Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck Essay -- English Literature

Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck 1. How significant is the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men? 2. To what extent is it correct that The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman and Of Mice and Men explore important, but different aspects of ‘The American Dream’? 3. What is the importance of dreams and dreaming to the success of Of Mice and Men? A. Background Information Describe the historical background to the novel i.e. the USA in the mid/late 1930’s The USA of the mid and late 1930 was still suffering from the Great Depression. Many thousands were unemployed and had lost their homes. These people would often wander around the country, searching for jobs and a place to rest. John Steinbeck clearly outlines the lives of these men, traveling around from one job to the next, in his book Of Mice and Men. The depression had been caused by the stock market crash in 1929. Most Americans blamed President Hoover because he had been the President at the time and did know what to do about it. The Midwest suffered even more as the dust bowl crisis came into play. As the employees were dependant on their jobs employers could easily cut wages or even make them move at their will. When Roosevelt came into office he initiated many government programs supporting the suffering Americans. B. Summary Write a plot summary George Milton and Lennie Small, two migrant workers, arrive south of Soledad and spend a night next to Salinas River. As the two settle down it becomes clear that Lennie, a tall man with a â€Å"shapeless† face, has some sort of mental disability while George is relatively short and seems rather intelligent. Lennie also seems dependant of George as he looks out for him and helps h... ...ackground and makes a fortune. This still does not enable him to reach what he is actually longing for, his love Daisy. He has no reputation and does not belong to the American aristocracy and exactly that is what keeps him from fulfilling his dream. At last he dies in protecting Daisy. This seems extremely unfair and is clearly a criticism on this aspect of the American Dream. All of these three different books have given different views on the American Dream and spotlighted on different aspects of it. Every single one of these aspects is as important as the other ones no matter whether they are critical or have a positive message towards the American Dream. Some of these seem to overlap and contradict but overall it becomes very clear when looking at all three pieces of writing what the flaws of the American Dream are and what is so special about it.