John Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men - 2257 Words

The American Dream, is the wish to prosper. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men told during the time of hard labor in the 1930’s about two close friends, who are all each other have, but are chasing this American dream, George and Lennie deal with several obstacles and road blocks with each other. Whether it be, hiding Lennie’s mental illness, or trying to keep a job to fulfill their version of the American dream, George will always carry Lennie in his heart, and Lennie tries his hardest to please George. Through characterization and foreshadowing readers learn about the deeper meaning and theme to the novella of the American Dream. Although some may say that George and Lennie are only externally flawed, by reading deeper, you can†¦show more content†¦George is more realistic than Lennie in believing it may not happen, and it could be just a fairy tale but he continues to keep the dream alive because it is what makes Lennie happy, and keeps Geor ge from being mean. George never hesitates to repeat to him that â€Å"one day they will save enough money to buy their own small farm, where they can live off the fatta of the land, and have rabbits.† (Steinbeck 14) George repeating the story to Lennie over and over is one of Steinbeck’s way of showing how much Lennie means to George. At first, readers may believe that George only keeps Lennie around because he has to, but deep down George genuinely cares for Lennie. As you read throughout the story, the amount that George cares for Lennie gets more and more prominent. With us it ain t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don t have to sit in no bar room blowin in our jack jus because we got no place else to go. If the other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us. (Steinbeck 14) George often talks about their future and past together as if he and Lennie will always stick together, no matter what. Lennie is unaware of the problems he creates for George, he believes that â€Å"we will never be lonely because we will always have each other† (Steinbeck 6) Steinbeck uses characterization by developing each character to be weak without