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Laser engelska c pa distans fran Sverige medan jag smeker strander och smuttar cocktails har i Tahoe, rapport pa John Steinbecks bok Of Mice and Men finns till forfogande for den som ar intresserad. Helt ok bok!

Book Report - Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Professor Bernard E Damsell

Joanna Gillisson EN1203 Lesson 2

10/10/2011

Dreams

Dreaming is essential for all humans. In the 1930s, the depression swept over the United States and people were suffering. In this pitiless period of time, John Steinbeck wrote a novel called Of Mice and Men that vividly reflected the tough reality in which the people of that time were forced to live. The main characters of the story were two men who traveled together, looking for farm work in their world filled with prejudice, segregation, and poverty. Along the way, they interacted with different characters who all were struggling on with their harsh lives for one mutual reason; they all had dreams. The message given in the story is that dreams are an essential component of people’s lives if one wishes to feel alive and not only live.

George Milton and Lennie Small, the main characters, are the first two people in the book to use dreams to alleviate the hardness of their reality. George, who is a smart and normal sized man, makes all decisions for his mentally handicapped friend called Lennie, who is a very large set man. Together they dream of getting their own piece of land to ply and live off. The thought of becoming independent and free provides hope to George’s miserable life, while Lennie longs for a farm full of rabbits to pet every day. In the beginning of the book, Lennie convinced George to tell a story about their dream, “Someday –we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and – live of the fatta the lan” (15). George appeared reluctant when he first began to speak, but as he moved on with the story, both men gradually built up a passionate vision of success within themselves. For a minute they forgot about their miserable lives as struggling farm workers with no home and their minds were instantly filled with energy and an incredible love for living.

Further on, George and Lennie started working on a farm a few miles south of Soledad, CA. At the farm, a number of new characters are introduced to the story. One of them is an old man named Candy. In his younger days, Candy lost a hand while bucking barley and therefore he was not able to do any heavy labor. Out of guilt, the landowner let him stay to help with easy tasks on the farm, despite his disability. The old man lived a very deplorable life and thought about his future with a great amount of despair. He was afraid of getting too old to be able to work on the farm and therefore, end up all alone. When Lennie reveals his and George’s secret plans about getting a place of their own, Candy instantly starts fantasizing about joining them. Suddenly, his dull reality is lightened and he can finally feel hope in his life. A dream is born in the old man’s mind.

At the farm, another dejected man was introduced as one of the workers. His name was Crook, and he was the only African American at the ranch. Due to his race, he was not allowed to stay in the bunkhouse with the other workers. Instead, he had his own little shed near a horse barn.  Even though Crook did not exactly enjoy reading, shelves filled with books decorated the walls of his room. He would only read due to drabness since being alone every night was a monotonous and dull existence, which he greatly detested.  One night, Lennie paid a visit to the black man’s place. Crook was at first skeptic about the unexpected call, but the two men sat down together. Soon, Lennie started talking about his and George’s dream of getting a piece of land together. Crook was at first doubtful to the possibility of reaching such a seemingly tough goal, but as Lennie explained further, Crook’s attitude softened. Soon he asked “…If you… guys would want a hand to work for nothing –just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can’t work lika a son-of-a-bitch if I want to” (75). For a moment, a small fire was lit in the miserable man’s mind as he fantasized about having some place to belong. Soon, he got his senses back together, claimed he’d just been “fooling” and that he didn’t want to go to no place like that. A dream that so rapidly snuck into his life and lightened his senses was sadly killed by deeply rooted negativity which caused him to fall back to his ordinary, dull state of mind.

A woman referred to as “Curley’s wife” is another character seduced by the intense power of dreams.  As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a successful and wealthy actress In Hollywood. Instead, she ended up marrying Curley, and felt cursed with a monotonous life at the farm. When talking about her dreams, her eyes sparkled. “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes – all them nice clothes that they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me. When they had them previews I coulda went to them an’ spoke in the radio, an’ it wouldn’ta cost me cent because I was in the pitcher” (86). Regardless of her depressed reality, Curley’s wife seemed filled with delight when fantasizing about her teenage dreams. Dreaming made her forget about her sorrows for a minute, and provided a pleasant amount of hope to her life.

Obviously, the novel suggests that having a dream is a vital component when trying to live a joyful life. What kept George and Lennie busy trying to make a living, despite their depressing life situation, was their dream of one day having a place of their own. The two farm workers, Candy and Crook, were also mesmerized by this attractive idea, and their tired minds suddenly sparkled when they were introduced to these amazing future plans. When Curley’s wife fantasized about a life in Hollywood, her mind also received enjoyable amounts of endorphin. All these examples from the book suggests that even in the most unsatisfying environments, people can still feel inspiration and hope, as long as they have a dream.

Works Cited

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. USA, Covici, Friede, Inc, 1937. Press.