Zhenye Feng
Ms. Ngo
English II Adv Block 1
13 March 2015
Hopes and Dreams: An Endless Journey
The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck takes place during the Great Depression in Soledad, California with two friends looking for jobs at a ranch, one smart and skinny named George, one big and dumb named Lennie. While they approach the ranch, they talk about the dream of owning their own farm. While they work to save up for the farm, they meet some new friends. Candy, a tall, stoop-shouldered old men that is in charge of cleaning the bunkhouse after losing his arm in a ranch accident. Crooks, the only black man on the ranch, who takes care of the horses and live by himself. Curley's wife, the only woman in the plot, who wears too much makeup and dress like a "whore" with red fingernail and red shoes with ostrich feathers. People react differently to George and Lennie's dream because of contrasting dreams, the lack of faith, or confidence in achieving the dream.
Initially when Lennie explains his dream to Crooks, He finds it to be far from reality. Crooks express to Lennie unfaithfully, “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of em’ gets it,” knowing from past experience that many workers set the same dream with high hope of achieving it but failed in the end (74). Crooks believes that in the end, they will just waste their money on recreation instead.
Sometimes the lack of faith will force you to make horrible decisions, and Crooks let his pessimistic mind take over. Having a background of being discriminated, and having to live by himself on the ranch led him to think negatively. Crooks tell George and Lennie that he was "just foolin,"that he "wouldn't want no place like that" when he was excited moments ago to be part of the dream (87). He wants to be a part of the dream, but he was also afraid that George, Lennie, and Candy will discriminate him at the farm. As time pass by, he regrets his decision to not join their dream because he feels lonely at the ranch. To Crooks the dream seems like a unreachable goal, even thought it became close to a reality, he feels uncomfortable about leaving the ranch and being apart of the dream.
Trust is what matters the most in friendship, having a hard background of believing after his dog was killed by other workers at the ranch, Candy puts his trust on George and Lennie. He sounded surprised when he heard about the dream, "You know where's a place like that?" and got excited "How much they want for a place like that?" when he knows he won't last long on the ranch because of him being a handicap (59). Candy knew that if he stays at the ranch, eventually when he can't swamp out the bunkhouses they would can him, so he jumped on board to the dream. He wants a place of their own, where he "be let to work on their own place" (60). He believes, based on his past, that this dream will become a better future for him, he even said "I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain't got no relatives nor nothing." showing that he fully trust George and Lennie by treating them like close relatives (59).
Having already achieved this dream, Curley's wife wants to go above the social standard. She reveals her dream to Lennie, "Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear" she continue proudly "this guy says I was a natural" (89). Curley's wife believes that a dream like owning a farm is not big at all, she believe that a dream like coming a movie star was better. She is convinced by the one guy that she was a natural, so ever after that she set it to become her dream, but it seems to be more of a bragging right for her. That might be cause by her background history, a history of being rejected by her "ol' lady". She explains, "Soon's he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it", but then she says "I never got that letter." (88).
Different dreams and goals, the lack of faith, or having confidence about achieving the dream results in contrasting reactions to George and Lennie's dream from certain characters. Nearing the end of his days on the ranch, Candy decided to be a part of the dream, trying to escape the miserable conclusion that he will face. Having been thought segregated, Crooks stays out of the dream, and continue to pursue his life on the ranch, doubting what the dream might become. Curley's wife wants to be above the normal society, her dream is to become a actor, a famous one, so she reacted to George and Lennie's dream like it was nothing. Steinbeck strive to describe the background stories of many characters to us, bring us a way to feel for the character itself, and letting us understand the story behind each of decision they make. This not only help us understand why each character reacted differently to George and Lennie's dream, but the mind-sets of each character. Knowing what you might face after each decision can substantially bring the reader into thinking about how they might conduct oneself. Would your past influence your decision and reaction to pursue your dream?
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.
Ms. Ngo
English II Adv Block 1
13 March 2015
Hopes and Dreams: An Endless Journey
The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck takes place during the Great Depression in Soledad, California with two friends looking for jobs at a ranch, one smart and skinny named George, one big and dumb named Lennie. While they approach the ranch, they talk about the dream of owning their own farm. While they work to save up for the farm, they meet some new friends. Candy, a tall, stoop-shouldered old men that is in charge of cleaning the bunkhouse after losing his arm in a ranch accident. Crooks, the only black man on the ranch, who takes care of the horses and live by himself. Curley's wife, the only woman in the plot, who wears too much makeup and dress like a "whore" with red fingernail and red shoes with ostrich feathers. People react differently to George and Lennie's dream because of contrasting dreams, the lack of faith, or confidence in achieving the dream.
Initially when Lennie explains his dream to Crooks, He finds it to be far from reality. Crooks express to Lennie unfaithfully, “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of em’ gets it,” knowing from past experience that many workers set the same dream with high hope of achieving it but failed in the end (74). Crooks believes that in the end, they will just waste their money on recreation instead.
Sometimes the lack of faith will force you to make horrible decisions, and Crooks let his pessimistic mind take over. Having a background of being discriminated, and having to live by himself on the ranch led him to think negatively. Crooks tell George and Lennie that he was "just foolin,"that he "wouldn't want no place like that" when he was excited moments ago to be part of the dream (87). He wants to be a part of the dream, but he was also afraid that George, Lennie, and Candy will discriminate him at the farm. As time pass by, he regrets his decision to not join their dream because he feels lonely at the ranch. To Crooks the dream seems like a unreachable goal, even thought it became close to a reality, he feels uncomfortable about leaving the ranch and being apart of the dream.
Trust is what matters the most in friendship, having a hard background of believing after his dog was killed by other workers at the ranch, Candy puts his trust on George and Lennie. He sounded surprised when he heard about the dream, "You know where's a place like that?" and got excited "How much they want for a place like that?" when he knows he won't last long on the ranch because of him being a handicap (59). Candy knew that if he stays at the ranch, eventually when he can't swamp out the bunkhouses they would can him, so he jumped on board to the dream. He wants a place of their own, where he "be let to work on their own place" (60). He believes, based on his past, that this dream will become a better future for him, he even said "I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain't got no relatives nor nothing." showing that he fully trust George and Lennie by treating them like close relatives (59).
Having already achieved this dream, Curley's wife wants to go above the social standard. She reveals her dream to Lennie, "Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear" she continue proudly "this guy says I was a natural" (89). Curley's wife believes that a dream like owning a farm is not big at all, she believe that a dream like coming a movie star was better. She is convinced by the one guy that she was a natural, so ever after that she set it to become her dream, but it seems to be more of a bragging right for her. That might be cause by her background history, a history of being rejected by her "ol' lady". She explains, "Soon's he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it", but then she says "I never got that letter." (88).
Different dreams and goals, the lack of faith, or having confidence about achieving the dream results in contrasting reactions to George and Lennie's dream from certain characters. Nearing the end of his days on the ranch, Candy decided to be a part of the dream, trying to escape the miserable conclusion that he will face. Having been thought segregated, Crooks stays out of the dream, and continue to pursue his life on the ranch, doubting what the dream might become. Curley's wife wants to be above the normal society, her dream is to become a actor, a famous one, so she reacted to George and Lennie's dream like it was nothing. Steinbeck strive to describe the background stories of many characters to us, bring us a way to feel for the character itself, and letting us understand the story behind each of decision they make. This not only help us understand why each character reacted differently to George and Lennie's dream, but the mind-sets of each character. Knowing what you might face after each decision can substantially bring the reader into thinking about how they might conduct oneself. Would your past influence your decision and reaction to pursue your dream?
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.
