Of Mice and Men on the American Dream

Of Mice and Men The American day vision cite 1 I remember approximately the rabbits, George. The hell with the rabbits. Thats all you can always remember is them rabbits. (1. 18-19) This is the first mention we arrive at of the American inspiration. Even from the introduction, it seems Lennie is to a greater extent excited than George some the prospect. Georges easy dismissal of them rabbits makes it seem as though he thinks the whole thing is silly. This will vanquish more difficult as we realize that George might be as excited about the dream as Lennie it seems he is right more cautious about that excitement, wedded that hes more knowledgeable than his companion.Quote 2 Well, we aint got any, George exploded. What eer we aint got, thats what you want. God a mighty, if I was alone I could support so easy. I could go get a think over an work, an no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty dollar bill bucks and go into town and ge t whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a bagnio all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An I could do all that every damn month. feel a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play card game or shoot pool. Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennies face was drawn in with terror. An whatta I got, George went on furiously. I got you You cant keep a job and you lose me ever job I get. Jus keep me shovin all over the country all the time. (1. 89) George explodes at Lennie and rattles off what he supposes to be the dream-life of a travelling worker without any burdens (like Lennie). George dreams of a c arfree life and is careful to punctuate 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 fit of a cres 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, said George, well have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, well just take the hell with goin to work, and well build up a fire in the stove and set around it an try to the rain comin down on the roofNuts (1. 119-123) This seed is one of the foundational pieces of the whole play, perhaps its most important. in that location are numerous bits to analyze in this passage, ranging from its reflection of the American Dream during the notionto 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 talk of the acquire is talked about wildly throughout the play it seems like the farm is a dream to George, a entrust for Lennie, and (eventually) even a contrive for Candy. Its especially en consanguinedle 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 too. Lennie said 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 eggs or something, or some milk. Wed jus live there. Wed belong there. There wouldnt be no more runnin round the country and gettin fed by a sapidity cook. No, sir, wed have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house. (3. 202-203) The buttocks line of the dream for George is not the absence of work, or the easy living, or even having a softwood 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 outside world, the men seem ashamed. The real world they live in would neer allow or look kindly upon such a trifle as their dream, precious as it is to them. Quote 6 They fell into a silence. They looked at one other, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true. (3. 221) On one hand, this could be amazing.On the other hand, were suddenly squeeze to ask whether the dream isnt better off as a dream, something they can believe and imagine thats bigger and better than any reality. One might argue that when Candy g ets 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), or else than an ongoing and eternal hope. Quote 7 Crooks hesitated. If you guys would want a hand to work for nothingjust 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 only 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? outgrowth what I said about hoein and doin odd jobs? Yeah, said Candy. I remember. Well, jus forget it, said Crooks. I didn wet 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 continue to live on the ranch, seem ingly happy to be aloof, but we know from this contingency 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 hear 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 also Lennie who makes the whole idea worthwhile. Quote 10 Lennie said, George. Yeah? I done 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 on the dream, nothing much matters. Lennies bad thing obviously ma kes a immense 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.