The American Dream

In the novel, Of Mice and Men, the story begins at the Salinas River Bank. The two main characters, George and Lennie talk about their American dream and how they want to live off their own fat of the land. The American Dream is a heaven for men who want to be masters of their own lives. The farm represents the possibility of freedom, self-reliance, and protection from the cruelties of the world. These have-nots are trying to rise above circumstance by creating a home and not wandering as outcasts. However, the American dream is unreachable to George and Lennie because of many external and internal forces. The two will never find security through a house and land of their own.

John Steinbeck, the author, sets the scene in California during the depression years (McCarthy 46). In Salinas Valley, it is secluded and surrounded by large factory farms that are operated by the banks that would employ migrant workers. As a migrant worker, you receive slips and bus tickets from an employment agency and carry few possessions from job to job (McCarthy 57). To connect Steinbeck to his characters, he worked jobs of labor, like a rancher, migrant worker, and a road worker (Scribners 51). By Steinbeck situating himself into the life of a migrant worker he realized first-hand that it is lonely, suppressing, and, isolating. Steinbeck merges his home town, Soledad, a land known as "east of Eden" because the two men are dreaming of their own land, their own Eden, a place full of nourishment to support themselves, but Soledad is far from that place.

Part of the American dream is having a home. A home is a place where you are comfortable, warm, at peace, and spend time with loved ones. George and Lennie are different than other migrant workers because they have someone that actually cares about them. (Steinbeck 14). The night before they enter the ranch, George tells Lennie about their special relationship.

George said in his deep voice,

"Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. . . 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 them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us." (Steinbeck 13)

Men fear loneliness, they need a companion to be with and talk to who understands. George is a small, tempered, intelligent, and independent man who took guardianship over Lennie. George likes to personally insult and yell at Lennie when he is aggravated to make himself feel superior (McCarthy 63). Lennie is a tall, strong, child-like man who has a weakness for caressing soft things and depends on his protector, George, for guidance. Although their personalities are vastly different, George needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs George (Owens Sig). With their friendship, the dream is possible.

The ideal American dream is to rise above one's circumstance, to live and obtain a self-sufficient life without the worries of finances by owning land (Werlock). The two men share a deep mutual commitment to have a farm filled with live stock and ways to stabilize themselves. George says, "Someday- we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs an' live off the fatta the land" (Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie are flawed men trying to escape to their own Eden. They are trying to surpass their obstacles to live in a land that is bountiful. The American dream is desired, they want to break the pattern of wondering (Owens Sig). American History is all about traveling to find a place to live, a place for them; it is that whole sense of going west and discovering not-Eden (Murphy).

George has an actual house and a couple of acres in mind where they will be able to create a farm of their own. The old couple who owns it is looking to sell. With just a few months of work they may be able to buy it. While George is the source for how their life would be on their future farm, Lennie's innocence and faith is the glue that holds George's ideas together. Whenever George mentions the farm, Lennie always brings up rabbits. Lennie has an uncontrollable sensation for smooth textures which make him want to touch everything he sees wither it be mice, shirts, etc. His yearn for soft living things symbolizes the need that all men have for warm, living contact (Owens Dream). This dream of owning that land originates between the two of them and without each other the dream will never succeed.

At the new ranch in Of Mice and Men there are many different characters they meet. Out of all the people on the ranch, Candy, befriends them and tries to help attain their Eden. Candy is an old man without one hand. He is afraid that the boss will say that he is useless and will be forced to leave. When Candy over hears George and Lennie talking about the land, he is eagerly interested and says, "S'pose I went in with you guys. Tha's three hundred an' fifty bucks I'd put in...I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off." (Steinbeck 59). By Candy offering that amount of money the American dream is becoming a reality, not just a fantasy. George falls into silence, a state of shock, because of the pure amazement he was feeling. At that moment he exclaimed, "I bet we could swing her!" (Steinbeck 60). For that short amount of time, George and Lennie rise above circumstances and convince themselves that the dream is their territory. They see that the land will be achieved and will become their place by the slight help of Candy.

One problem attaining the American dream is the main characters' personal flaws. Lennie, a gentle giant does not comprehend the power of his own strength. His strength compels him to kill because his weakness urges him to touch (Scribners 58). In Of Mice and Men, it mentions how Lennie accidently kills an animal or gets in trouble. To get into a mess, he pets soft things like little animals, dresses, and people's hair. In one of the last scenes of the novel, Lennie is sitting in the farm hiding a puppy that he kills by accident for petting it too hard. Curley's wife, who is always seeking someone to talk to, preys on Lennie's small mind. In her mistake, she lets him feel her hair and in return, he snaps her neck. When her body flops to the ground like a fish, he knew he was in big trouble. Lennie says in deep fright, "I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing." (Steinbeck 91). Lennie kills her, and because of that mistake the American dream comes to an end in that moment. The men on the ranch were going to