Discuss the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men Essay

Steinbecks novella Of Mice and man business office is set in America in the 1930s. This was a time and a place where some people were discriminated against because of their lifestyle. The complete cause of this was a hierarchy that existed within Ameri washbasin culture. The rich and the powerful were given a place in society whereas the working class were outcasts. Of Mice and Men is a novella of outcasts.Steinbeck explores how discrimination dominates the lives of these outcasts racial discrimination against Crooks, age discrimination against glaze over, gender discrimination against Curleys wife and discrimination against Lennie because of his mental disability. The similarity amid all the outcasts is that they all vision of an existence where they atomic number 18 non the victims of discrimination, and this breathing in is their sole motivation in life. Their ambitiousness is the American Dream. Through these outcasts, Steinbeck details everything that was chastely wro ng with 1930s America. The reason for this was the instability of the 1930s American economy the Wall Street crash in 1929 being one example. The result of this was a high level of unemployment, and it was these people who were the outcasts.1930s America rejects Lennie because of his mental ineptitude. George protects Lennie from the victimisation he would have to endure, if he were to face 1930s America on his own. George similarly helps Lennie find a job as he is hopeless on his own, If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we wont retrieve no job. in that respect are two aspects Georges speech that would suggest he is trying to protect Lennie. Firstly the normality of his tone he is not shouting and therefore Lennie would not feel that there is any(prenominal)thing wrong with him. Secondly what George is actually saying he is giving Lennie advice on how to avoid being victimised. two Lennie and George have the same dream, but for different reasons. Lennie dreams of havi ng his own bit of land so he can tend rabbits he is not trying to explode discrimination because he does not understand the concept of it.George, on the other hand, wants to escape discrimination. He wants to live without worrying about Lennies every move. He wants Lennie to be safe. It is plainly apparent that Lennie and Georges dream is their only incentive in life all their efforts are aimed at earning enough notes to steal their own bit of land. It is made even more apparent to the reader at the end of the book that their dream is their only incentive in life, write out on George. Me an youll go in an get a drink. Lennie is dead and suddenly the dream is no longer achievable.The reader immediately sees how Georges incentive to drop a line money goes he is going to go for a drink with Slim where he will the likely squander every cent he has. There is evidence to suggest that George never really thought they would ever achieve their dream, I think I knowed from the very firs t. I think I knowed wed never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would He had talked about the dream so many times to Lennie, he started to believe it could come true even though he knew, inside, that it would not.Crooks is rejected because he is a Negro. Racism was rife in 1930s America and Negros were the unwanted surplus of American society. Steinbeck shows the reader how Crooks has adapted to protect himself from hurt. Unlike other characters, Crooks considers what can go wrong first onward he starts to believe a dream can come true, I see hundreds of men come by on the road an on the counterpanees with their bindles in their back an that same damn thing in their heads Crooks has been hurt in the past. He knows the realities of life in 1930s America. The result of not having a dream reflects in the way in which he lives his life. Unlike Lennie, George, glass over and Curleys wife, Crooks has no incentive in life. Crooks is content to stay in his lodging out from the rest of the world.Although he is not progressing in life he is not digressing. But given the opportunity he also clings on to Lennie, George and candys dream. This shows that although he does not dream, he has longings and desires. Steinbeck reveals this through use of nostalgic language, in Crooks desire to re-experience the feeling of equality he felt when he was a child, The unobjectionable kids came to play at our place, an sometimes I went to play with them. Crooks dreams of equality, this is evident in the books he reads in particular the Californian Civil Code. He longs for a civilisation where he can be treated equally. For Crooks, his desire for equality dominates his life as dreams dominate the lives of the other outcasts.Candy is discriminated against because he is old and useless. In an environment where respect is earned through physical competence, Candy has no respect from his fellow ranch workers. However, the most painful thing for C andy is the feeling of not belonging and lack of purpose. He has these feelings because he is old and has lived most of his life he has left no mark on the world. Other workers, younger workers, like Whit, have dreams of making a mark on the world as Candy probably had when he was younger. Whit displays admiration for a former ranch worker he reads about in a magazine who has had a letter published in that magazine.Whit dreams of making a mark on the world and has not even considered the misery that will overcome him if he does not. Steinbeck uses juxtaposition to illustrate to the reader how little respect Candy receives from his fellow workers. Candy could not kill his dog he is his only companion and he has owned and loved him for years, No, I couldnt do that. I had im for too long. Candy desperately wants to save his dog here, but the other workers at the ranch do not respect him enough to comply with his wishes.The contrast between Candys desperation and the other workers casua l dismissal of this desperation highlights how little respect Candy receives from his fellow workers. For this reason Candy apace catches on to Lennie and Georges dream. He has money in the bank, as a result of his compensation for his lost hand, and feels that the dream can come true with their money combined. His dream is his incentive in life he carries on with his insignificant swamping at the ranch because it is the only thing he can do. If George, Lennie and Candy can somehow make this dream maintainable he can live the rest of his life happily.As a woman Curleys wife is disjointed as women were not equal to men in 1930s America. She is deprived of many things men have companionship, power and acknowledgement. She dreams of having all these things. But she differs from the other outcasts because she has no hope of achieving her dream. What she believed to be her only shot at achieving her dream has gone. Furthermore she is trapped in a marriage with a callous man who she des pises. In fact if it were up to her husband she would remain indoors all day. The men do not like her because they see her as a tart and a threat. She could get them canned, I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her.George discriminates against her because she is a woman. He makes the assumption that any woman in a male lodging is trouble. Through Georges damning reaction to Curleys wife Steinbeck shows the reader how she will never achieve her dream. She has no power because she is a woman. She only has power over Crooks because he is a Negro, You know what I can do if you open your trap? Steinbecks presentation of the position would suggest she is using Crooks as a scapegoat to disburse her frustrations.And she is indeed because Crooks is trying to defend his room from what he sees as an invasion of his territory, You got no rights comin in a colored mans room. Curleys wife may have been scornful, but Crooks was equally insensitive to her. She is never acknowledged, her tr ue name is not mentioned, and therefore Crooks comment made her turn on him like a whiplash because he is the only one on the ranch over whom she has any power or authority. It is ironic how the death of the forgotten outcast brings about the end of all the other outcasts dreams.To conclude, dreams are important in the novella because they are the only thing the outcasts can cling on to. They are discriminated against to the extent that they cannot achieve success they are doomed to failure. Even their dreams, the only means by which they can escape the monotony of 1930s America, are destroyed by their compromised circumstances. Steinbeck shows the reader how important dreams are for the poor. Only the poor that have a dream can live their lives with their dream as an incentive.Steinbeck sums up the injustice of 1930s America at the end of the novella. Curleys dream of killing Lennie comes true, it is an evil dream and it is the only one in the novella that comes true the dream of o ne man with a little power and authority over the dreams of all the poor. (Although Crooks dream of equality does become true it is a long time after the novella is written, and he does not experience this so it can be utter that his dream did not come true) Through the dreams of the poor Steinbeck conveys many things that were wrong with 1930s America.