Discuss the ways in which Steinbeck explores the concept of the ‘American Dream’ is central to the novel Essay

The American Dream was a dream that nearly everyone had throughout the twentieth century. It was hope for a better life and people believed strongly that it would come true. The main characters in ‘Of Mice & Men’ have a dream which was to get a plot of land and live on it and become self-sufficient. The American Dream was not an achievable goal for many people. Steinbeck shows this failure through the characters of Lennie & George. The American dream was a great thing. We first heard about it when Lennie and George were sitting by the river at the beginning of the book. The dream was a hope that every rancher had an opportunity for a better life. Lennie and George, the two main characters, had such a dream, â€Å"Some day were gonna get a little place and a couple of acres†. The idea was to get a piece of land, grow crops and have an improved life there. They also new exactly what they were aiming for and what they wanted. They realised that their imagination should not be set too high for fear of disappointment. The two men also knew that they should not tell other people about the plot of land in case it was snatched from under their noses. This frequently happened then, as so many people were seeking the same desire., â€Å"Well it’s ten acres said George. Got a little win mill. Got a little shack on it and a chicken run. Got a kitchen, orchard, cherries, peaches, cots, nuts, got a few berries.† This shows that Lennie and George had ambition and again, knew what they wanted. It also shows that there were places where the dream had a chance of coming true, and that affordable land was for sale. Lennie and George intended to get the land by working extremely hard for a couple of months. They would earn standard migrant labour workers wages which was of course not very much, as the great depression was around at the time the book was set. The men hoped to save money and put it towards the plot of land, â€Å"Look, if me an Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing we’ll have a hundred bucks†. Sooner or later people started to realise that the American Dream was turning into a nightmare. This is shown in the book by all the travelling and unemployment. Steinbeck shows that people were determined to get a job and willing to travel around to find one, he reinforces this through Lennie and George. At the start of the novel Steinbeck told us that they were walking, so we obviously know that they have had a nomadic life. During their rest they have a conversation about their travels â€Å"The first thing you know is that they are pounding away at some other ranch†. This backs up the fact that people travel around for jobs. We know how Lennie and George frequently lose their jobs, this is due to Lennie constantly getting the pair of them into trouble which jeopardises their current job. Because of this they have to travel from one ranch to another in search of another job. Also you can corroborate the fact that people travelled by George quoting, â€Å"The hell with what I says. You remember about us going into Murray and Ready’s and they give us work cards and bus tickets†. Murray and Ready are a typical work agency that sprung up in America during the Great Depression. In the 1930s the Great Depression spoilt the American Dream, it damaged everything that had a promising future, from buying food to making investments in the stock market. Through out the novel we do not see this very much. It is shown only as a high unemployment rate. George is very passionate about work as he wants to achieve his dream. As you read on through the book George comments on other people in his situation, â€Å"They aint got nothing to look ahead to†. Implying that George is fed up of losing his job to other people. He now knows you should not think about looking ahead to long term ambitions as anything can happen. The rate of unemployment was a serious issue at the time of the book, as the economy was decreasing rapidly. It is shown through various characters such as Carlson, Slim, Lennie, George and many more. We know that they all have been travelling from ranch to ranch in search of jobs during this time, they have started to feel like they do not have a home and don’t belong anywhere. â€Å"Guys like us, they got no family and don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an work up a stake then they go into town and blow their stake†. This was quite normal for young and old men in their quest, not just for the dream, but for survival. Because of that, it made it hard for people to keep a job as other people who were as desperate, came along and accepted less pay to work at the same job, just so they could get some money. The idea of the American Dream was to be happy but just as well as the Great depression, racism also crippled the illusion. The dream was merely for the whites, as many of the blacks were unlawfully discarded from the opportunity or status to achieve it. Steinbeck shows this in the book through a character called Crooks, who was a crippled Negro stable buck and had suffered years of abuse in his life. Although Crooks could read and write, he was very lonely and because he was black, he could not join in with the usual endeavours of other men on the ranch. â€Å"Suppose you had to sit out here and read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it gets dark, but then you got to read books†. This shows he only had books for company. It was still very racist in the 1930’s so there was not much chance of Crooks achieving the dream by himself and certainly no one at that time would try to help. In the course of the book Crooks also tells us about his life in the past, how his father did actually achieve the dream, and how his family was the only coloured family in Soledad, which is where the book was set. â€Å"There wasn’t another coloured family for miles around. And now there aint no coloured man on this ranch†. Crooks felt strongly about this, he was neglected by everyone and still felt as if he was being treated as an unequal by every other man. He wanted so much to be included in the games that everyone participated in. â€Å"Suppose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy cause you was black†. Because Crooks was being denied these privileges he turned into a bitter man who was equally as malicious as the offenders. This portrays the dream in a bad way, which is unusual as the dream is usually portrayed as being happy and being the provider when it actually created tensions between different races and cultures and caused many tribulations between people. Although Crooks is abused by many people on the ranch there is one person in the book who does not discriminate him because he is black, that person is Lennie. Lennie does not understand or see the racism in the world and he sees everyone as being the same. Crooks feels he can talk to Lennie about many things, â€Å"A guy can talk to you an’ be sure you won’t go blabbin†. Because of this it reassures Crooks and makes him feel better as he knows he can talk to some one instead of read books At first there was a chance of the dream coming true. One reason was because of Candy, willing to give his life savings so he would know that he had somewhere to go after he was incapable of working on the ranch, † Tell you what suppose I went in with you guys thas three hundred and fifty bucks I’d put in†. This endorses the fact that he was willing to put every last coinage that he had, to assist him to have a happy finale to his life. Also Crooks, the negro stable buck, offers to help, â€Å"If you guys would want a hand in work for nothing just his keep†. He did this just so he could have a friendship with someone and feel liked. In addition no one else knew about this certain plot of land, which made it a secret of the group and easy to obtain. We know that the owners needed to get the money fast, â€Å"The ol’ people that owns it is flat bust an’ the ol’ lady needs an operation†. Because of all this Lennie, George and Candy s tood a very good chance of achieving this reverie. The American dream ended due to a series of unfortunate events. Steinbeck shows this through Lennie and George not getting the land. They did not get it because of many things. The main reason for them failing was Lennie. He spoilt the dream for George, as he was constantly getting into trouble and destroying any chance that he had to achieve the dream. After a while other men on the ranch begin to question their past, for example, Slim, â€Å"What happened in Weed†. We know that they have been travelling around and losing jobs, but it was not just because of other men stealing their jobs only to get paid less, it was also Lennie destructively destroying their chances, because of this they, had to move on to another ranch. In the end they had no hope what so ever, of the dream coming true because of Lennie, once again, getting George into trouble, as he was responsible for Lennie, when he unintentionally killed Curly’s wife. If given the chance most men on the farm would attempt the dream even if they thought it was impossible. A good example is Crooks, at one point in the story, he was putting down the fact of any one achieving their goal, â€Å"Jesus I seen it too many time. Too many guys with land in their head. They never get none under their hand†. When Crooks found out that there was a chance of it happening, he decided on trying to get in on it, â€Å"If you guys would want a hand to work for nothing, just his keep, why I’d come an lend a hand†. You can see also that people always put down the achievement of the dream, but they all had a secret burning ambition to get it if the chance came around. Through out the book Steinbeck managed to portray the conditions of the Great Depression in the 1930’s. He also gave us a glimpse of The American Dream that every one pursued and showed us that it was not an easy achievement. Steinbeck has managed to show the different levels of hardship and suffering that people faced during that period of time and also managed to show more hopeless situations of people from a minority. The concept of the American Dream is at the heart of the novel ‘Of Mice & Men’ and therefore allows Steinbeck to make comments on American Society and the time of the Great Depression.