GCSE Of Mice and Men - Curley’s Wife Analysis & Summary
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All dreams in the novella are broken dreams (40 marks)
One of the most prominent themes in the novella, ‘Of Mice and Men’, is the characters’
unattainability of their dream. The 1930’s was a time of economic depression which made the
American dream simply an illusion for workers. In the novella, at one point, many of the
characters are seduced by this dream, however they do not succeed in attaining it.
Initially, the idea of dreams is portrayed through the characters of Lennie and George who share
the dream of owning a ranch themselves and being self-sufficient. George says ‘With us it ain’t
like that. We got a future’. This highlights how he believes that others haven’t achieved their
dreams because they were lonely and didn’t have anyone to share their dreams. However, this is
not the case. In the 1930s, the Wall Street Stock Market crashed, leaving millions unemployed
with money to barely have a livelihood. This meant that people’s main focus was to survive and
their dreams were simply an illusion. Nevertheless, George is hopeful that his dream will come
true if they work hard enough. On the other hand, Lennie is oblivious to the happenings in the
world around him. In the novella, Steinbeck highlights how Lennie shouts “An’ live off the fatta
the lan’”. The quote highlights his enthusiasm towards the dream. Throughout the novella, he
begs George to repeat their dream to him, as if he is reassuring himself that it will come true. Yet
at the end of the novella, Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife which symbolises the ultimate
futility of dreams. George carries out the painful task of killing Lennie to save him from Curley.
Lennie’s death also signifies the death of their dream as their dream was based on their lasting
friendship which ultimately leads to George realising the unattainability of the dream.
Candy’s dream is also a ‘broken dream’. Candy feels like a burden and doesn’t want to be
discarded by the others on the ranch. He tries to be useful but is limited as he is an old man. He
wants to escape the isolation and the difficult life he has on the ranch. He says ‘When they can
me here, I wisht somebody’d shoot me’. He goes onto explain how he is unlikely to ever get a
job if he gets fired. He dreams because he is desperate. At the time, medical services were not as
freely available as it is today; he couldn’t go to a nursing home and he didn’t have anyone to
take care of him. Ageism was also a big issue as older people were disregarded as they didn’t
contribute anything to society; they were seen as a burden. His hopes had initially died when his
shepherd dog was shot after becoming a burden to the ranch workers. The shepherd dog
highlights how Candy felt and how lonely he felt as he didn’t have anyone besides the dog.
However, after wishing to be involved in George and Lennie’s dream, he feels hopeful and is
even willing to contribute towards buying the land for the ranch. Nevertheless, his dream
becomes broken after the death of Lennie.
In the beginning of the novella, Crooks dreams for a future beyond the ranch as he has
experienced extreme racism and is always threatened by other people. In the 1930s, the Jim
Crow Laws made it legal to segregate black people. Ultimately, society believed that they were
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