George and Lennie became migrant workers due to the acts of the Wall Street Crash. Before they would have worked on a ranch somewhere in the East or in the “Dustbowl” of America. However when Wall Street Market crashed, all of the stock markets went bust, therefore resulting in stockowners becoming ruined. This caused the Great Depression to take place. During this period there were failed businesses, harsh poverty, long-term unemployment and losing stockowners. One of these stockowners would have been the owner of the ranch where George and Lennie worked. Therefore George and Lennie had to find new jobs, leaving the “Dustbowl” and arriving in California. To help people during along the Depression, President Roosevelt constructed job agencies like Murray and Ready. This was the agency mentioned in “ Of Mice and Men”. This demonstrates to us that there is no freedom in America at this time, and that everyone needs to have an identity to basically do anything i.e. get a job.
George and Lennie’s American Dream was to get “…a little house and a couple of acres and a cow and some pigs…” (Page 32), so they would be able to live on their own, have their own ranch and “…live off the fatta the lan’…” (Page 32). From this they wouldn’t have to work for anyone else. Steinbeck illustrates this as the American Dream. The American Dream was ultimately the same for everyone, everyone wanted to become rich, be successful in life and own their own possessions. This was the American Dream, however this is not how it is portrayed in the novel. The American Dream isn’t shown successfully in “Of Mice and Men” because not everyone was able to obtain what he or she wanted; the dream is represented as if it is futile.
The futility of the American Dream is shown by the description of the bunkhouse on the ranch where George and Lennie go to work. “The bunkhouse was a long, rectangle building. Inside the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and other three showing their burlap ticking. Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk… In the middle of the room stood a big square table littered with playing cards…” (Page 38). It can be described like a lonely hut, where the workers spend their free time. There is virtually no privacy and no freedom. A contradiction of the American Dream. This shows the contrast between the open nature and the enclosed ranch.
The migrant workers seem to be dehumanised because they have absolutely no personal space or privacy. There seems to be no escape from being a migrant worker because there is no one else in the world for them and have no other means of feeding or sheltering themselves. Being migrant workers seems to be hard for George and Lennie. He understands that Lennie is not being accepted into the unforgiving society because he is slow minded and even still “…jes’ like a kid…” (Page 67). George realises that there the people in their society can’t tolerate Lennie and his actions. To, so to speak, put things right George has the gruelling job to put Lennie “out of his misery”. George has to shoot Lennie. While this is happening Lennie is still thinking of his American Dream. This in turn shows that the American Dream is similar to heaven, where there is everything you could ever desire. However the shooting of Lennie represents that not everyone is able to achieve his or her American Dream.
On the other hand others can interpret it in their own way. Lennie’s death could be seen as George’s dream, to keep Lennie happy whenever and wherever he went. Even if it was up to his last breath or even if it was into heaven. As Lennie’s last minute went he spoke of “…the rabbits…” (Page 146) that he loved. This showed how both George’s and Lennie’s dream came true. To some, wealth is equal to happiness; however in Lennie and George’s case, they had little to no money and were still filled with glee. This can exemplify that people can be penniless and still happy; in the case of people who have wealth and are miserable.
Steinbeck presents Crooks, the stable buck, as bitter towards the American Dream because he hasn’t been able to get any of it, therefore he doesn’t believe in it. Crooks thinks ”…Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land…” (Page 106) because nobody who worked on the ranch has ever got that. This again links the dream to heaven. Crooks has been rejected by the society because “… his body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine…” (Page 99) and he is the only black person in town. Crooks has been seen as an outcast. Crooks is continually suffering not only by his back, which is a physical symbol of his internal pain, but with the society where he lives. American culture was still in the past in the 1930’s; consequently this is why Crooks was seen as an outcast. Only a few generations ago, the slave trade in America was still occurring. When it was abolished the white people of America had to adjust their lifestyle because of the black people of Africa. American culture started evolving for the better. However during the 1930’s the white people were still adjusting to the new society, therefore Crooks was still seen as an outcast.
The language used focuses on Crooks continually suffering, due to the amount of abuse he gets from the white people. He is either called “stable buck” or “Crooks” which isn’t he real name. But the language always has the touch of loneliness in it. He is constantly lonely because there was nowhere for him to go and no one for him to meet. Being the only black person in a large area has to be harsh for him. This type of loneliness could corrupt and destroy a person, which it already has done to Crooks. He is bitter towards the American Dream and believes that the dream is “… jus’ in their head…” (Page 106), and a figment of the workers imagination. Crooks’ job is permanent, not like the others. This suggests that there will be no change or improvement in the way that he is treated or where he lives. Crooks cannot achieve the American Dream, therefore this philosophy that anybody can succeed, is wrong.
Slim receives the longest introductory description of any character in the novel (Pages 55-56), which illustrates the importance of him in the plot. Words such as “majesty“ and “authority” are used to describe him as a great teacher or philosopher. He is also described as the “ Prince of the ranch”. Slim is like a god but not as powerful, that is why he was not able to stop the shooting of Candy’s dog. He is not cruel, but will kill if he needs to. This is presented when with the puppies he “…drowned four of ‘em right off…” (Page 58).
Slim is different from the characters due to his magnitude of leadership. Also he is in charge of the team, which harvests the crops. Everyone in the ranch even the boss’s son, Curley, respects him. He is friendly towards all of the workers and shows empathy to the bond between George and Lennie. “… Slim’s a real skinner. He looks out for his team…” (Page 106) are the thoughts from Crooks showing that Slim is a good guy. Slim is the only character that understands why George had to kill Lennie, when he says, “…You hadda, George. I swear you hadda…” (Page 148). Slim seems to be jealous of George and Lennie’s friendship, and this is why he “praises” George for shooting Lennie. Slim’s “… hatchet face was ageless…” (Page 56) which shows he is the only character that refuses to be dehumanised and wishes too keep his dignity. Steinbeck has done this for a key reason, to prove that Slim brings hope onto the ranch. Slim is the leader of the team and said to be the ideal person to be. Slim is happy being a migrant worker, he might be still looking for the American Dream, but is still happy the way he is. The American Dream clouds peoples minds, causing the to try everything to get it. However, Slim being a role model illustrates that without the American Dream, you can still live a worthy life.
Slim was created by Steinbeck in order to give more information about the previous story/background details. An example of this is when George tells Slim about what happened with Lennie in Weed. It is Slim who provides comfort and support for George in this crisis, as well as ensuring that Curley keeps quite about when Lennie crushed his hand. It lets the characters emotions go, it wants them to feel relaxed and without urgency. Slim has a clear distinction between reality and the American Dream.
The whole story circles around the Salinas River, from the start, where it begins, to the end where it returns; showing things that have already happened could happen again. The shooting of Candy’s dog by Carlson was a fate and destiny trying to reveal future happenings, such as George shooting Lennie. What’s more is that both shooting have more in common than first seen. Candy’s dog is shot using Carlson’s Luger, George also uses Carlson’s Luger to shoot Lennie. Additionally, Candy’s dog was shot right in the back of the head where it could feel no pain while dying. This also happened to Lennie when George shot him. Moreover, at the beginning of chapter six, it described a water snake being eaten by a heron. The water snake is representing Lennie’s fate to be like its own. Death. Lennie’s fate is compared to the violence in nature. This gives an effect of de’ javu as well.
De‘ javu occurs in the story several times. When Lennie killed the mice on the way to the ranch, he also killed a puppy and Curley’s wife at the ranch. This gives you an idea about what might happen in the later plot of the novel. Other things happen such as the shooting of Candy’s dog and the shooting of Lennie are directly linked.
When Lennie was shot, both good and bad reasons came up for both. Shooting Lennie was a good idea because it put Lennie out of his misery. He kept making vast mistakes, which would have leaded him into trouble. Also it would have finally stopped Lennie from harming anybody, or anything. He wouldn’t be able to kill anything else with his unimaginable strength and power. Furthermore Lennie wouldn’t have to be sent to “…the booby hatch…” (Page 104), [lunatic asylum] or to prison to rot away until his death. On the other hand, shooting Lennie was a bad concept because it didn’t let Lennie accomplish his dream to have “…a little house and a couple of acres and a cow and some pigs…” (Page 32). It left him halfway between desire and possession. In addition they cold have left Lennie to live and treated his slow-mindedness. From this they could “mould” him into a better person, which could control his strength and anger.
There were several themes in the story; one of them was contrast. Contrast is shown in the novel as an effect. At the beginning of every chapter there is the location described in full detail to cause the reader to be further interested. Such other contrasts are between Lennie and George. Not only due to the size difference but also the difference in intelligence. There is always man-made and nature contrasts between such things as the description of the Salinas River in chapter one and the description of the bunkhouse in capter two. It shows the beautifulness and calm in the nature, but rough and sharpness in the man-made facilities. There is light and dark contrast showing good from bad, or right from wrong. Life and death contrasts play a major part in the story. This is so because of the many living things are killed such as, the mice, Slim’s puppy and Curley’s wife. And other things that can be kept alive like Curley. After the brawl with Lennie, Curley would have been killed if the others in the bunkhouse didn’t step in. “…ever’ bone in his hand is bust…” (Page 92) was the expression on everyone’s reaction to Curley’s crushed hand.
Another theme in the story is friendship. “… I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” (Page 32) are the words that prove George and Lennie are best of friends. With this friendship they were able to work together and be friends till the very end. While George and Lennie friends, hope was increasing towards the discovery of the American Dream. Crooks and Lennie were also able to find each other, as they were both outcasts from society. Crooks was a cripple and Lennie was “slow-minded”. This shows optimism in the story.
Loneliness plays a big part in the story because Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife have all experienced it. These characters are an illustration by Steinbeck, which show the way in which loneliness can corrupt and destroy a person. Crooks has a double burden in that he is not only a cripple, but also a negro in a society that will not recognise negroes as an equal. Therefore he is discriminated against race. Candy is the “swamper” of the ranch, and the oldest person on the ranch, this is why he is discriminated against age. He lost his right hand in a farmer accident and doesn’t mix in well with the other workers because of his age. Candy’s American Dream is to be respected by the others but this doesn’t happen. This crushes his spirit. His only companion was his elderly dog, but when Carlson tragically shot him, Candy was left lonesome. Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch; this is why she is discriminated against sex. Curley’s wife is a “tart” (Page 29) and may well be “jail bait” (33); this is why she is so flirtatious. Her American Dream is to become and actress however she has not been given the opportunity. All of these characters are one of a kind; so they have to urge to feel at least a slight bit lonely.
“…Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world, they got no family. They don’t belong no place…” (Pages 31-32). This quotation said by George explains how the migrant workers have no real future ahead of them, just more time to be lonely.
In my opinion Steinbeck has presented and interpreted the American culture very well. He has included all the parts that were presently happening. Such parts like Crooks being rejected because he was black. This occurred a lot at that time because the white people were still in the slave trade kind of mind. That’s were black people received so much abuse and why Crooks did too. The Great Depression had all of the population of the USA feeling low and Steinbeck portrayed it superbly. He did this by showing all the migrant workers had come on their own to make some money; this also illustrates the loneliness felt by all the people on the ranch.
He included different types of discrimination shown in the real world as well as the novel. Crooks was discriminated against race because he was the only black person in town. Blacks were different and were being abused. Curley’s wife was discriminated against sex because she was the only woman on the ranch. Women at this time were seen as possessions and not people. Candy was discriminated against age because he was the oldest on the ranch. The elderly were not useful so they were paid small amounts for jobs and then put aside. He had also lost his left hand making him a reject. He is also slight discrimination against Lennie’s intelligence. In my opinion, with all of these points Steinbeck has been able to illustrate the culture in 1930’s America, he has shown how ever little thing can help describe the process of living to a higher extent.
With these attitudes in the novel Steinbeck was able to portray the American Dream as bleak and useless. It was not able to accomplish anyone’s dreams, it just seemed as a distant hope or a vision. This could have been Steinbeck’s thought towards the American Dream, even though he was able to fulfil his American Dream by becoming a novelist.
Citations
Steinbeck, John Ernst Stephen, Martin Stephen, Martin
Of Mice and Men York Notes for GCSE York Notes On
London, Longman 2000 Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men
London, Longman 2002 Essex, Longman 1992
