Hopes, Dreams, and Loss of Hope N the Book of Mice and Men

Hopes, dreams, and loss of hope are very strong characteristics in the book, Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck. George and Lennie are two close friends that are trying to find their way around to get to their dream. They go through some obstacles but try very hard to pursue their dream. In the book the main characters, Lennie Small and George Milton go on a journey and find different places to work so that they can raise enough money to live and purchase a farm to call home. They escape Weed which was the place they originally were at but left because of an incident that occurred. They get a job on a ranch outside of soledad and met new people and made new friends. The way John Steinbeck writes about the topic, characteristics, and dialogue for Of Mice and Men, gives readers an understanding of his perspective on people back then like their dreams and the struggles, mental illness, and survival skills that go along with the era the book is set in. He uses a lot of symbolism, contrast between characters and characterization in the book, he is big on real life problems and situations that happen because of certain actions. John Steinbeck puts reality into the whole book. He shows how hard it is for George and Lennie because of all the problems that they face together. They go through struggles such as when they had to escape the town Weed. George knew Lennier's aunt Clara, she took care of Lennie and when she passed away George took Lennie in. Lennie is not the smartest and does things that he doesnt mean to do. In weed he saw a girl wearing a red dress and he wanted to feel the material of the dress but the girl got scared and accused him of sexual harassment. They had to flee the town before they got caught and got sent to jail. George gets mad and is always trying to keep him out of trouble because of what he does. George tells Lennie what to do in order for them to not have problems occur. In the book george told lennie to, remember so that they dont get in no trouble. Lennie tends to forget things so George constantly repeats himself because he doesnt want him causing problems for them. Lennie is portrayed as an autistic adult and the era that the book is based in is an era where people would lock up mentally ill people because they thought they were crazy. George made sure nobody would realize what was wrong with Lennie. When they went to work on the farm george told Lennie, you just stand there and dont say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are we wont get the job. George knows they really need the money but if the boss thinks Lennie is crazy he wont provide them with a job. Without George, Lennie would most likely be placed in jail or an asylum by the time his Aunt Clara passed away. George talks abouts how, If he was alone he would live so easy. How there would be no mess. He says he would uses his monthly pay on cat houses but instead he has to deal with Lennie all the time. If he was to lose a job then so would George because they stick together.

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