Of Mice and Men Essay
Of Mice and Men Persuasive Essay
Have you ever had that one dream you dedicated so much time and work to and then someone close to you ruins it? Of Mice and Men illustrates the importance of dreams in everyone’s life because it gives the person something to strive toward. During the 1930’s many migrant workers dreamed one day they would own a farm, this dream became known as the American Dream. John Steinbeck chose to use this theme because the American Dream showed the difficulty of achieving your dreams, showed the importance of dreaming, and was the bond that kept George Milton and Lennie Small together. When the story begins, Lennie and George were being chased out of Weed because Lennie grabbed a girl wearing a red dress he wanted to touch. “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes…So he reaches out to feel this dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk.”(Steinbeck 41). This first mistake of Lennie’s affects both George and Lennie also setting them further back from reaching their goal. Lennie’s next mistake impacts his dream of tending the rabbits when he kills the pup “now maybe George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits, if he fin’s out you got killed” (Steinbeck 85). This event foreshadows the death of Curley’s wife and shows the reader that many things add up to George and Lennie not reaching their goal of owning a farm. The final event that shows the reader how difficult it is to achieve your dreams comes when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. “[Lennie] shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (Steinbeck 91). This is the tipping point of Lennie’s mistakes and leads to his death and the end of their dream.
Another reason why Steinbeck used the American Dream as a theme in Of Mice and Men was because it showed the importance of dreams and goals. When Lennie started talking about their dream, some of the migrant workers
Have you ever had that one dream you dedicated so much time and work to and then someone close to you ruins it? Of Mice and Men illustrates the importance of dreams in everyone’s life because it gives the person something to strive toward. During the 1930’s many migrant workers dreamed one day they would own a farm, this dream became known as the American Dream. John Steinbeck chose to use this theme because the American Dream showed the difficulty of achieving your dreams, showed the importance of dreaming, and was the bond that kept George Milton and Lennie Small together. When the story begins, Lennie and George were being chased out of Weed because Lennie grabbed a girl wearing a red dress he wanted to touch. “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes…So he reaches out to feel this dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk.”(Steinbeck 41). This first mistake of Lennie’s affects both George and Lennie also setting them further back from reaching their goal. Lennie’s next mistake impacts his dream of tending the rabbits when he kills the pup “now maybe George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits, if he fin’s out you got killed” (Steinbeck 85). This event foreshadows the death of Curley’s wife and shows the reader that many things add up to George and Lennie not reaching their goal of owning a farm. The final event that shows the reader how difficult it is to achieve your dreams comes when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. “[Lennie] shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (Steinbeck 91). This is the tipping point of Lennie’s mistakes and leads to his death and the end of their dream.
Another reason why Steinbeck used the American Dream as a theme in Of Mice and Men was because it showed the importance of dreams and goals. When Lennie started talking about their dream, some of the migrant workers