By the definition of the American dream,“The American dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone”. The American Dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, rather than by chance.” In the novella Of Mice and Men, the concept of the American dream is set by two migrant field workers in California on their plantation during the Great Depression George Milton, an intelligent but uneducated man, and Lennie Small, a bulky, strong man but mentally disable are in Soledad on their way to another part of California. They hope to one day attain the dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream is to tend and pet rabbits on the farm, as he loves touching soft animals, although he always accidentally kills them. This dream is one of Lennie's favorite stories, which George constantly retells. They had fled from Weed after Lennie touched a young woman's dress and would not let go, leading to an accusation of rape. It soon becomes clear that the two are close and George is Lennie's protector, despite his antics. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme Dreams can be unitanible depending on what the scenario is, this is developed through Lennie, Crooks, and Candy. Them all being seen in the novella as disabled in some sort of way.
Lennie Small is a migrant worker who lives in california.He hops around working for various ranches,trying to fulfill the almost impossible dream of owning his own land with his best friend George.Unfortunately Lennie has a mental disability making it hard for him to comprehend social ques and directions from people and bosses, which affects the way people look at him and trust him with work. Although Lennie is a very large man that possesses a lot of strength, its gets overlooked because of his behavior and his actions. Lennie like most people at the time wanted to achieve the american dream. Although this is very challenging for him as his mental disability blockades him from working to his full potential and people don't take him as serious. Many triggers of Lennie's disability can leave him in great danger for other people, as unconsciously he can get nervous and freeze. Not realizing his own strength could leave the person in great harm. Lennie is not safe on his own and needs assistance which his best friend George helps him with. This is shown in the text by Geogre stating, 'Well, we ain't got any,' George exploded. 'Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want. God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cathouse 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. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool.' Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennie's face was drawn in with terror. 'An' whatta I got,' George went on furiously. 'I got you! You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time.' This quote demonstrates that Lennie is a burden on other people's lives especially George, and that the American dream could not be attainable by himself with his mental disability.
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Crooks is a lively, sharp-witted, black stable-hand, who takes his name from his crooked back. He has been dealing with hardships throughout his whole life as segregation was almost at its peak, Crooks was treated very poorly and many people did not respect him or even talk to him. Crooks worked on the ranch with Lennie and George but was isolated from everyone else because of his skin color. His back is crooked and can't help around much at the ranch, him being crippled he is left with no hope for the American dream. Stated in the text, 'I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their back and' that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it.' This quote explains, that crooks seen so many people just like Lennie and George not succeed that he doesn't think it’s possible for anyone. Especially for someone like crooks as he is crippled and black having no chance of attaining the American dream.
Candy is an old ranch worker who has lost one of his hands in a farm accident. He's spent the best years of his life working on someone else's ranch, only to lose his hand and have little money. Candy is washed up, and old leaving him to do very little on the ranch candy wants to retire and be done working for the rest of his life. He is slow on his feet and with one hand no one needs him on the farm. One night he overheard George and Lennie talking about their dream about living on their own ranch and how Lennie can tend the rabbits. Candy likes this idea and offers them a lump sum of cash to offset the balance of him not being to help on the ranch as he is disabled .This is s Candy goes through hardship as well as he had to put his dog down of old age. Although he overcame this and he was still very eager to follow through with the idea of George and Lennies dream. Candy is too old for the life he wants to live out on his remaining years. Stating Candy said miserably, 'You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs. Candy wants to leave the ranch but the sad reality of it is he cant. He stated he will be there until he dies knowing the American dream is out of reach due to his old age and disabilities.
Conclusion
In conclusion the American dream may sound attainable to many different races, cultures and people with disabilities, although the harsh reality of it is that only certain people are able to obtain the American dream. It is hard and long process and some dreams are unattainable by certain scenarios your put into. Whether that be controlled or uncontrolled.
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