Bhanavi Kinger, 10R
19/03/2012
Dreams and Obstacles in ‘Of Mice and Men’
In the book, ‘Of Mice and Men’, many of the characters dreams are displayed at
various events in the book. Additionally Steinbeck also hints at the inevitability
of the dreams with the dreams remaining unfulfilled by presenting social,
economic or personal obstacles. This helps the reader realise that the American
Dream is just a tool to make the ranch life easier for the characters, and will
never come true.
One of the characters in the novella is Carlson. Despite the fact that he seems
unimportant and lacks insight, he does take part in major events of the book,
such as the shooting of Candy’s dog and having the last word in the book. Even
then he seems to not have any ambition in life and oblivious to the events
surrounding him. He seems to be the ideal ranch worker, fit with enough money
for daily needs. Therefore it can be said that he is content with what he is
earning and therefore is not affected by the American Dream. If he did have
some insight or emotions then a dream would have been possible for the
character thus his character does not have a depth to it and is what can be seen.
The character Whit also only appears once or twice but a hint if his dream is
provided by Steinbeck, unlike Carlson. The character, like many other ranch
men, has no family and a job that cannot be relied on thus it can be said that he
wants to be recognised and acknowledged by the world. This can be seen when
he brings the magazine with Bill Tenner’s letter, “picked up a pulp magazine…
and laid the magazine carefully… did not surrender his hold.” The word
“carefully” displays that he does not want it to get damaged in anyway because
the magazine symbolises hope that his dream will come true eventually.
Similarly the phrase “did not surrender” further re-enforces that the magazine is
hope for Whit because he is not giving up and is very protective of it.
Additionally his excitement and happiness connected to the magazine also
displays that he hopes one day his story will be published and approved by other
ranch men. His dream seems possible when the reader is told the letter by Slim,
“dear editor…” This gives a personal feel because the reader realises how
important the magazine is to all the ranch men, not just Whit. Therefore
Steinbeck tries to display that Whit thinks if one man that he knew could be
acknowledged then so could he therefore he starts to believe more in his dream
and it seems possible to the reader.
However like all the other characters in the book, even Whit has obstacles to
face. The economic obstacle is that Whit cannot avoid the fact that he is an
ordinary ranch worker and will soon have to leave to find a new job therefore it
is practically impossible for him to keep track of the magazine and may not be
able to fulfil his dream at all. This is also a personal obstacle because it shows
that he is already doomed. He is described as “a man with sloping shoulders…”
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displaying that he is an ordinary guy who dreams big which confirms the
inevitability of his dream being fulfilled, due to the fact that he is at the bottom
of the hierarchy and does not have enough of the necessary materials, such as
money, to pursue his dream. Furthermore Steinbeck declares that his dream is
impossible when Whit talks about going to town, “go in to old Susy’s place.
Hell of a nice place,” which displays that he is not even trying to save his
money to pursue his dream but is readily spending it on entertainment. This may
be a necessity for Whit because he needs a distraction from the tough life he is
living, however it also makes his dream impossible.
Slim is an important character but his dreams are limited and realistic. Slim is
described as “godlike” and the reader is told that he is insightful. Thus it
displays that Slim knows that dreams are just an aid to help live the hard life of
a ranch men and that they never come true, thus it can be said that he does not
have a dream. The fact that he does not have a dream does influence his
behaviour but in a positive way because he helps people, “you can have a pup”
and thus has gained respect is looked up to in the ranch. Slim could possibly be
above Curley as well in the hierarchy, but below the Boss. Steinbeck makes it
fairly clear that the reason to Slim not having a dream is the great depression.
Slim understands that people are migrating and therefore a dream is fairly
impossible, therefore his understand is an obstacle to him dreaming, because he
knows reality and what to expect from life. However there is a similarity
between Slim and Candy, they both were in the top of their game and knew
their work well and both have dogs thus Steinbeck may be foreshadowing that
Slim may end up like Candy. Due to the fact that Slim is insightful, the reader
can also interpret that Slim understands this and thus he is not very hopeful
from life.
Another character that seems insignificant is the Boss, Curley’s father. This
character only makes one appearance in the novella therefore it is hard to realise
what his dreams are. However Steinbeck has provided some hints that may
reflect his dreams. Due to the fact that his ranch is still up and running, even
during the great depression may have created a dream to be in charge. This can
be displayed by his actions towards Lennie and George. When he says “Listen
Small!” an intimidating character is displayed. He may have been threatening
because he may have felt threatened by Lennie, due to his big size, and by
George, due to his smart and careful answers, “job was done…promptly”. To
re-enforce the fact that he feared them overpowering him, he used ‘Small’
instead of ‘Lennie’. This could have been a common use in the 1930’s however
it can also be said that the Boss was trying to create a fear in them and remind
them of their low position in the social hierarchy of the ranch so that they do not
cause him any trouble in the near future.
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The fear in the Boss can also be seen through many other characters, such as
Crooks. Crooks is a wise and intelligent character therefore it can be said that
the Boss may feel he will seem more important than him on the ranch thus he
uses the fact that Crooks is black and keeps reminding him of his low position
in the hierarchy, which can be shown by “gave the stable-buck hell”. Similarly
candy is not a threat to the Boss because of his physical disability of having “no
hand”. This can also display that the Boss has let Candy stay on the ranch
because he is of no threat to the Boss. Furthermore Curley and the Boss are
fairly similar, especially with their dream of being looked up to. Due to the fact
that Curley does not like Slim, may indirectly display that the Boss also feels
threatened by Slim and his “god like” character of overpowering him.Apart
from the Boss fearing he may be over-powered an implication of the Boss
fearing his ranch may be in danger is shown in the conversation he has with
George and Lennie. “I wanted two men” portrays that he desperately needs his
ranch to continue working properly. This fear could have been caused by the
great depression at the time because many other ranches were also being
affected. Furthermore if his ranch did have to shut down then his dream would
be prevented from coming true and thus he tries to avoid any obstacles to his
dream.
The cause of both his fears and his dream could have been caused because his
ranch is still functioning properly unlike many other ranches that have had to
shut down. However the dream is then making him react to the obstacles that
come his way. An example of this is with George and Lennie, as mentioned
before, he intimidates them so that they do not result as an obstacle later.
The Boss, apart from keeping the men on the ranch intimidated, he also tries to
please them so that they do not leave the ranch as shown by “gallon of whiskey”
that the Boss treated the workers on Christmas. However only giving the
whiskey occasionally displays that he does not want the men to get out of hand
but stay controlled. Many of the obstacles that the Boss faces can be classified
into social or economic reasons. Social reasons are the men on the ranch that
seem threatening towards the character such as Crooks, Lennie and George. The
economic reason is the great depression that could cause his ranch to shut down
and then preventing his dream from coming true because he will not stay in
charge.
Curley is similar and different to his father in many ways. He has a big role in
the novella because he seems to be the cause to every other fight that takes
place on the ranch. Steinbeck displays him as an unpleasant character therefore
the reader prejudices against him. His dream seems to be to prove himself as
superior to the rest, in size and in the materials he owns. Additionally for Curley
his wife is also a possession because she is treated as an item that he owns.
Thus it is made clear that he is not satisfied by who he is. To avoid people
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noticing that Curley is not as tall and tough as the other ranch men, he wears
“high-heeled boots.” This displays that he wants to seem taller than what he
actually is and therefore is doing things that make him seem slightly insane,
however he is not aware of it. Even if he is aware he feels that none of the ranch
men can stand up against because he is the boss’s son. Additionally he picks
fights with weak victims so that he seems stronger. An example of this stated in
the book is the fight with Lennie. It can be said that he worked out Lennie has a
mental disability therefore he chooses him to seem stronger, “come on, ya big
bastard…” therefore it is displayed at the beginning of the fight the dream is
possible and that Curley can seem superior and stronger because Lennie does
not fight back, “Lennie’s hands remained at his side…” However Steinbeck
makes it clear during the same fight that the dream is impossible, when Lennie
fights back, “Curley was flopping like a fish.” This clearly displays that as
much as Curley tries and will continue to try to seem strong, he will still remain
with the same small body and thus shows that his dream will also not come true.
Furthermore the imagery of crushing Curley’s hand could display the crushing
of his dream. Additionally at the end of the book, Curley gets another chance to
prove himself he is actually more superior to Lennie, “that big son of a bitch
done it,” and he tries to use the situation to seek revenge. However even then
Steinbeck displays that Curley can never actually be tough and in charge,
because George shoots Lennie.
Steinbeck makes it pretty clear that the only obstacle to his dream is Curley
himself, thus in the case of Curley it is a personal obstacle. This could be
because of his short size, “thin young man,” that prevents him from being
intimidating and bullying. However it could also be that instead of being nice
and gaining respect on the ranch, he tries to find weak victims and feel superior,
which prevents any respect from the other ranch men, or even his wife, thus
Steinbeck displays that he will never be able to actually be strong, touch and
superior.
Candy is an important character in the novella however his dream was hinted at
being the same as Lennie’s and George’s dream. This is because of his reaction
when he over-hears Lennie and George discussing their dream farm, “you know
where’s a place like that?” Furthermore it is evident that he feels the dream will
finally come true when he gives his money as part of the total amount for the
land. He plays an important role in their dream because he has provided most of
the money. Furthermore this dream gives him courage to stand up to Curley’s
wife, “I’m going to tell George…”, and gives him hope and confidence that his
life will improve from now. Additionally, due to the fact that he feels lonely
because he has just lost his dog, he also feels a sense of gratitude towards
George and Lennie, for providing him the hope again. Therefore it can be
deduced that the dream seems possible when Candy joins George and Lennie,
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and they have collected enough money, “I bet we could swing her”. At this
point of the novella these three characters are sure that eventually they will be
living the life they want. However after the death of Curley’s wife, the reader,
as well as Candy, realise that this dream was impossible all along due to the fact
that Lennie could not control himself and refrain from getting into trouble.
When Candy says, “poor bastard” it shows that Candy possibly knew all along
that Lennie would be an obstacle however was over-looking it, and keeping his
hopes up high, thus it is evident that Steinbeck is blaming Lennie for Candy’s
dream failing.
Crooks is a character that also understands his position on the ranch and his
limits, therefore similar to Slim, however Crooks does have a dream which is
evident when he talks about his father’s ranch, “my old man had a chicken
ranch…” thus it can be said that he longs to have the ranch his father used to
have and due to social obstacles, such as racism, he is prevented from achieving
his dream. The dream seems possible in section four when he asks Lennie, “if
you guys would want a hand to work for nothing…” Here a sense of irony is
used because he is agreeing to work as a slave for them just to escape from the
ranch. However it also shows how desperate Crooks is to be rescued from the
casual racism that he faces daily in the ranch, and to be accompanied by
someone other than horses. The hope that rises in Crooks influences his
behaviour by making him stand up to Curley’s wife when she intrudes in his
room, “I had enough he said coldly…” The possibility of the dream seeming
possible has provided Crooks hope and thus he is, like Candy, indebted to
George and Lennie for giving him the hope.
Even then, Steinbeck, in the same section, displays that society will never
accept this change and that the dream is impossible. This occurs when Curley’s
wife intimidates Crooks, “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t
even funny…” and makes him realise his position in the ranch in the social
hierarchy. With the excitement of the dream Crooks had started to hope for a
better future, however Curley’s wife reminded him that his colour will always
remain black and thus his position in society will always stay low down in the
hierarchy. It can also be said that Crooks was so shattered that his dream will
always stay a dream because he tries to convince himself, more than Candy, that
he is not interested, “jus forget it… I didn’t mean it. Jus foolin…” To keep his
reputation of being a guy who stays alone and prefers the privacy he uses
double negatives and hides his true feelings, “nobody never gets to heaven…”
This may have been have done by Steinbeck to tell the reader that actually it is
his dream to have land and shelter where he can live a peaceful life but he is
hiding it probably due to his vulnerability on the ranch as well as the fact that he
wants to tell himself that it is impossible. The obstacles to his dream are clearly
social, due to the fact that he is prevented from fulfilling his dream due to his
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skin colour, thus the blame of the dream not coming true is also blamed on the
society in the 1930’s.
George and Lennie are the two main characters due to the fact that the novella is
based on their lives. George and Lennie are different to the other characters
because they travel together, unlike the other ranch men. However both George
and Lennie are totally different characters. Even though George and Lennie
seem to have the same dream of having their own land and being their own
boss, “live off the fatta the land…” they actually have different dreams that they
have out together to make one. George’s dream is to be his own boss and not be
ruled by anyone. However Lennie’s dream is to “tend the rabbits…” Their
distinctive dreams comfort and console both the characters, “George’s voice
became deeper. He repeated the words rhythmically.” The dream is of comfort
to George when dealing with the hard-ships of life and he also uses it to comfort
Lennie, “you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you
tend the rabbits.” The use of “rhythmically” conveys the dream like a hymn
which relaxes them. It also displays that George prefers Lennie’s company to
being alone in the world because he realises that he needs Lennie, which is
displayed by his reaction when Lennie says “I could go off in the hills there.”
Despite the fact that their dream is the most important in the novella because
many characters are dependent on it, it is the most impossible dream. The dream
was created for George, when he realised how isolated he was, even with
Lennie, thus he lengthens the dream every time he recites it just to make it seem
more realistic and to keep himself going in the far-ships of his life, “some
pigs… a pig-pen.” However it can be said that he is dependent on Lennie for
reminding him of the dream farm so that he can console and comfort himself
when reciting it. Lennie is also dependent on George for creating the dream, but
the dream is of so much importance to him that he readily tries to control his
strengths, “covered his face with his huge paws…”, so that George fulfils the
dream for him.
The dream, as mentioned before, seems possible when Candy is ready to give
part of the money to buy the land. At this point in the novella, everything seems
to be going well and the dream finally seems possible for all three characters.
However like every dream in the novella, there are obstacles that prevent them
from coming true, linking it back to the title that shows no one can prevent or
change the inevitable. In this situation of George and Lennie, the obstacle is
Lennie and how he cannot control his strength as much as he tries to, thus being
a personal obstacle. Throughout the book, Steinbeck hints that Lennie will be an
obstacle to the dream due to the fact that he kills many animals, such as mice
and his puppy. However when he kills Curley’s wife, “she struggled violently
under his hands…” the dream seems impossible because Curley was determined
to kill him and it may also cause George to lose his job. It also reduces the
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money that they were going to collect, because now Lennie’s share would not
be there. However the inevitability of the dream was foreshadowed in the fight
between Curley and Lennie, because it displayed how his strength was
uncontrollable and could cause them trouble. Two characters are blamed by
Steinbeck for the failure of this dream. Firstly Lennie, due to his uncontrollable
strength and childlike behaviour, and secondly Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is
almost like a rat trap and even though George tells Lennie to stay away from
her, “don’t you even take a look at that bitch…”, due to her death any chances
of the dream coming true were wiped out, thus she plays a big part in the failure
of the dream.
Curley’s wife is the most misunderstood character in the novella however it is
apparent that she also has dreams. Curley’s wife’s name is never mentioned
thus displays that in the hierarchy of the ranch she is merely Curley’s
possession. Furthermore her age is kept unknown till the end of the book which
causes the reader to prejudice against her. Her dream is fairly clear due to her
appearance, “full, rouged lips… eyes heavily made up… fingernails were
red…hair… like sausages… cotton house dress… red mules… ostrich feathers.”
By her appearance it can be said that she is trying to look glamorous and
attractive. This could display that she wants to be part of the glamorous world,
part of Hollywood. By the muddled up combination of her outfit it can be said
that she is trying to prove herself as stylish in a sexist world, however will
always remain an outcast due to her gender. Additionally the combination of
clothing also displays how young and naïve she actually is but still tries to seem
mature and glamorous. However her dream still remains to be superior, stylish
and be accepted by the world.
The dream does affect Curley’s wife which is shown by the way she dresses.
Additionally by the use of the colour red Steinbeck could be symbolizing lust,
danger, passion and flirtation. It can also indirectly show that Curley’s wife
knows that red is an attractive and bold colour which then helps her gain
attention from the ranch men and help her become the centre of attraction even
if it is not in the glamorous world that she dreams of. However it can also
display that Curley’s wife knows that she attracts the men but they influence
each other and so they avoid her to keep their personality and reputation, thus
displays that Curley’s wife is observant. Furthermore the need for attention also
displays that she is lonely and longs for accompaniment, which is then reenforced when she talks to Lennie, “I met a guy…” Her naivety towards her
dream does become an obstacle for her. An example of this is when she is
telling Lennie her past and mentions, “met a guy… says I was a natural,” which
displays that she believed anyone who she felt would help her achieve her
dream. It also portrays that she lacks understanding of the real world, which
also reflects her young age. Marrying Curley also resulted as an obstacle to her
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dream because she thought it was the easy way out however it only made her
life harder.
Steinbeck blames society for not accepting women, as the reason to the failure
of her dream. This is because if women were accepted then she would not have
had to prove herself and could easily have become an actress if she had the
talent. However, she is portrayed as a naïve character which makes it seem like
a very optimistic dream. Furthermore the dream existing could also be blamed
for the death of Lennie and the loss of George’s dream as it made her have the
desire to be the centre of attraction therefore she tried to look attractive, which
then fascinated Lennie and due to his mental disability caused her death.
In the book, ‘Of Mice and Men’, most of the characters have dreams that
support them through the hard-ships of life. However Steinbeck mentions
obstacles that prevent the dream from occurring which links to the title of the
novella that the inevitable cannot be prevented and that dreams will always stay
dreams. The lack of understanding of the world and dreams always staying
dreams causes problems such as the death of Curley’s wife and Lennie as well
isolation for Crooks and George. However Steinbeck does successfully display
his message that as much as humans plan and try for a successful future, some
unavoidable events destroy the chances of it happening.