What Suggests That The Dream Of The Farm Is Unrealistic?
Jason Spencer
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1) What information leads one to believe that the dream of the farm is not possible? They did not produce enough money to make their ambition a reality in the time that they had available. The fact that Lennie had a lot of “mishaps” and legal problems at the same time made it impossible for the two of them to ever settle down in the same location.
What does the dream farm represent in Of Mice and Men?
The Farm That George Always Describes to Lennie The farm that George always describes to Lennie, which consists of a few acres of land on which they would produce their own food and look to their own cattle, is one of the most evocative symbols in the novel.
It seduces not only the other characters but also the reader, who, like the guys, wants to believe in the prospect of the free, ideal existence it offers. Almost immediately, Candy is captivated by the idea, and even cynical Crooks hopes that Lennie and George would allow him to reside there as well.
The farm is an utopia for men who want to be in charge of their own life because it offers the opportunity for freedom, self-sufficiency, and protection from the harshness that exists in the outside world.
Is George and Lennie’s dream achievable?
How exactly does Steinbeck illustrate this point? After Lennie has murdered Curley’s wife, the fantasy that George and Lennie had together can no longer come true. George is unable to picture himself continuing on without Lennie, and as a result, he comes to the realization that the dream was never truly achievable. This exemplifies the helplessness many guys like them feel about their lives.
What is George and Lennie’s dream farm?
Their hope is that one day they would buy their own home and nurture a variety of animals on their farm. They will cultivate a vegetable patch and have access to delicious meals. Most significantly, in this dream Lennie gets to tend all the bunnies. There is nothing else in the world that could possibly make Lennie happier than if he were able to care for the bunnies.
Does George Believe in the dream?
An Overview and Critical Discussion The Analysis Conducted in Chapter 3 In Chapter 2, Lennie had a premonition that they were not in a secure environment at the ranch. This prophecy is fulfilled in chapter 3, which details a series of events that are sinister and violent in nature.
- Both the untimely demise of Candy’s dog and the accidental crushing of Curley’s hand are examples of events that have consequences in the long run.
- These disturbing pictures are counterbalanced by Lennie’s joy at being able to buy a dog and by the hope that they would soon be able to purchase their dream farm.
This contrast of sad passages with sequences full of hope tends to strengthen the reader’s sense of trepidation rather than reducing the sense of foreboding that is created by the reading experience. The chapter comes to a close with Lennie (as well as George’s) assertions that Lennie did not want to damage anybody, foreshadowing events that would take place in the following chapters.
Steinbeck goes on to elaborate on the nature of George and Lennie’s friendship in the context of George’s conversation with Slim. When George informs Slim about the event that had place by the river, he makes it very apparent how much he relies on Lennie. The statement that “he’ll do any darn thing I” was made by George.
The reader can see here that George takes pleasure in the opportunity to not only provide Lennie with advise, but also to take leadership of the situation. Lennie gives George stature. But these days, George is careful with the influence he has because he appreciates the fact that Lennie is not a malicious person and would never purposefully injure another person.
What George does not appear to understand is how dangerous Lennie’s power may be; this is a threat that is made plain by Steinbeck when Lennie smashes Curley’s hand. George does not appear to recognize this. Because he demonstrates what a ranch hand does in his spare time when he’s not working, the supporting character Whit takes on a more significant role in this scene.
On the weekends, Whit enjoys reading pulp magazines, playing cards, and visiting either Clara or Susy at their respective homes. As an illustration of Steinbeck’s point that sometimes our best intentions can be hurt by the human need for instant gratification or relief from boredom, he simply lives for today without any thought for his future and without any concern for saving money.
- This character exemplifies Steinbeck’s point that sometimes our best intentions can be hurt by the human need for these things.
- The men’s sentiments regarding Curley’s wife are discussed many times in this chapter, providing a substantial amount of foreshadowing.
- Whit inquires of George as to whether or not he has seen her and offers a judgment on how she presents herself.
The other guys follow Curley to the barn because they think there will be a fight there and instinctively assume that she is in the barn with Slim. Curley’s assumption is confirmed when he finds her there. George insults Curley’s wife by referring to her as jailbait, and he decides not to go to the barn.
In addition to that, he discusses the case of Andy Cushman, a guy who is now doing time in jail due to a “tart.” Steinbeck is trying to convey the message that something dreadful is about to take place, and that Curley’s wife will be implicated, through each and every one of these occurrences. In this chapter, the sadness is alleviated by the optimistic preparation that the three men, George, Lennie, and Candy are doing toward the achievement of their objective.
With Candy’s contribution serving as the initial down payment, George feels, for the very first time in his life, that the dream may actually come true. He is aware of a property that they may be able to purchase, which raises the readers’ expectations as well.
The men then proceed to carefully plan how they would acquire the ranch and what they will do with it once it is in their possession. The most of the chapter is filled with gloom, despite the fact that Steinbeck does include this hopeful narrative. The fact that Candy’s dog was killed by a bullet, as well as Curley’s hand being smashed, is a portent that the guys would not be able to achieve their goal.
The fact that Carlson shot Candy’s dog demonstrates both his callousness and the fact that old age and illness are a fact of life. Carlson makes the offer to shoot the elderly dog despite his numerous complaints about the odor. He relentlessly pursues Candy, and the manner in which Candy responds is reflected in the adjectives that Steinbeck employs to describe how Candy appears: “uneasily,” “optimistically,” and “hopelessly.” Candy tries to get Slim’s assistance, but Slim himself suggests that it would be best to euthanize the dog.
When Candy thinks about his own future, he repeats the words of Slim, who says, “I hope somebody’d shoot me if I become old and a cripple.” Slim says these words at one point in the story. The image of a macho man that Carlson embodies is a cliché. He is tireless in his pursuit of the dog’s demise, but it is more for his personal satisfaction (he despises the dog’s stench) than for the sake of putting the creature out of its agony.
He instantly and forcefully proclaims that he possesses a Luger that is capable of doing the job, and Slim needs to remind him to bring a shovel so that Candy would not be exposed to the sight of the dead body. Even after the deed is done, Carlson takes the time to clean his rifle in front of Candy.
Although it’s possible that putting the dog out of its agony by killing it was the kindest thing to do, the fact that Candy, who had spent her entire life caring for the dog, isn’t given any consideration suggests that she isn’t. Now Candy is in the same position as the rest of them, which is alone. The harsh and dangerous life of a ranch worker is depicted by Carlson’s acts, and it is then brought up once more with Curley’s treatment of Lennie as if he were an animal.
To be continued on the following page.
What does the dream farm symbolize?
“O.K. One day—we’re going to get the money together, and we’re going to have a small house on a couple of acres, along with a cow, some pigs, and—” When George and Lennie first arrive in Salinas, they spend the night in the woods by the river before beginning work at the new ranch.
- This is the first time the readers learn about the farm owned by George and Lennie.
- After disagreeing over the obstacles that Lennie brings into George’s life, George begins to feel awful, and Lennie sees his advantage and promptly asks George to tell him about their dream farm.
- Right from this initial statement, it’s evident that George and Lennie’s farm symbolizes their ambition, a hope, and a light in their arduous, sometimes bleak lives as migrant ranch laborers.
In these lines, George and Lennie almost rhythmically rehash descriptions of the life they seek as a method of clutching at hope and comfort amid moments of instability and struggle. As soon as George announces that they are “going to have a tiny house and a couple of acres,” he instantly emphasizes how land ownership is genuinely the desire of the majority of agricultural employees during this period.
His voice was becoming warmer. “Also, we might be able to keep a few pigs. I could build a smoke house like the one gran’pa had, an’ when we slaughter a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and make sausage an’ things like that.”, After George had cautioned Lennie about Curley and Curley’s wife as they wait in the bunkhouse, Lennie asks George, “How long is it going to be till we get that small place?” This indicates that Lennie is likely dissatisfied with their current living arrangement.
This fantasy farm again symbolizes George and Lennie’s escape from their reality; it exists in their thoughts as a comfort they may resort to when they feel terrified, anxious, or despairing. Every time George describes the property, he seems to grow enthralled as he adds fresh, absurd aspects to the idea.
In fact, George and Lennie are so engaged in their fantasy that they don’t notice that Candy, who is also yearning for some hope in his gloomy existence, is listening to their description of the farm. “If I give you folks my money, maybe you’ll let me hoe in the garden even if I ain’t no good at it. If not, I’ll just give you guys my money.
And I’ll do minor things like wash dishes and take care of the chicken. However, I will be living at our own apartment, and I will be permitted to work at our own location “. George got to his feet. “We’ll do her,” he replied. “We’ll fix up that small old place, and we’ll move in there once it’s ready,” they said.
- Once more, he took a seat.
- Each one of their thoughts was transported to the time in the future when this wonderful event should take place, and as a result, they were all unable to move from their seated positions.
- In this part of the conversation, Candy asks George and Lennie whether he can participate in their plan to buy a small farm.
If they say yes, he will be able to contribute financial resources toward making their dream a possibility. “They all sat still, all puzzled by the beauty of the idea,” because the three guys had realized that this strategy now has the potential to actually be implemented.
Candy now associates the same feelings of optimism and brightness with the dream farm that she did in the past with George and Lennie. In addition, Candy describes his worry that he would become helpless as he gets older and describes how the farm stands for a permanent home to which he will belong and to which he will be able to contribute.
However, as Candy becomes a part of this dream, it leaves George and Lennie’s dream farm vulnerable to destruction. This is due to the fact that their dream farm no longer exists in the bubble of George and Lennie’s minds, but rather has become a more real thing that can actually be taken away from them.
- I witnessed an excessive number of individuals who had land in their heads.
- They never manage to obtain any in their possession.” When Lennie and Candy tell Crooks their ideas for the dream farm, Crooks provides them with a dose of cold, hard reality by pointing out that the vast majority of individuals fail to realize their goals of acquiring their own piece of property.
However, as Candy persists and continues to convey this hypothetical dream farm to Crooks, a flicker of optimism and possibility even spreads to Crooks, and shortly after, he requests to join in their plan. Now, in the midst of an impossible circumstance, George and Lennie’s farm stands as a symbol of hope and opportunity.
- Unfortunately, shortly after that, Curley’s wife appears on the scene and dashes any hope Crooks may have had of escaping his reality.
- This serves as a portent of the farm’s precariousness and eventual demise.
- Now Candy had the courage to speak his worst fear.
- George, I was wondering whether you and I might purchase that quaint little inn together.
You an’ me can go there an’ live lovely, can’t we, George? Are we able to?” Candy and George are shown here standing over the lifeless body of Curley’s wife while they consider their next course of action. During these fleeting but peaceful moments, Candy poses the question that everyone, including the reader, is dying to have answered, despite the fact that they are already aware of the answers.
In this conversation between George and Candy, George and Lennie’s farm, which was once a symbol of their hopes and dreams, is now a symbol of the destruction of a dream, the destruction of their hope, and the loss of a friendship that made George and Candy believe in the possibility of their dream.
Candy and George both believe that their dream will be destroyed. Here, George comes clean and says that, somewhere deep down, he has always known that the farm will never become a reality, but that now, with Lennie gone, it can’t even be a dream.
What does the dream farm represent to Lennie?
George and Lennie have a shared fantasy of one day being able to afford their very own plot of land on which they can establish a self-sufficient farm and, as the phrase goes, “live off the fatta the lan.” The collapse of the American Dream, as symbolized by their fictitious farm, is a particularly bleak reality considering that the novella is set during the Great Depression.
What does Lennie’s death represent?
The story comes to an end when George decides to put an end to Lennie in an effort to put everything back in order. The idea of passing away is prevalent throughout the entirety of the book, and it reaches its climax with Lennie’s passing at the hands of his closest friend, George.
- George distracts Lennie from the hostile crowd that is closing in on them by talking to him calmly about the farm that they will possess in the future.
- Lennie’s attention is drawn away from the gun that George is holding in his hand.
- The final words that Lennie speaks are about how delighted he is to care the bunnies on his and George’s future farm, but the viewer is aware that this dream will never come true.
The events that lead up to Lennie’s demise are hinted at quite a bit in earlier chapters of the book. One of the other characters in the book, Slim, implies that there are certain species that are not strong enough to survive in this environment. He claims that it was good of him to drown his dog’s newborn puppies because his dog was unable to care for them and feed them properly.
Because Lennie is similarly naive, defenseless, and unable to deal with the world on his own, the reader is led to believe that putting an end to his life could be the most kind thing to do. This prediction is strengthened when Carlson kills Candy’s old dog, and Candy later tells George that he wishes he had killed the dog himself instead of letting Carlson do it.
This is the most significant piece of evidence suggesting that George will be the one to murder Lennie. George may legally be Lennie’s murderer, but he is also Lennie’s savior in the sense that he saves his buddy from a more gruesome death. This is because George prevents Lennie from being killed by someone else.
As soon as Lennie inadvertently murders Curley’s wife, Lennie’s demise seems a certain conclusion; yet, George takes precautions to ensure that Lennie will not be killed by Curley and the other men in his gang. In this case, George’s decision to take Lennie’s life was the kindest thing he could have done because Lennie’s passing represents the end of the American ideal.
The farm that Lennie and George often spoke about visiting, but neither one of them ever makes it there. In the beginning of the book, Lennie expresses his desire for something more, but by the end of the book, he has lost his dreams along with himself.
- Due to the fact that it occurs at the very end of the book, the death of Lennie is not an essential part of the story.
- Instead, there is a significant emphasis placed throughout the book on George and his activities, ideas, and dreams.
- This is due to the fact that George is symbolic of the American idealist, a guy who is working to improve his life and the lives of others around him.
The main character is named George, and his sidekick is a man named Lennie. Https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/foreshadowing/
Why can’t Curley’s wife achieve her dream?
In the novel “Of Mice and Men,” Curley’s wife defines success as becoming a renowned actress and establishing her own identity apart from her husband. The girl Curley married when she was just fifteen years old had aspirations of becoming a well-known actress in Hollywood.
However, Lennie was the one who ended her life, which resulted in Lennie’s aspirations becoming shattered. In the years leading up to her passing, her mother and husband repressed her, preventing her from achieving the happiness she craved and contributing to her increasingly gloomy disposition. According to Curley’s wife, being successful means having a successful acting career, maintaining one’s freedom, and avoiding being oppressed.
The opportunity for Curley’s wife to pursue her American Dream of becoming an actress, with the assistance of another actor and a contractor, was presented to her, and she took advantage of it. When the circus arrived, an actor approached her and told her, “Says I could go with that performance.” He then offered her a position with the circus (Steinbeck 88).
This demonstrates that she had the potential to pursue a career in acting but was unable to do so because to her show’s additional material That of her young age, her mother does not let her pursue a career in acting. “She (mother) says because I was on’y fifteen years old,” she once said (Steinbeck 89).
This demonstrates that her mother is a barrier to her achievement and that she has been hindered from realizing the American Dream as a result of her mother’s actions. This is more evidence that Curley’s wife desires independence, which can be traced back to her mother’s tendency to coddle her.
- As a direct result of this, Curley’s Wife is compelled to leave since her mother has a disdainful attitude toward her desire.
- She comes to the conclusion that she needs to go away from her mother and find a location where she won’t be hindered in her efforts to better herself.
- Well, I wasn’t going to remain any place where I couldn’t.make something of myself,” she says (Steinbeck 88).
This highlights the difficulty she faces in achieving her goals because her mother’s influence rendered her ambitions of becoming an actor irrelevant. This further demonstrates the intricacy of her predicament, which has resulted in her being forced to live a life of subjugation and the loss of her individual identity.
What might George and Lennie’s dream of a farm and living off the fat of the land represent?
It also means that Lennie and George believe they will be able to survive and prosper by simply relying on what they can grow and raise – that the land is so “fat” that they will not require anything else to be happy. This is relevant to the case of Lennie and George and their dream for a place of their own.
What is Curley’s wife’s name?
Obituary Candice Brown passed away on August 26, 1935 at the age of 20 after having her neck broken by Lennie Small on August 26, 1935. Candice Brown was born on July 6, 1915 in Sacremento, California. Her immediate family consisted of her husband, Curley Brown, her parents, Lucy and Joe Smith, and her younger sister, Joanna.
Her extended family also included Curley Brown. At the time of her passing, she was living at Curley farm in Salinas Valley, California, where she was jobless. Candice did not complete any of her education. She spent her childhood in Sacremento, California with her parents up until 1933, when she tied the knot with Curley.
She first became acquainted with him on a journey that their family had taken to Salinas Valley to see other members of their family. Candice was a member of a girl’s nature club while she lived in Sacremento. She passed away while still residing with Curley on the property he owned in Salinas Valley.
Why is George and Lennie’s dream so important to them?
In the novel “Of Mice and Men,” it appears as though there should be an unbreakable rule of nature that dreams should never be realized. The characters’ deepest, most treasured ambitions almost never come true, whether it is George and Lennie’s ranch or Curley’s wife becoming a famous actress.
- On the other hand, the fact that individuals continue to dream despite the fact that there is no longer any chance of their actualizing their aspirations implies that there is some significance to dreaming in their life.
- What the characters finally fail to recognize is that in the harsh world of Steinbeck’s novel, dreams are not just a source of happiness but also a cause of pain.
This is something that the characters fail to perceive. Dreams serve as a helpful tool for the characters in Of Mice and Men because they illustrate the various routes to happiness that are open to humans. Dreams help Lennie, George, and the others comprehend both where they are and where they are headed in the same way that a map might assist a person in locating himself while out on the road.
- In this work, many of the dreams include a geographical component; they are not only goals to be accomplished but also locations to be visited.
- The fact that George’s ranch, the primary focus of the novel, is a physical location as opposed to a character or an object highlights the significance of the book’s geographical component.
Goals transform the lives of the characters, which would otherwise be aimless wanderings, into journeys with a purpose as the characters take pride in activities that promote the realization of their dreams and reject actions that do not assist the attainment of their dreams.
- The men’s lives take on more significance now that they have a destination in mind.
- When others begin to believe in the dream-space that George has created, it becomes almost more real to them than the farm they work at.
- This phenomenon is illustrated by Candy’s constant “figuring” about how to make good on their fantasy.
In fact, when others begin to believe in the dream-space that George has created, it becomes almost more real to them than the farm they work at. Dreams enable the characters to think that the decisions they make in their waking lives have the potential to have real-world consequences, which in turn helps them feel like more active players in their own lives.
They also assist the protagonists in overcoming suffering and adversity, which prevents the characters from giving in to the challenges they confront on a consistent basis. When things look the darkest, George and Lennie call upon their ranch as if it were a magic wand that may alleviate some of the everyday hardship and injustices they face.
It seems like George and Lennie rely on their dreams as a type of therapy since they nearly always daydream about the ranch after some terrible occurrence or at the end of a hard day. This suggests that they use their dreams as a kind of salve. The hope of one day owning a ranch provides George, Lennie, Candy, and the rest of the gang with a destination to strive towards and the motivation to keep fighting even when things don’t look promising.
- However, by the time the reader reaches the conclusion of the novel, Steinbeck illustrates that dreams may be harmful as well as helpful.
- What George finds out, and what Crooks already seems to know when he scornfully rejects Candy’s offer to join him, Lennie, and George, is that dreams are frequently merely an articulation of what never can be.
This is something that George discovers, and what Crooks already seems to know when he rejects Candy’s offer. When this occurs, dreams turn into a source of extreme resentment since they have the ability to convince cynical guys to believe in them and then make fun of those men for their gullibility.
The devotion of the employees to Western periodicals hints exactly at this kind of connection to their dreams: When no one else is watching, each of them will sneer at the magazines in public, but when no one else is looking, they will manage to sneak furtive looks at them, as if they secretly want to be the cowboy heroes of pulp literature.
No one seems to understand this resentment better than Crooks, whose sullen self-loathing is never stronger than when he lets himself believe in Lennie’s dream, only to be brutally reminded by Curley’s wife that he is not entitled to happiness in a world dominated by white men.
- Crooks’s sullen self-loathing is never stronger than when he lets himself believe in Lennie’s dream.
- In the end, the things that George and Lennie value the most—their fantasies of ranches and rabbits—are the exact things that bring about their downfall.
- George allows himself to be deceived by how near he believes he is to attaining his ideal, and as a result, he believes that Lennie is capable of minding his own business and staying out of trouble, despite the fact that previous experiences demonstrate that this is not the case.
In the end, George is not driven to despair by Lennie’s passing because he will never again have access to the ranch; rather, he is driven to despair because he will never again have access to his friend, who was the one good reality in George’s life and the one reality that redeemed George from being worthless.
What is Steinbeck message about the American Dream?
However, Steinbeck argues in Of Mice and Men that despite the fact that the American Dream has, at best, been an illusion and, at worst, been a trap throughout the entirety of American history, unachievable dreams are still, in a way, necessary in order to make life in the United States bearable. This idea is especially prevalent during the Great Depression.
What was George and Lennie’s dream quote?
George shares with Lennie his vision of the American Dream, which includes a home that the two of them can call their own and in which they are free to choose whether or not to engage in paid labor and to come and go as they want. This is only a pipe dream that will never be realized.