setbacks. Limitations such as his injured back and race keep him from attaining his goals. Steinbeck reveals Crooks’ back problem when he states, “In one hand he held a bottle of liniment, and with the other he rubbed his spine. Now and then he poured a few drops of the liniment into his pink-palmed hand and reached up under his shirt to rub again. He flexed his muscles against back and shivered.”(67) Liniment is an ointment or balm that is rubbed on the skin to relieve pain. When Crooks...
