Many farm owners lost their land, and had to travel around with their families looking for work. Many Americans believed that if they worked hard, they could be successful and have their own land, like George and Lennie had dreamed of. This was known as the ‘American Dream’.
After the collapse of the New York Wall Street stock market in 1929, America suffered from a long economic depression. They only came out of this at the beginning of the Second World War in 1939. Men went from ranch to ranch looking for work, mostly without their families. This meant that all money they made had to be sent back to them, for their children and wives. Work was very poorly paid, so it was very hard for people to buy their own land, which is why it was only a dream! This is why it is such a main point in the book when George and Lennie talk about their ‘dream’.
During the time of the Depression lots of migrant workers came to California form all over America, looking for work.
Life for George and Lennie on the ranch was very lonely, and for all the other men. They played cards together and horseshoes, and even played ‘solitaire’, showing how lonely they actually were. The men couldn’t bring family with them, so they missed friends and relatives a lot. However, for George and Lennie, they were pretty much family anyway and had been travelling around together, so I don’t think they were as lonely as the rest of the men, but Lennie didn’t really fit in and was always left out when they went into town or played games.
We see how dependant Lennie is of George in section four, when Crooks jokes that George may not come back form town. Lennie does not like this one bit, and gets very angry and thinks Crooks has done something to him. “S’pose George went into town tonight and you never heard of him no more”. George replies, angrily, “He won’t do it, George wouldn’t do nothing like that. I been with George a long time”. It’s at this point that George starts to doubt what he thinks, “Don’t you think he will?” Lennie gets very angry and starts asking what Crooks has done to him.
Life was very strict for the men, they were ordered about left, right and centre, and always told what to do. The men needed the money, so they never argued – they just got on with what they were supposed to be doing.
The bunk-houses that they lives in were small – so they had no privacy at all! This did mean that they bonded quite well with each, though, as there wasn’t enough space to fall out or argue. The exception, however, was Curley and Lennie, who didn’t get on. We are shown this when Lennie loses his temper in the bunk-house with Curley and ends up crushing his hand.
We can tell that life is very lonely for the men on the ranch: “Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got not family. They don’t belong no place”.
Curley’s wife is probably the person who gets the loneliest on the ranch, even though she isn’t a migrant worker, as her husband doesn’t pay her any attention whatsoever. So much so, that she looks elsewhere for the attention, and turns to the men at the ranch. When she spots Lennie, she sees a big dumb guy who is more than likely to pay her the attention she craves. But I don’t think she planned for it to end quite like how it did!
The ‘American Dream’ was when the Americans believed if they worked hard, they could be successful and have their own land. The ‘Dream’ was imagined to be life in a new world, where anything successful and good can happen. It meant opportunity and freedom for everyone. America was considered a place that if you work hard, you will become successful. In the 1930s, the dream was put to the test. Many people lost everything they owned. They thought they had no chance of making a good life for themselves, and didn’t have any self-respect or faith in their society. Some, however, tried to stay positive about the dream, despite all the evidence that it could bring no good to their lives.
George and Lennie talk about their ‘dream’ a lot in the book. They dream about having their own land, and having to answer to no one. Lennie gets especially excited about his role in all this – tending the rabbits. This is the thing he talks about most in the book!
In section 3, Candy hears about George and Lennie’s dream and gets interested. They both agree to let him in on it, as they’d have more money then. At first they are a bit doubtful, as they have always wanted to buy their land on their own, but Candy’s money soon tempts them, and his generous offer about his share makes it hard to refuse: “I’d make a will an’ leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, ‘cause I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing”. We can see that they all want to leave the ranch as soon as possible, which is why George and Lennie agree to let Candy in on it, because with his money their dream could soon become reality!
George makes several comments to Lennie, throughout the book, about working hard so they can get the money quicker for the land. We see the dream collapse, though, at the end of the story, when George shoots Lennie, but he is thinking about something he wood love to do – tend the rabbits!
George knows that their dream may not become reality, but still talks to Lennie as if it will definitely happened one day. They start off with it just being an idea, then they get closer to it being reality when Candy joins in with the money, but then they are right back at the start again when George kills Lennie.
I think it is a nice way of ending Lennie’s life – with a nice image in his head and thinking about something he loves.
In my opinion, the migrant workers had a ‘dream’, so they had something to look forward to and work towards when they had enough money. They seem very positive that they will eventually get their land. We can’t tell this when they say, “We got a future”.
Steinbeck uses simple language and double negatives to describe life on the ranch, “I ain’t got no people”.
He also uses slang to show how the American accent would actually say it if spoken. This makes is easier to read. “A guy on ranch don’t never listen nor he don’t ast no questions”.
Steinbeck describes the men on the ranch to be very lonely, most of the time, and we see this with the types of games they play. The men also look out for each other. George describes Lennie as “a hell of a good worker” to the boss, as he doesn’t want Lennie to ruin their chance of getting a job. By using the slang and expletives, Steinbeck portrays the men to be simple American guys, who just want to get on with earning a healthy living.
