Dreams Can't Always Come True
People always want "the best" for themselves and their kin. Such is evident anywhere you look. This dream that people have for themselves is often called the "American Dream," and it is all that drives some people to continue on. Such is the case for Lenny and George in "Of Mice and Men," where they have to travel from city to city simply trying to save money to achieve their dream: a farm to themselves. Yet, along the course of this journey, they cause or encounter an endless string of set-backs, so much so that their dream appears impossible to reach--a horizon too far gone--and in the end, it simply isn't a dream that they can achieve. This realization comes to everyone on the farm that they work on in the story: they'll never get their dream. Candy sees this; George sees this; Curly's Wife sees this; Curly sees this; Crooks sees this; everyone sees it. You simply cannot put in your back-breaking work for forty years, retire and die. There's too many factors of the struggle for jobs, the bills to pay, and the inconveniences along the way.
Courtney realizes this, and discovers how people might be able to achieve their dream: by simply doing what housewives do. They work occasionally to support their family; they will spend plenty of time at home to be a mother, and they will also coordinate a personal life with the time you have left. It's something that people dream of: to be able to keep yourself busy, but also have time for yourself. If only people back then had been able to manage it. It's only with the modern advancements, and the years of stagnation, that people have come to understand how to keep themselves healthy and happy. Back then, it was simply about making due, and survival. In "Of Mice and Men," this dream is impossible to achieve, because of the prerequisite of social mobility--something that people don't have access to in modern times. It's something that requires you to be able to save up more than you earn in order to pay for more than you can. Society is too rigid to be used in this way. Thus, it is common for people's dreams to eventually crumble before them.
George and Lenny's dream is a humble one, and not unlike others that people have: to not have to answer to a boss, and live a simple life. This dream seems to have gone away to most, and it takes new approaches such as those that Courtney discovered: just make it work. Perhaps it is just that, that George had to simplify his life in order to make things work. He often spoke of how his life could have been so much easier if he did not have to care for Lenny at all hours to keep him from causing havoc. Not everyone can achieve their dream; it's because joy is a finite commodity. Not everyone is able to have some. And if people are able to sacrifice theirs so that others may have it, then perhaps the present may allow the future to live in a more glorious land, where all can enjoy freedom and splendor.
Courtney realizes this, and discovers how people might be able to achieve their dream: by simply doing what housewives do. They work occasionally to support their family; they will spend plenty of time at home to be a mother, and they will also coordinate a personal life with the time you have left. It's something that people dream of: to be able to keep yourself busy, but also have time for yourself. If only people back then had been able to manage it. It's only with the modern advancements, and the years of stagnation, that people have come to understand how to keep themselves healthy and happy. Back then, it was simply about making due, and survival. In "Of Mice and Men," this dream is impossible to achieve, because of the prerequisite of social mobility--something that people don't have access to in modern times. It's something that requires you to be able to save up more than you earn in order to pay for more than you can. Society is too rigid to be used in this way. Thus, it is common for people's dreams to eventually crumble before them.
George and Lenny's dream is a humble one, and not unlike others that people have: to not have to answer to a boss, and live a simple life. This dream seems to have gone away to most, and it takes new approaches such as those that Courtney discovered: just make it work. Perhaps it is just that, that George had to simplify his life in order to make things work. He often spoke of how his life could have been so much easier if he did not have to care for Lenny at all hours to keep him from causing havoc. Not everyone can achieve their dream; it's because joy is a finite commodity. Not everyone is able to have some. And if people are able to sacrifice theirs so that others may have it, then perhaps the present may allow the future to live in a more glorious land, where all can enjoy freedom and splendor.