Although the American Dream was, and in some areas still is, such a strong idea, for most people the dream really was, quite simply a dream and for the large majority, unobtainable. Steinbeck often suggests that George and Lennie’s dream is impossible, as are the other characters dreams. He subtly hints that George and Lennie will never buy their dream farm and enjoy their ideal life, when Lennie is in the barn talking to the stablebuck, Crooks, a bitter, ill man who is treated badly due to the fact that he is black, tells Lennie that George might go away and leave Lennie to fend for himself: “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Page 76). Another way Steinbeck paints the idea of an American Dream being unachievable is, less subtly, when Lennie dies. After everyone else’s dreams of a better life have been tarnished or completely fallen apart, the most obvious dream is destroyed. Candy’s dream has disappeared and he blames it on Curley’s wife:” Ever’body knows you’d mess things up” (page 101). When Candy’s dog is shot, Steinbeck uses this event to foreshadow the sadness and grief to follow the ‘death’ of the American Dream and the deaths of Curley’s wife and eventually Lennie. Curley’s wife was killed before she could ever reach her dream, and move on from simply hanging around the ranch with a dead-end husband and tedious life. Finally, although left unwritten, George probably abandons his dream after Lennie’s death, however now he has his own life back, without Lennie’s weight on his shoulders; he could follow a new dream on his own.
In the time the novel of Mice and Men was written, many people had their own dream of a better-quality life, including John Steinbeck. From an early age, he had wanted to achieve his dream of becoming a famous author and having a happy family, with a perfect life. Unfortunately, this dream did not materialise, for example Steinbeck managed to go to Stamford University for six years and end up without a degree and although he did marry, he divorced soon after. Steinbeck probably compared his own dream and life events to the novel, relating George and Lennie’s dream to his own. Steinbeck makes most of the characters unhappy, and not letting them have their dream, further depicts his unhappiness and lack of faith in the idea. His bitterness about the failure of his dream is portrayed in the novel, when all the characters dreams have collapsed and Steinbeck tells us, as an underlying message, that the American Dream, for most people, was completely unachievable. Steinbeck travelled around America, looking for work, like the men on the ranch, so he knew what it was like to feel lonely and have no real home or roots:”Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world”. (page 14) He may have felt lonely in his experiences of travelling, and describes George and Lennie’s friendship as a relationship he would have liked to have had himself.
The American Dream was often not exactly what people imagined. It is meant to be about equality, freedom, prosperity, and a better life for all. However, this idea, in many cases, is definitely unfounded. There is a great deal of prejudice and lack of equality throughout the novel. A few main examples of this are, most prominently, the fact that Crooks, the stable buck, is completely cut off from the other men, simply for being black. Discrimination at this time meant that, generally, black people, were treated as lower than white people and Crooks spends the main part of the novel, alone and the only time he has any interaction with other people is when Lennie and Candy go to his room, and although he acts angry, he is secretly thrilled to have someone to talk to. Another example of people being separated and not living out the true ideals of the American Dream is Curley’s wife. She is the only woman on the ranch and is unbearably lonely; she never gets to talk to anyone and goes to the bunkhouse, not to flirt with the other men, simply to have someone to talk to. Curley’s wife is so separated from everyone else, she lives and dies in the book, and we never even find out her name Finally, Lennie is treated differently and looked down upon for being a ‘cuckoo’, also in the second chapter, when they meet the boss, George tells Lennie not to talk, in case he says something wrong and they are not given the job: “I…I ain’t gonna…say a word.” (Page 15) In many cases, the American Dream was fictional and only came true to the few people who were in the ‘right’ category.
People in America, and those coming over from Europe, strongly believed in the American Dream. In the beginning of the book, the characters and the reader believe the idea also. However, after such events as the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, people started to question the feasibility of such a dream. The ‘Land of Opportunity’ had suddenly become the ‘Land of Depression’. The Wall Street crash was when stock markets plummeted and 15 million people in America became unemployed. Hundreds of thousands of families had no income whatsoever and men became desperate for work, and would do almost anything for a job. This time became known as the Great Depression, and it affected the whole world for about ten years. In relation to this, in Of Mice and Men, you slowly start to think that in fact the American Dream wasn’t exactly true and most people in the Great Depression were actually quite unhappy and dissatisfied with their lives, and towards the end of the book, the characters dreams of the future start to collapse and the reader realizes that the American Dream, in the novel and in life, is not possible. Curley’s wife is a key example to this disappointment; she truly believed that she could have been a movie star, with riches and a glamorous lifestyle. She often reminisced about this dream, “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes” even though it was impossible and even she probably knew, deep down, that she would not be able to ever do much more than what she was doing with her life.
Another significant theme in the novel is that of loneliness and isolation. This is not what the American Dream is supposed to be about, it should signify happiness and companionship; however the characters often show loneliness and unhappiness with their lives. Even the name of the town in which the ranch is situated, Soledad, means loneliness in Spanish. Ranch life is painted as a very solitary existence, where men are travelers, with no real home or roots, no family or even true friends. The exception to the rule is George and Lennie. They stick together no matter what and have dreams for a better future together. George and Lennie look out for each other, although it is obvious Lennie needs a lot more supervision, like a small child and he can often be a burden to George. The lonelier of the two is definitely George, and because of Lennie’s behavior, he can ever stay anywhere long enough to have a relationship, or even another proper friend. Lennie is far too innocent to be aware that George might want something better with his life and thinks that because they have each other, they are fine. Other key instances of loneliness are Curley’s wife and Crooks. Curley’s wife is so isolated and seen as being so insignificant, that we do not even know her name. She is married to a man she doesn't love and who doesn't love her. There are no other women on the ranch and she has nothing to do. She tries to befriend the men by hanging round the bunkhouse; however they seem to think she is flirting and call her a ‘tart’. Crooks is segregated from the other men, just for being black, he wishes desperately for some companionship and is thrilled when Lennie and Candy give him some company for the night. Finally, the ranch itself is cut off and isolated from all other civilisation. Steinbeck depicts this by making George and Lennie have to walk for a long time to eventually arrives and only occasionally mentioning the town and no-where else.
In summary the American Dream definitely lives up to its name; it truly is just a dream. The American Dream is lived out mainly through George and Lennie and their hopes of one day owning a farm, but all of the other characters have their ideas for a better life also. Of Mice and Men has consistent theme throughout, displaying how the ‘dream’ provides hope to its characters to protect them from the harsh reality of life where loneliness, poverty and injustice is the so common. The final ending, when Lennie dies and the other characters dreams collapse, confirms that the American Dream is unobtainable, but can truly be believed by all.
