Explore the ways Steinbeck presents Characters desires and dreams in Of Mice and Men
![Authors Avatar]()
by
danielwarmsley (student)
By Daniel Warmsley Explore the ways Steinbeck presents Characters desires and dreams in Of Mice and Men This is a novel of defeated hope and the harsh reality of the American Dream. One might say that Steinbeck’s theme is life and the processes of life at a certain place at a certain time. George and Lennie are poor homeless migrant workers, doomed to a life of wandering and toil in which they are never able to reap the fruits of their labour. Their desires may not seem so unfamiliar to any other American: a place of their own, the opportunity to work for themselves and harvest what they sew with no one to take anything from them or give them orders. George and Lennie desperately cling to the notion that they are different from other workers who drift from ranch to ranch because, unlike the others, they have a future and each other. But characters like Crooks and Curley's wife serve as reminders that George and Lennie are no different from anyone who wants something of his or her own.All the characters wish to change their lives in some fashion, but none are capable of doing so; they all have dreams, and it is only the dream that varies from person to person. Curley's wife has already had her dream of being an actress pass her by and now must live a life of empty hope. Crooks' situation hints at a much deeper oppression than that of the white worker in America-the oppression of the black people. Through Crooks, Steinbeck exposes the bitterness, the anger, and the helplessness of the black American who struggles to be recognized as a human being, let alone have a place of his own. Crooks' hopelessness underlies that of George's and Lennie's and Candy's and Curley's wife's. But all share the despair of wanting to change the way they live and attain something better. Even Slim, despite his Zen-like wisdom and confidence, has nothing to call his own and will, by every indication, remain a migrant worker until his death. Slim differs from the others in the fact that he does not seem to want something outside of what he has, he is not beaten by a dream, and he has not laid any schemes. Slim seems to have somehow reached the sad conclusion indicated by the novel's title, that to dream leads to despair.Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest can avoid. Throughout the story, Of Mice and Men, the reader discovers the many sources of solitude, primarily being discrimination and prejudice.
Crooks, Candy and Curley s wife all suffer from the previous injustices resulting in loneliness and isolation. They learn to cope with their loneliness through their interest in Lennie and George s friendship. In some ways they are even envious of the bond. Often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending strive to full-fill a friendship. Steinbeck also shows this through the literary tool of symbolism.Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation because the society in which he resides is racist. As a result Steinbeck shows a common trait between Lennie and Crooks, in that they both ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Crooks, Candy and Curley s wife all suffer from the previous injustices resulting in loneliness and isolation. They learn to cope with their loneliness through their interest in Lennie and George s friendship. In some ways they are even envious of the bond. Often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending strive to full-fill a friendship. Steinbeck also shows this through the literary tool of symbolism.Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation because the society in which he resides is racist. As a result Steinbeck shows a common trait between Lennie and Crooks, in that they both have a relationship with loneliness. However Crooks is lonely for a different reason, discrimination. Although discrimination was still present in this era, he still attempts to make friends. The others simply cast Crooks out of the social ring due to his differentiating circumstances despite his attempts. He does not know how to react to this sort of rejection so he simply acts the same towards them. “Because I am black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me”. Crooks is forced to live in confinement in the barn and turns to his books and magazines as his only sort of correlation with the outside world. This eventually leads to emotional downfall. Crooks is fascinated with Lennie and George s relationship and tries to experience friendship by showing interest in theirs. “Well, s pose, jus s pose he don t come back. What I’ll you do then?”. He also wants to show his loneliness by making this statement.Candy is an old disabled swamper who has been working on the farm his whole life and knows nothing else. However while on the ranch he lost his hand in an accident and is left feeling lonely and useless to anyone. “I got hurt four years ago. They’ll can me pretty soon. Just as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county”. Candy is so depressed that he puts himself into a state of solitude. He is always invited to go out with the other guys but refuses due to his low self-esteem. He thinks that people don t like him because of his disability. Candy tries to find self-assurance by confiding in Lennie and George s relationship. He offers to help them on their new farm in exchange for him being able to live there. “I’ll wash dishes and little chick stuff like that. But I’ll be on your own place, and I’ll be let to work on our own place”. This is Candy s attempt to find an important place in life again. He wishes to join Lennie and George s pursuit of the American dream. After losing his dog, this is the first time he seeks friendship. He and his dog had had the same relationship as George and Lennie. While Lennie has George and the ranchers had each other, Candy does not have anybody and this put him in a condition of sorrow and depression. Every character in the book is different and no protagonists act alike. Nobody in the book shared the same interests as Candy and this is why he strived so for a relationship with George and Lennie. He offers everything including his money. “Maybe if I give you money, you’ll let me hoe in the garden even after I ain t no good at it”. All of the characters are alike in that they are affected by loneliness and are always in search of solutions to their dilemmas. Another character that possesses the same inner conflict of loneliness is Curley s wife.Curley s wife is a tease to everybody on the ranch. She will dress and act sort of like a whore. She makes use of her stunning body to gain the attention of the ranchers to soothe her loneliness. These acts give her a sense of relief and make her feel wanted so she can share her personal concerns and experiences. Because of her reputation for being a flirt, none of the farmhands will talk to her. Curley s insecurities towards his wife also force her into flirting with the others. Many do not talk to her due to her reputation. As George says, “maybe you better go along to your own house now. We don t want no trouble”. Curley s wife recognizes Lennie s stupidity and preys on it. She sees him a person to ventilate her feelings on to. However she does not know of his fascination with soft objects. When she finished talking to him one day she asked him to stroke her hair. Lennie loved the feel and pulled it tighter, when she began to yell, he only took on a stronger grip and this eventually led to her death. This may be looked upon as tragedy in that she was killed but also a justice in that it ended her severe suffering. Her case of loneliness is the worst throughout the novel. She struggles to find someone in her society with whom she can confide in. She tries and will do anything to dispatch her one psychological disorder, loneliness.Symbolism is another important aspect of this novella. Candy s dog is a symbol of a life only for the advantage to others, Lennie also represents this, and he is belittled of his mind but enormously commented for his strength. Crooks differentiating factor is a sign of his loneliness. He is also constantly rubbing his back with medicine to inoculate to himself; this is symbolizing the pain he intakes. His book of California rights is a symbol of power and knowledge of his rights of freedom. The neatness of his stable is a symbol that he is trying to show his equality with the white man. The farm is an important symbol because it is repeated throughout the novella, reminding the reader of the comforting dream that Lennie and George have created. It is a symbol of brotherly love. The dream in some ways is like the whole Depression era, reminding the reader of freedom and homely pleasure. Curley and his wife both represent evil because both oppress and abuse the migrant workers. He especially harasses Lennie due to his size and strength. This is a symbol of cat and mouse. The horses rattling chains is a symbol of slavery and lack of freedom. The mouse in the story is small and soft this is a symbol of innocence. This foreshadows Lennie s vulnerability. Lennie is a symbol himself in his action toward beguiling soft things. Like when he stroked the ladies dress and she cried out rape, it was a symbol of the power a white woman had then. Another example of this is when Crooks said to Curley s wife to go or he would call the boss to her, but all she did was blackmail him by saying, “Listen Nigger, you know what I can do if you open your trap, I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain t funny”. Lennie s death is a symbol of tragedy, but also of triumph because in the last minutes of his life he was thinking of his dream. The companionship between George and Lennie is a key element in the story. The two men are not unique for wanting a place and a life of their own, but they are unique in that they have each other. Their companionship contrasts the loneliness that surrounds them-the loneliness of the homeless ranch worker, the loneliness of the outcast black man, the loneliness of the subjected woman, the loneliness of the old, helpless cripple-and it arouses curiosity in the characters that they encounter, Slim included. And indeed, the reader becomes curious as to their friendship as well. However, is it a real friendship? Lennie would call George a friend, but George would perhaps be hard-pressed to admit the same of Lennie. As he tells Slim, he has simply become so used to having Lennie around that he "can't get rid of him". Despite his annoyance, George also demonstrates protectiveness, patience, and pride when it comes to Lennie. He is perhaps motivated to stay with Lennie by a sense of guilt, or responsibility, or pity, or a desire to not be alone himself. Most likely it is a combination of all of these motivations. Yet it seems strange that George would choose to remain with Lennie, given the danger that Lennie causes for the both of them. George is not blind to the fact that life would be easier without Lennie, and he often yearns for independence when Lennie becomes troublesome, creating a major source of tension in the novel. This tension is not resolved until the final gunshot by the riverside, when the strain of Lennie's company makes it impossible for George to survive with his companion. By killing Lennie, George eliminates a monumental burden and a threat to his own life (Lennie, of course, never threatened George directly, but his actions endangered the life of George, who took responsibility for him). The tragedy is that George, in effect, is forced to shoot both his companion, who made him different from the other lonely workers, as well as his own dream and admit that it has gone hopelessly awry. His new burden is now hopelessness and loneliness, the life of the homeless ranch worker. Slim's comfort at the end "You hadda George" indicates the sad truth that one has to surrender one's dreams in order to survive, not the easiest thing to do in America, the Land of Promise.The themes and style of Steinbeck s writing is both prolific and admirable. Over the years he has become the idol of book clubs and movie audiences and a vast uninstructed reading public. He stated his themes quite obviously in his novels and backs them up with wonderful detail. All of his novels contain a great sort of complex simplicity about them. It is kind of an oxymoron but true to his writing none the less. He often stresses the themes of the American dream and suffering. In a literal sense he was conservative, a man who valued and even clung to the old America. As well as loneliness and symbolism which he utilizes so wonderfully in this novel. Of Mice and Men is a great example of Steinbeck s most exemplary work of his time. This great novel has earned its place as one of the greatest novels of all time.
