Juliana Phan
The pursuit of the American Dream, although often exalted as a luxury found exclusively in the United States, rarely lives up to the country’s promises. John Steinbeck addresses this in his novella, Of Mice and Men, through the migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small, who pursue temporary work in a ranch filled with misfits like themselves. Determined to defy society’s expectations and dictate their own futures, George and Lennie struggle to actualize their dreams until their encounter with Curley, the ranch owner’s son, and his wife forces them to face reality. Though the dynamics of the two pairs differ, each character’s underlying desperation to escape the fate tied to their social ranking results in a tragic conclusion to both relationships.
Despite their opposite features and demeanors, George and Lennie depend on each other for company and growth. Lennie, strong but mentally disabled, only ever acts under George’s directions, such as when the pair camps out by the river before arriving at the ranch. Scrutinizing George’s every movement, Lennie “[imitates] George exactly” and “[looks] over to George to see whether he [has] it just right” out of habit (3). In other words, Steinbeck accentuates how George helps Lennie appear “normal” enough to assimilate into daily life. The absence of Lennie, on the other hand, would leave George as apathetic as the other workers. Lennie preserves George’s empathy and capacity for aspirations, such as their dream to purchase their own land and for Lennie to tend to the rabbits. To emphasize, George happily recites that dream to Lennie while in the woods, stating, “‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, they don’t belong no place […] They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to […] With us it ain’t like that. […] We got somebody to talk to that [cares] about us’” (13). Their symbiotic relationship distinguishes them as human amidst the indifferent majority that lives frivolously and for their own self-interest. As a result, Steinbeck demonstrates how George and Lennie enhance each other’s humanity — George’s support bridges the gap between Lennie’s mental disability and the norm, and Lennie’s naivete invokes George’s compassion and anticipation of a better life.
Likewise, Curley’s wife also relies on her husband but for conflicting reasons; Curley, rather than a mental disability, prevents her from integrating into the community. Isolated from other women and surrounded by men, she lives a deprived life monopolized by her jealous, insecure husband. She later confesses to Lennie in the barn after he kills the puppy, “‘I get awful lonely […] I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad’” (82). Unable to converse with others without getting branded as lascivious, she depends on Curley as her only source of social interaction. Thus, contrary to the relationship between George and Lennie, Curley acts as a parasite to his wife instead of a benefactor. A swamper furthers when introducing George and Lennie to the ranch, “‘Seems like Curley is cockier’n ever since he got married’” (25). To elaborate, while his wife’s reputation plummets, Curley uses her as a prop for his own arrogance. The ranch owner’s son reduces his partner to a “tart” insufficient in fulfilling her role as a “trophy wife” and unworthy of a name. Consequently, while George and Lennie make each other more human, Curley deprives his wife of her humanity.
However, in both cases, their relationships function as a temporary solution to their roles in society — George and Lennie yearn to “‘live off the fatta the lan,’” Lennie wants rabbits for the comfort of something to pet, and Curley’s wife wants to be noticed (13). Over the course of the novella, Steinbeck develops how the tragedy of their relationships arises from the fact that factors outside their control make the characters’ desires inherently unattainable. George and Lennie can never purchase their own land because of their poverty and Lennie’s mental disability. Lennie can never tend to the rabbits because his unawareness of his actions and unrestrained strength jeopardize everything he touches, even a dog or a grown woman. Curley’s wife can never receive the attention she seeks because she is just a “tart,” prohibited from talking to other people as Curley’s trophy wife. Ironically, she even pursues a relationship because she “‘wasn’t gonna stay no place where [she] couldn’t get nowhere or make something of [herself],’” but Curley proves to be just as, if not more toxic than the mother and life she fled (84). Despite their constant efforts, Lennie and Curley’s wife only ever inch closer to their goals when dead and therefore, no longer shackled down by social status. Lennie’s dreams become fathomable only when George lies and shoots him to protect him from the wrath of the other ranchers, and only when Curley’s wife becomes a corpse does she look “pretty and simple, […] sweet and young [and] alive” (88). Destinies pre-determined, Lennie and Curley’s wife endure the same misfortune in life, with death acting as their only chance at redemption. Thus, while they diverge in many ways, both relationships end tragically because they begin in a vain attempt to surpass the intrinsic obstacles in themselves and society.
As both Lennie and Curley’s wife eventually die, leaving George and Curley in solitude, the two relationships in Of Mice and Men fail because of their misconceptions that they could change their own lives. Through the representation of the relationships as opposite extremities — George and Lennie inspire each other’s humanity while Curley dehumanizes his wife — Steinbeck verifies that no relationship and no amount of hope or effort could overturn the circumstances established by social hierarchy. Lennie’s death and the serene corpse of Curley’s wife confirm that, in the end, a faith in and desire for the glorious “American Dream” doom both relationships to failure. Therefore, Steinbeck’s work reveals how despite its praise as a beacon of hope, the American Dream that the characters strive for is just that: a dream.
