“Of Mice and Men” Limitations on the American Dream: Race and Gender

Character Descriptions and the Pursuit of the American Dream

The book "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck is about two friends, George and Lennie. George is described as "small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Now Lennie was the exact opposite; he was said to be "Shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders. They both are trying to achieve the American dream, living off the fat of the land. However, many people think that gender limits access to the American dream.

Race is what limits access to the American dream.

Gender as a Potential Barrier to the American Dream

Some may argue that gender is what limits access to the American dream. Gender is what limits access to the American dream in the book "Of Mice and Men" because Curley's Wife is always moving around to where all the guys are because she is lonely. She talks about how she had a chance to be a movie star and a famous person. She states, "'Nother time I met a gym and he was in pitchers. Went out to the Riverside Dance Palace with him. He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural. Soon he got back to Hollywood. He was gonna write to me about it. I never got that letter" (Steinbeck 88).

Curley's Wife's Unfulfilled Dreams and Power Dynamics

Explaining that she had a chance of getting her American dream, but it was taken from her because the man didn't write back. After that, she states, "So I married Curley. I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella." (Steinbeck 89). She then talks about how she could have had nice clothes, big hotels, pictures taken of her, and had all those nice amenities if the man had written back, but gender is the largest factor in making the American dream unattainable in the book "Of Mice and Men. " This is because they portray Crooks as the scum of the earth. Curley's wife states, "You know what I could do? I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny" (Steinbeck 81). In that quote, she is saying that she could have him hanged whenever she wanted it to happen. Even though she is a woman, she could lie to the boss and have Crooks hanged. This shows that race limits access to the American dream more than gender does.

Race as the Predominant Barrier to the American Dream

The American dream is limited because of race. Race limits access to the American dream in the book "Of Mice and Men" because everyone had power over blacks in that time period. Even women had more power than a black. In the book Curley's Wife says, "You know what I can do to you if you open your trap" (Steinbeck 80). Here she is threatening him, saying that she could do anything she wants to him and not get in trouble. This means that a woman who is of the opposite gender is more powerful than a black, opposite race. This means that race limits access to the American dream more than gender does. Next, Crooks is shown to be very lonely and keeps to himself.

Crooks' Loneliness and Exclusion from Society

He doesn't like people being in his room. He wants to have friends, but Crooks states, "They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black" (Steinbeck 68). It shows Crooks, a stable black buck, not being able to just sit at a table and throw cards around. It means that he isn't even allowed to live life. Having fun is a part of the American dream also. If you own land and animals and don't have to work for anyone except yourself, life is good, but life is almost perfect when you're having fun. This shows that race limits access to the American dream.

References

1. Steinbeck, John. "Of Mice and Men". Penguin, 1993.
2. Shillinglaw, Susan. "On Reading Of Mice and Men." Steinbeck Review, vol. 10, no. 2, 2013, pp. 1-5.
3. Ditsky, John. "John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men." The Explicator, vol. 61, no. 3, 2003, pp. 155-157.
4. Swain, Gwenyth. "Chasing the American Dream." Minnesota History, vol. 62, no. 8, 2011, pp. 308-317.

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