Another EXAMPLE ESSAY

Right everyone, as promised, here is another example essay answering the question 'Why are Dreams important in 'Of Mice and Men'.

Notice how it follows a repetitive PEE style. Also notice how it links to the CONTEXT of the novel and of the time/place every so often (mainly every paragraph, but that is not quite so necessary) just a few links per essay will be fine.

Feel free to copy the style. Also, feel free to make similar points if a similar question happens to come up on Tuesday.

Lots more materials to be added over the weekend. Probably not 'til tomorrow now, so keep checking back.

Here it is...

Oh yeah, feel free to use the ending too if it is relevant. I like the ending...

Why are dreams important in ‘Of Mice and Men’?

One of the main reasons that people emigrated to America in the early part of the 20^th century was to follow the American dream. Many used to believe, and some still do, that America offers people opportunities to find wealth and rewards for their hard work in a way that their homelands do not. Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men have their own personal dreams, goals and ambitions which reflect their belief that the American Dream is a possibility for them if they work hard and don’t give up. In this essay, I will simply analyse some of the dreams which the characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ have, and why they are important to the story and wider context of the novel.

One of the main dreams which we are introduced to in the novel is the one which George and Lennie have about buying their ‘own place’, as this is one of the main features of the plot. At first, this dream does not appear to be taken particularly seriously by George. When we first hear him talk about it, Lennie says ‘Tell it like you done before’ and George seems generally agitated, which implies that their dream is little more than a tired old bedtime story to keep Lennie happy. This is important because it shows us how people in the social position of George and Lennie can not realistically or easily hope to be home or landowners. It is only people such as ‘The Boss’ who get to own land in 1930s America. The boss is never actually named, which implies that the author intends him to represent all of the bosses or immoral money-men in America at the time.

Lennie and George’s dream is also important because it is what allows George to keep control over Lennie who would otherwise be very difficult to keep out of trouble. George says on many occasions to Lennie that he ‘won’t get to tend the rabbits’ if he doesn’t stay out of trouble. This is important for many reasons. Firstly, it is a reflection of how little provision there was at the time for dealing with adults with mental illness. Secondly, we it allows us to see the constant problem which faces George in terms of Lennie’s uncontrollable strength. The fact that George has had to come up with a ‘rule’ to stop him from causing serious harm or upset is pivotal to the progression of the plot. When George recounts the ‘Weed’ incident, he impersonates Lennie saying, ‘Just wanted to feel her dress!’ The fact that George has to use an elaborate dream to control his real life situation emphasises the impending danger facing the pair and those around them.

Nevertheless, George and Lennie’s dream takes on more impetus as the novel progresses. Interestingly, George seems to take far more interest in his own dream when he shares it with Candy and is presented with the possibility of a lot of money. Candy offers the pair $350 – over half the money. Up until that point George had been reluctant to allow Candy to share their dream, but after the money is presented to him, George decides to put a time-frame on the realisation of their dream for the first time ever ‘Right squack in one month’. This is important because firstly it shows how little value Candy holds as a person in his own right due to his ‘outsider’ status. If we see this ranch as being a microcosm of the real world, then we could argue that the author is trying to show us how people in 1930s America were only valued by how much money they were worth. Candy should be a character who holds a lot of power due to the fact he is far more wealthy than the other men on the ranch. However, due to his status socially, he is reduced to giving his money away in exchange for a slightly better life than he currently has. Secondly, it is important because it shows that the American Dream is one which is difficult to realise, and often people who are of lower social status will have to stand together in order to achieve what the richer classes have.

This dream is also important in terms of the way Crooks responds to it. Crooks spends all of his time being mistreated and being ‘given hell’, just because of the colour of his skin. However, Crooks responds to the idea of this dream saying that he will work, ‘just for his keep’. This is important because it shows that Crooks in used to being undervalued on this ranch, and does not expect much at all from life. Secondly, Crooks reacts very badly when Curley’s Wife threatens him, calling him a ‘nigger’. Crooks, at this point, has his dream taken away from him and reverts back to his introverted self. We know this because it says ‘there was no ego’. This shows that Crooks does not cling to hopes or dreams. He is used to his place in life. If we see this ranch as a microcosm, then it seems obvious that the author is trying to say that all black people in southern America at the time were used to being oppressed and downtrodden, and did not follow their dreams because they knew that achieving them was impossible.

One other dream which is important is the dream which Curley’s Wife has, or had, of being in the movies. Firstly, this is important to the storyline because it shows us how much Curley’s wife has had to settle for the life which she has now. We know this because when she speaks to Lennie she tells him, ‘I coulda been in the pitchers’, meaning films. Soon after, she admits that she doesn’t like Curley, saying ‘He ain’t a nice fella’. This is very important because it is a reflection of how unhappy many people on the ranch were, and how they had to simply settle for what they could get. Also, this could be a reflection of the lack of opportunities given to women at the time. Curley’s wife likes to believe that this could have been possible, yet really it was nothing more than an impossible fantasy.

Many of the characters in this novel have dreams. Some are big, like Curley’s Wife’s dream of being in the movies, and some are small, like Whit’s ambition to have one of his letters published in a magazine. Unfortunately for these characters, none of their dreams end up working out. As the title of the book suggests, many of the characters’ ‘best laid plans’ simply fall apart, and they end up getting swallowed up by society in the same way that the water snakes at the end of the novel are swallowed by the heron.