Essay On The American Dream In Of Mice And Men

The American Dream vanished during the Great Depression, and the land of opportunity became the land of misfortune. The American Dream is the idea of overcoming all obstacles and beating the odds to one day become successful. The American Dream was and still is unattainable for many people. Although characters in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck have dreams for a better future, their hopes are soon destroyed by the harsh reality of the American Dream.
One of the characters in the novella is Candy, and he has spent the golden years of his life working on a farm for someone else only to have little money and no accomplishments. Before he lost his hand, Candy was a sheep herder, and now his work is tending the chickens. Candy realized that his boss won’t treat him any better than his dog once he becomes obsolete. Strangely enough, Candy hears about George and Lennie’s dream of getting a farm, and he quickly hops on the bandwagon offering up his whole life’s savings to help pay for the farm, and he said “I ain’t much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some” (Steinbeck). Candy has already contributed his whole life’s savings showing the importance of the farm to him, and unlike his job at the ranch, he would have job insurance opposed to the ranch where he will be fired once he is no longer of any use. The
The dreams of the characters in the novella were destroyed by multiple obstacles. John Steinbeck is determined to display to the reader that the American Dream is not feasible for everyone. Despite a person working very adamantly to accomplish his or her aspirations, it does not mean that the dream will come true due to underlying factors that may not be in the person’s control. The characters in the novel pursue their divergent versions of everlasting happiness and the freedom to pursue their dreams but only succeeded in