Of Mice and Men is a story that shows the reality of the American dream. The American Dream is a desired lifestyle that has been ingrained in American society since the dawn of this country. It is perceived as an idea of ​​equal opportunity for any individual in America to achieve their most desired aspirations and goals. George and Lennie's ideal American dream is to own a ranch with lots of rabbits and other animals to take care of. In Lennie's words, he states, "OK, one day we'll get it all together and have a little house and a couple of acres and a cow and some pigs and..." "And we'll live off the lan'," Lennie shouted. “And catch rabbits” (Steinbeck 14). While this seems realistic, Lennie's mental disability and oblivious mindset prevent this dream from being achievable for George and Lennie. This book depicts the theme that the desired American Dream is only realistic for healthy, white males. Of Mice and Men is set during the times of racial and sexist prejudice during the Great Depression, so the minorities in the book could not get the life they wanted. For example, Curley's wife wanted to be an actress, but couldn't have that life, as Curley controlled her and took advantage of her. Curley's wife comments, “What do you think I am, a little girl? I tell you I could have gone with the shows. And not even a single one. And a boy told me he could put me in the jugs” (Steinbeck 38). Overall, Lennie and George were unable to have the life they wanted due to Lennie's mental disability. Only white, healthy males had the opportunity to live the American Dream lifestyle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To develop this theme, Steinbeck uses Imagery. Imagery, in this story, is used to describe Lennie's physical appearance. Steinbeck writes: “Behind him walked his opposite, a huge, shapeless-faced man, with large clear eyes and broad, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, like a bear drags its paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung freely” (Steinbeck 2). The meaning of this quote shows that Lennie is a huge man capable of doing harm. Throughout the story we see multiple occasions where Lennie kills small animals because he doesn't fully understand the extent of the damage; especially to the smallest things about him. Realistically, most people understand the breaking point of objects and animals, but due to Lennie's mental disability, he cannot understand it. This gets Lennie into a lot of trouble later in the book. In fact, due to his inability to understand this, he kills Curley's wife by shaking her hard. Lennie didn't kill her on purpose. He was so overwhelmed by the softness of Curley's wife's hair that he grabbed her too hard, causing her to scream. To stop her from screaming, Lennie covered her mouth and shook her, which broke her neck and killed her. This was the main reason that made Lennie and George's American dream unattainable. Figurative language also contributed to developing the theme. Steinbeck uses metaphors to describe Lennie's appearance. In Steinbeck's words, "... snorting in the water like a horse" (Steinbeck 4), and, "Lennie dipped his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water came up in little splashes" (Steinbeck 4). Throughout the story, Lennie is often compared and referenced to animals and/or animal-like traits. This form of figurative language associates Lennie with nature and the animals around him. As a result, this seems to distance him from other workers and bind him., 25(3), 463-469.