Role Of Hope In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

[A] Hope is a vital part of accomplishing hopes, dreams, and goals. Without hope, we will never accomplish anything meaningful. [B] In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George demonstrates this, as does the children is War Dance and Walter Mitty in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. [C] Scott Kaufman and Joe Wilner wrote articles about the psychological effect of hope on humans that helped me better understand hope. [E]In Of Mice and Men, George is always telling Lennie about the farm they plan on getting, but [F] George never actually believes the farm could be a reality until Candy chips in over half the cost and they start planning the farm. [G] According to Joe Wilner in How we Lose Hope and How to Get it Back, “In order for goals to uplift and enliven us, we need goals that are challenging and motivating...” (Wilner 1). [H] George had lost hope and was just saying these things about the farm because Lennie enjoyed hearing it. [I] Candy donating $350 to the farm helped George see that the farm could be a reality. [J] Joe Wilner also said “Hope is the life force that keeps us going and gives us something to live for” (Wilner 1). George had nothing to
[F] They try to reach a regional competition for music. [G]According to Scott Barry in “The Will and Ways of Hope” “hope involves the will to get there and different ways to get there” (Kaufman,1). [H] The children had the will to reach the music festival and made it. [I] Even though they were going through tough times, losing parents/siblings/friends, they used music to keep a positive attitude toward life. [K] Scott also said later in the same article “Hope allows people to approach problems with a mindset and strategy-set suitable to success” (Kaufman,1). [L] They are able to approach the problems in the music with a positive attitude because they have hope.