Great Depression In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men expresses the hardships that the American population faced during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Great Depression was the longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western world. Of Mice and Men expresses the idea of dreams. The main characters, George and Lennie, as well as Crooks and Curley’s wife are examples of people who had dreams that never came true. This was the case for many Americans during the Great Depression. A thorough analysis of the novel concludes that in times of adversity, dreams were the only thing people had to comfort themselves even though those hopes coming true are impossible.
Crooks is a lonely black man living on the ranch. His dream is to be a …show more content…
The paradise-like qualities of the farm start to show when it is described by George. They dreamed they could have all the food they ever want and need, “We could live offa the fatta the lan” (57). When George talked about the farm, he described it was well as reminisced about the events from his childhood, “An’ we’d keep a few pigeons to go flyin’ around the win’mill like they done when I was a kid” (57). Both characters’ dreams were unrealistic because they were migrant workers and George ended up killing Lennie. but all they could do was to yearn for a better future. Most migrant workers had no family or home and always had to work under the control of their boss. So, having power over what they wanted to do in their lives was a strong motivation for them.
In conclusion, Of Mice and Men is a story about dreams and how some of them are, in fact, impossible. Crooks could not be noticed or be a part of something because of his skin color. Curley’s wife’s dream was not able to transpire because she is a woman and was not able to be noticed by many people. George and Lennie’s dream did not come true because they were migrant workers who were always on the move. The dreams of the characters in Of Mice and Men gave them the hope that they needed to continue in such a harsh time
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