Futile dreams in Of mice and men Essay

How far do you think Steinbeck presents dreams as futile in of mice and men? Steinbeck presents a lot of dreams as futile in his novel of Mice and Men. All the characters dreams are different in their own personal way but all of their dreams come to be in a different place to where they are at now. They all yearn for something better in their lives. The underlying theme of futile dreams in this novel is expressed throughout Steinbeck’s novel throughout many characters. The main dream in the novel of mice and men is that of George and Lennie living of the â€Å"fatta the lan'† getting their own place, being self-sufficient and not have to work on the ranch. The two of them are best friends and how different they may seem in the novel they both share this common goal; â€Å"Some day 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 and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows they have thought about what they want in every little detail and truly believe it will happen. Their ambition, as they put it, is to â€Å"Get the jack together,† purchase a few acres of land and call it their own. They want to be in their own little place where they are not scrutinised by society; to be away for others in the big wide world where it seems Lennie is not supposed to be. George and Lennie are not unique in wanting this dream but unique in the fact that they have each other and can rest on each other through their dream. They want to be in a place with no rules or regulations. This dream is so appealing that Candy and Crooks want to join the dream of owning their own farm. This is because George and Lennie are close to reaching their dream so Candy and Crooks can actually be part of it for once instead of dreaming it; they can create it. This dream of George and Lennie also appeals to them as they can refer to the same things that they want for themselves but have never had the chance to go ahead with or the chance to achieve that goal. However, perhaps this dream only appeals to them because they see it as something that can be reached and will not remain a dream. They want to be able to live out this dream even if it is someone else’s. In section three, a section of narration shows how much they all want this dream; â€Å"They all sat still, all bemused by the beauty of the thing; each mind was popped into the future when this lovely thing should come about.† This quote shows that they all want this dream so much and really believe it will happen as it is no longer a dream as it says ‘when’ it will come about and not ‘if’. Steinbeck presents this dream of Lennie and George as being futile by speaking through Crooks when he says that he’s; â€Å"seen hundreds of men come by road an’ on the ranches, with bindles on their backs an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; every damn one of em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a god damn one of the get it. Just like Heaven,† by this quote I feel that Crooks has best summed up this dream as futile as he shows he has wised up to the dream and is starting to have second thoughts of joining them in the dream. He is brought back to the present when he figures that Lennie and George are just like the rest of the men that come on the ranch with a ‘little piece of land in his head’ and that their goal is never achieved. He is treating Lennie and George like their stereotype. Candy and Crooks want to join in this dream for different reasons; Crooks does not want to be an outcast anymore and wants to feel accepted in some way, Candy wants to join to have something to take his mind of his dog (his only companion) being killed. Although these are the main reasons Crooks and Candy want to join in these dreams they both come down to one thing. They don’t want to be alone. Unlike Lennie, Curley’s wife wants to experience the world for herself and has already had the opportunity of becoming the next up and coming movie star where she ‘coulda been in the pitchers’ snatched away from her; â€Å"He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural. Soon’ he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it.† Se is a virtual prisoner in her own home with which she has no power to change her fate. Curley’s wife will never live out this dream as she has dedicated the rest if her life to her husband who is unbeknown to her capabilities. She once had a dream but when she married her entire life changed, and not for the better. Curley’s wife has resigned herself to an unfulfilling marriage. What makes all of these dreams typically futile is that the dreamers wish for unbreakable happiness, for the freedom to follow their own desires. George and Lennie’s dream of owning a farm, which would enable them to look after themselves, and, most important, offer them protection from an unwelcoming world, represents a prototypically ideal life. Their journey, which shows George the impossibility of the dream, sadly proves that the bitter Crooks was right; such freedom, contentment, and safety are not to be found. By killing Lennie, George gets rid of a huge burden and a threat to his own life. He is forced to shoot both his companion, who made him different from the other lonely workers, as well as his own dream and admit that it has gone hopelessly wrong. He has the new burden of hopelessness and loneliness. Slim’s comfort at the end of the novel; â€Å"You hadda George† indicates the sad truth that one has to surrender one’s dreams in order to survive, not the easiest thing to do but something that one has no choice but to do in circumstances. Curley’s wife has already had her dream of being an actress pass her by and now must live a life of no hope. Crooks’ situation hints at a much deeper one than that of the white person in a place where black people are discriminated. Through Crooks, Steinbeck exposes the bitterness, the anger, and the helplessness of the black man who struggles to be recognized as a human being, let alone have a place of his own. Crooks’ hopelessness underlies that of George’s and Lennie’s and Candy’s and Curley’s wife’s. But all share the despair of wanting to change the way they live and attain something better; to have a dream. Even Slim, despite his wisdom and confidence towards this unattainable dream, has nothing to call his own and will remain a migrant worker until his death. Slim differs from the others in the fact that he does not seem to want something outside of what he has, he is not beaten by a dream, and he has not relied on a drea m to fulfill his life and is thankful for what he has. Slim seems to have somehow reached the sad conclusion indicated by the novel that to dream leads to, despair and ineffective, Futile dreams that lead to nothing but disappointment. This book makes you decide, should I be realistic or should I try and make my dreams come true?