Hopes And Dreams In John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

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* Assessment Task 4 - Of Mice and Men Essay * Question – Hopes and Dreams help people to survive, even if they can never be realised. Discuss this statement as it is explored by Steinbeck in Of Mice and Men. * Many Americans naively assumed that California was a place where one could start anew and own land. ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a novel that was written, during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. This dream for land and for the happiness and belonging such ownership would provide, was called the American Dream. John Steinbeck portrays the importance of these dreams through his main characters. George and Lennie both share the dream of owning land and Lennie tending…show more content…
At the beginning of the book, Steinbeck introduces Curley’s wife as being a tramp and to be kept away from. George also describes her by saying, *2. "Curley's wife could clear out for twenty bucks." By judging Curley's wife by how she acts, blocks out her real self and hides her real dream. Her real dream becomes more visible only when looking past her outer appearance. Curley’s wife constantly craves attention and always wants someone to talk to. Her self-absorbed personality is shown when she says, *3. " An’ a guy tol’ me he could put me in pitchers . . . .” This made her dream become more apparent because she wants to be noticed. Steinbeck constructs Curley’s wife as a round character, where she has more than one side to her, as she is portrayed as a flirtatious and lonely character but the audience knows that she has had previous experiences to make her feel this way. Curley's wife does try to put herself out and fulfill her American dream. She has always had dreams of being an actress and is not used to this kind of life, she says, *4. "…I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself." She’s disappointed in herself because she believes she could have reached her aspirations if she had not married Curley. She failed her dream when she married Curley, even though she stated that *5. "…He ain't a nice fella" and caused her own demise and thus the complete crushing of her hopes and

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