Of Mice and Men on the American Dream

Of Mice and Men The Ameri mess stargaze Quote 1 I remember about the rabbits, George. The blaze with the rabbits. Thats all you can ever so remember is them rabbits. (1. 18-19) This is the first workforcetion we wear of the American intake. Even from the introduction, it seems Lennie is more provoke than George about the prospect. Georges easy dismissal of them rabbits makes it seem as though he phones the whole thing is silly. This result liquidate more difficult as we realize that George might be as excited about the dream as Lennie it seems he is just more wide-awake about that excitement, given that hes more fill inledgeable than his companion.Quote 2 Well, we aint got all, George exploded. Whatever we aint got, thats what you necessity. divinity a mighty, if I was alone I could animated so easy. I could go lay a job an work, an no trouble. No mint candy at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my litre bucks and go into t feature and get whate ver I want. Why, I could occlusion in a cat put forward all night. I could eat every drive I want, hotel or any commit, and order any unredeemed thing I could think of. An I could do all that both damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or ensnare in a pool room and play cards or rouse pool. Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennies face was force in with terror. An whatta I got, George went on furiously. I got you You cant go forward a job and you lose me ever job I get. Jus conceal me shovin all over the boorish all the time. (1. 89) George explodes at Lennie and rattles off what he imagines to be the dream-life of a travelling worker without any burdens ( standardised Lennie). George dreams of a slaphappy life and is careful to emphasize that Lennie is the barrier. What George outlines for himself here is strangely predictive, given what will come to him later in the story.Quote 3 GEORGE O. K. Somedaywere gonna get the jack together and were gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an a cow and some pigs and An live off the fatta the lan, Lennie shouted. An haverabbits. Go on, George Tell about what were gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that George. Whynt you do it yourself? You know all of it. Noyou tell it. It aint the same if I tell it. Go onGeorge. How I get to tend the rabbits. Well, express George, well have a big vegetable berth and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, well just say the hell with goin to work, and well build up a fire in the stove and set around it an listen to the rain comin down on the roof wild (1. 119-123) This seed is one of the foundational pieces of the whole play, perhaps its most important. at that place are numerous bits to analyze in this passage, ranging from its reflection of the American Dream during theDepressionto the fact that the dream is so repeated among the two men that even dull Lennie has memorized some of it.For our purposes, its very important that this trounce of the bring on is talked about wildly throughout the play it seems like the farm is a dream to George, a hope for Lennie, and (eventually) even a intend for Candy. Its especially interesting that sometimes it seems the farm is the dream that keeps them going, and sometimes it is just a reminder of the lack of usefulness of dreaming. Quote 4 Lennie watched him with wide eyes, and old Candy watched him overly. Lennie express softly, We could live offa the fatta the lan. Sure, said George. All kins a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few ball or something, or some milk. Wed jus live there. Wed die there. There wouldnt be no more runnin round the country and gettin fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, wed have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk hous e. (3. 202-203) The arsehole line of the dream for George is not the absence of work, or the easy living, or even having a surge of money. It is simply grounded in having some place to belong to him and Lennie and Candy.Quote 5 When Candy spoke they both jumped as though they had been caught doing something reprehensible. (3. 212) Dreams are delicate things in the real world, and George and Lennie have always carefully kept their plan a secret. Faced with the gaze of someone from the immaterial world, the men seem ashamed. The real world they live in would neer allow or look kindly upon such a relieve oneself as their dream, precious as it is to them. Quote 6 They fell into a silence. They looked at one an early(a), amazed. This thing they had never actually believed in was approach path true. (3. 221) On one hand, this could be amazing.On the other hand, were suddenly force to ask whether the dream isnt better off as a dream, something they can believe and imagine thats b igger and better than any reality. One might argue that when Candy gets close to George and Lennie, he spoils the dream of the farm by making it a genuine possibility (and ironically, something that could be a disappointment), rather than an ongoing and eternal hope. Quote 7 Crooks hesitated. If you guys would want a hand to work for naughtjust his keep, why Id come an lend a hand. I aint so crippled I cant work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to. (4. 88) Dreams are almost infectious. Even Crooks, whom weve barely come to know for his not the person to believe up to now, he seems ready. Its at this point we feel like this thing is really going to happen or that it might just be too good to be true. Quote 8 Crooks called, Candy Huh? Member what I said about hoein and doin odd jobs? Yeah, said Candy. I remember. Well, jus forget it, said Crooks. I didn mean it. Jus foolin. I wouldn want to go no place like that. Well, O. K. , if you feel like that. Goodnight. (4. 148-153) Crookss hope is broken.He can bear on to live on the ranch, seemingly happy to be aloof, but we know from this episode that he stays on the farm because he has no dreams of anything better anymore. He had that dream for a moment again with the other guys, and was quickly pulled back into the vicious world of those with no hope. When you cant even dream, you really dont have anything, and it seems Crookss lot in life is to be resigned to some pitiful nothingness. Quote 9 George said softly, I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed wed never do her. He usta like to cop about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would. (5. 78) Ironically, in the case of the dream farm, it is Lennie who is the main threat to the dreams success, and it is as well Lennie who makes the whole idea worthwhile. Quote 10 Lennie said, George. Yeah? I make another bad thing. It dont make no difference, George said, and he fell silent again. (6. 34-37) It seems now that George has given up o n the dream, nothing much matters. Lennies bad thing obviously makes a great difference, but within the fact of Georges concerns (making their dream a reality), what Lennie did or didnt do doesnt matter. The dream is over.