The Theme Of Failure In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In order to prevent this agony from befalling his dear friend, George took it upon himself to kill Lennie with a quick, painless death by shooting him in the back of the head. This form of killing someone results in a painless, instantaneous death, as by shooting in the back of the head as done by George and Carlson, the spinal cord is obliterated, instantly killing the victim, so that they feel nothing. George decided to kill Lennie at his very happiest, while he was thinking about their plans for their piece of land. In doing so, George prevented Lennie from causing any harm to anyone else, or himself. He also saved Lennie from any grief or pain from being executed or shot by someone without sympathy, as well as having Lennie know of his death. One moment, Lennie was bubbling over taking care of his rabbits, the next he was dead, blissfully unaware of dying. This is the noblest motive for killing, and one that was highly justified by George, as well as preferable for Lennie. "And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie 's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred and then settled slowly forward to the sand, he lay without quivering."(p. 106)

One of the major themes of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men is that having a dream breeds hope, friendship, and determination, enabling one to strive onward in life with a sense of importance. Three examples show this idea, Candy’s loss of his dog and joining George and Lennie’s dream of owning land, Crook’s memory of his father’s chicken ranch, and George and Lennie owning their own place. These display the theme that having high aspirations breed hope, friendship, and determination, enabling one to strive onward with a sense of self-worth or importance.

In today’s world, humans in many areas are able to succeed in achieving even their wildest dreams. However, some unfortunate people have illnesses or setbacks in their life that prohibits them to achieve those dreams. In literature, authors will often use these challenges that people could have to create tragic events that shatter the main character’s goals. John Steinbeck’s protagonist, Lennie, in, “Of Mice and Men,” and Daniel Keyes protagonist, Charlie, in, “Flowers for Algernon,” both attempt to achieve nearly impossible dreams, which ultimately end in tragedy and sorrow, but impacts Charlie’s broken dream was more devastating.

In advance George had already suspected that Lennie will get in trouble and orders Lennie, "Lennie- if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush...Hide in the brush till I come for you. Can you do that?" (Steinbeck 15). George does not want the incident from The Weed to happen again. This time he is being more cautious of Lennie. (for then their dream can come true, if they don't keep running) There is many soft items on the ranch that Lennie can feel, and get in trouble, foreshadowing this area George told Lennie could be used at another time in the story. Later into the story, all the men go out into town, besides Lennie who was forced to stay. He meets Crooks and they have a small conversation, Crooks asks,“‘Well s’pose ,jus' s'pose he don't come back, What you do then?’" (Steinbeck 72). Lennie was being teased by Crooks, with Lennie having a childlike mind, he believes what Crooks had told him and gets him upset and frustrated. When Crooks kept telling him “what if…”. Which by the end of the book did come true when Lennie was killed by George. George left Lennie so that he can leave this world peacefully. Now that Lennie was gone, it is just easier to give up rather than keep going on with the

Hard work and dedication are ways to achieve your dreams or goal. You need both to achieve your dreams or goals. When you have a certain goal you’ll be motivated to work hard, and you’ll be dedicated to achieve the dream or goal. In the book “Of Mice and Men” written by John Stienbeck, the characters George & Lennie, and Curley’s wife had dreams and goals that are motivators.

“So you forgot that awready, did you? I gotta tell you again , do I ? Jesus christ, you're a crazy bastard!” George says (4-5). You can infer that the two characters have some issues with each other. In Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck shows the weaknesses that most of the characters have and the trials they face with those weaknesses. The characters such as Lennie, Crooks and Candy all have something that happens to them in the story that brings out their weaknesses. John Steinbeck portrays the effects that weak people reveal through the characters Lennie, Crooks and Candy.

George is left with the tough decision on whether or not to kill Lennie. He chooses to kill. George does the right thing because Lennie could be kept in prison, beaten or killed, and he has no use. To begin with, Lennie has committed a crime and could very well be kept in prison. For a guy like him, prison is no place to spend.

Aspirations of success often drive individuals toward success. However if one only focuses on their dreams and not on working to achieve their goals, they will not be successful. Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck in their respective novels Great Expectations and Of Mice and Men, use their main characters failures in manifesting their aspirations to warn about the dangers of aspiring about the future and not focusing on success in the present.

Your hopes and dreams are bound to go up in flames, so there’s no reason to strive towards them in the first place. It would be cruel to announce this to anyone, but reality declares this statement loudly along with a slap to the face. The novella Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a parable about what it means to be human and the inevitable struggle of loneliness, sacrifice, dignity, and hope. He explores the relationship between the mercilessness of reality and the struggle of man to fulfill their aspirations. Despite a person’s most unswerving dedication, Steinbeck stresses the impracticalities of dreams and where they will lead in the long run.

“Then he replaced his hat, pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knees and embraced them. Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly” (Steinbeck 4). Despite his large frame and age, Lennie is still unable to completely think for himself and will follow his companion’s example for guidance. He is still learning to live in a world that is harsh and selfish. Yet only a few chapters later, Lennie has accidentally killed Curley’s wife. Instead of panicking, Lennie merely apologizes to her and is more worried about George’s reaction. “‘I don’t want ta hurt you,’ he said, ‘but George’ll be mad if ya yell’” (Steinbeck, 91). Unlike an adult, Lennie fears his parent (George), more than the law itself. Like a child, he will do anything to avoid his parent’s wrath, even if it is something morally wrong. And before Lennie and George arrive at the ranch, George asks Lennie what he will do when questioned by the boss. He surprisingly remembers George’s instructions from before. “George gestured with his spoon. ‘What you gonna say tomorrow when the boss asks you questions?’ Lennie stopped chewing and swallowed. His face was concentrated. ‘I...I ain’t gonna...say a word’ ‘Good boy!’” (Steinbeck 15). Because no one else besides George will care for Lennie, Lennie feels that everything

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is proven to be an unobtainable commodity, as the attempt at living a fulfilling life by George and Lennie is mercilessly destroyed due to behavior derived from eccentricity and madness. Lennie’s eccentric behavior ceases George and Lennie’s dreams of buying their own farm and achieving the life they wanted and deserved. Lennie’s illogical actions, however, are not Lennie’s fault, as his mental handicaps, compounded by the unfavorable situations he is put in, are what induce Lennie to fail at succeeding in his goals. Although Lennie puts in an earnest effort in making his aspirations a reality, his coming up short resembles much of what the lower class experience when chasing their

When we try to chase our dreams, we end up in our own diminutive lonely world. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, has taught readers that the American dream can only ever be accomplished through hard work and determination. More times than others, we are distracted by the dream itself, and don’t chase the reality, which can then lead to high expectations, and without hard determination, that can then failure. In the end, we have been lonely for so long, chasing a dream, that when reality hits us, we become isolated and lonely. For George and Lennie, they have each other, until the American dream seemed too hard to chase.

The forest came alive in the night, sounds coming from this way and that. George crept onto his knees again, staring straight ahead, seemingly haunted from the rabbit made of bad memories and smoke. In a shaky voice, George said “I hadda Lennie. You know I did. And I know what I hav’ ta do now too Lennie, I do.” And with that statement, George groped on the ground for his fallen gun. His hand brushed the leather, and he grasped the handle and pulled the gun up to his temple with a steady hand.

Hopes and dreams can be very important for peoples’ needs and survival. In Steinbeck’s story, Of Mice and Men, each of the main characters is driven by their hopes and dreams; it provides a sense of motivation and animation to each of their being. From Lennie and George being driven by their hopes and dreams of owning a farm, to Curley’s wife’s dreams of becoming an actress, having dreams plays an essential role in giving hope to the characters of Steinbeck’s story. Although dreams and hopes are essential themes in Steinbeck’s story, in a sense, Steinbeck does seem to emphasize that dreams are not meant to be achieved, and that there are other factors that are essential for survival. I believe Steinbeck included their dreams to give

There are certain goals that others have. To own a house, to work at their dream job, or even just to be happy. The dreams or goals of the two main characters, Lennie and George, was to own their own land, and be their own boss. The goals that these two characters had -Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck- was normal for this time. Lennie had needed help for a long time, so George helped him out. They travel and find work together, and most of all look after eachother, like they are brothers. The two find a small town where they can work as farm hands, of course there was trouble along the way and George had to help Lennie get out of it. The story ends in tragedy and the goals were not reached by Lennie but maybe George. Dream as big as you can, work really hard to try to achieve that goal.