The American Delusion?
The American Dream
The Dream is a central motif in Of Mice and Men - but it is treated quite ambiguously by Steinbeck.
On the one hand, it brings tremendous comfort and a sense of hope for the future.
On the other hand, it stops the characters from really living their actual lives, as they are deluded into thinking that they could be film stars, or ranch owners.
'Is it better to have no dreams at all than to have dreams that never come true?' is a question that puzzles the reader as we read Of Mice and Men. It's not a question that Steinbeck himself answers directly, but there are several hints as to what he might answer.
1. The American Dream is a delusion and founded on false premises*
…If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I'd have my own little place, an' I'd be bringin' in my own crops, 'stead of doin' all the work and not getting what comes up outa the ground." (3.11) (George)
Here George implies that if he was a little bit more intelligent, then the dream would be a reality for him. However, based on what we know about the Great Depression that ravaged America in the 1930s, we know that life does not work that way. The men at the ranch are stuck in poverty and mere optimism can do nothing to help. *Be smart, work hard and you can achieve anything - is just not true.
2. The Dream has a mythical, quasi-biblical quality - it's the stuff of legends and fairytales
- the Language that is used to describe the dream has echoes of biblical language of the Promised Land, 'fatta the lan'.
"I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself." She said darkly, "Maybe I will yet." And then her words tumbled out in a passion of communication, as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away.
5. The (inevitable) failure of the dream can lead to despair and hopelessness more generally
"You’re nuts." Crooks was scornful. "I seen hunderds 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. Hunderds 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 ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head. They’re all the time talkin’ about it, but it’s jus’ in their head." (4.64)
The Dream is a central motif in Of Mice and Men - but it is treated quite ambiguously by Steinbeck.
On the one hand, it brings tremendous comfort and a sense of hope for the future.
On the other hand, it stops the characters from really living their actual lives, as they are deluded into thinking that they could be film stars, or ranch owners.
'Is it better to have no dreams at all than to have dreams that never come true?' is a question that puzzles the reader as we read Of Mice and Men. It's not a question that Steinbeck himself answers directly, but there are several hints as to what he might answer.
1. The American Dream is a delusion and founded on false premises*
…If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I'd have my own little place, an' I'd be bringin' in my own crops, 'stead of doin' all the work and not getting what comes up outa the ground." (3.11) (George)
Here George implies that if he was a little bit more intelligent, then the dream would be a reality for him. However, based on what we know about the Great Depression that ravaged America in the 1930s, we know that life does not work that way. The men at the ranch are stuck in poverty and mere optimism can do nothing to help. *Be smart, work hard and you can achieve anything - is just not true.
2. The Dream has a mythical, quasi-biblical quality - it's the stuff of legends and fairytales
- the Language that is used to describe the dream has echoes of biblical language of the Promised Land, 'fatta the lan'.
Lennie watched him with wide eyes, and old Candy watched him too. Lennie said softly, "We could live offa the fatta the lan'."
3. The simplicity of the men's dream reveals how desperately empty their lives are
3. The simplicity of the men's dream reveals how desperately empty their lives are
"Sure," said George. "All kin's a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We'd jus' live there. We'd belong there. There wouldn't be no more runnin' round the country and gettin' fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we'd have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house." (3.202-203)
4. The (inevitable) failure of the dream can lead to dangerous bitterness (Curley's wife) on an individual level.
4. The (inevitable) failure of the dream can lead to dangerous bitterness (Curley's wife) on an individual level.
"I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself." She said darkly, "Maybe I will yet." And then her words tumbled out in a passion of communication, as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away.
5. The (inevitable) failure of the dream can lead to despair and hopelessness more generally
"You’re nuts." Crooks was scornful. "I seen hunderds 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. Hunderds 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 ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head. They’re all the time talkin’ about it, but it’s jus’ in their head." (4.64)
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