Thematic Analysis – “The Lottery” Have you ever wondered why your parents made up the story of Santa when we were little? We have a bunch of traditions that we never really question or think why they are there. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story that is a perfect example of people not thinking of traditions. The short story is about a community who sacrifices a member of the community, picked by a draw, in belief they will have a good harvest. The theme of “The Lottery” is society’s resistance to change.
It is human nature to have dreams, or the hopes one has for the future. Even dreams that are never accomplished are good, because they keep people going on when they normally would have given up. Dreams are something to look forward to, something to fantasize about. A dream is something one indulges in, to escape momentarily from life. In the book, Of Mice and Men, dreams are what every character seems to be craving.
According to George, they were going to lynch Spencer 2 Lennie. George telles lennie this story about a ranch with chickens, crops and rabbits. All Lennie seems to care about is the rabbits. I’m really starting to think there is something really wrong with this guy Lennie. When we get to our new job, George has instructed me not to talk.
His life has almost no chance of improving. While in Crooks’ room, Candy and Lennie talk about their plan to buy a plot of land for them and George to live and farm on. As Crooks hears, he asks if he could come with them; he explains that he could help in the garden or any odd jobs. Before Candy or Lennie could answer, Curly’s wife enters the room looking for Curly. She begins talking to them and calls them “bindle-stiffs.” Eventually Crooks had enough of her and stood up for himself “You got no rights comin’ in a colored man’s room… get out quick” (88).
Dreams is also linked in with the bunkhouse because this is where George and Lennie discuss their dream ‘of living on the fat of the land’ ‘ Lennie tending the rabbits’ but candy over hears their conversation and wants to be part of their dream. This adds to the tragedy of the story when Lennie dies, because of this now all three of them have shattered dreams. This could show how the people during the American dreams back in the 1930’s do have hopes and dreams but most of their dreams do not come
"Where's Candy!" George asked. "Inside the house" Lennie replied. George didn't understand what was happening. He was on his dream farm, Candy was there, and Lennie was alive!
“Hopes and dreams help people to survive even if they never become real” – “Of mice and men” In the novel “Of mice and men”, there are many examples where characters have dreams but reality is different. George and Lennie, dream about getting their own farm, but this dream is different for everyone, George dreams about farm without a boss as well as he dreams about place where they can do everything they want, to live there without any restrictions. “An’ it’d be our own, an’ nobody could can us. If we don’t like a guy we can say ‘Get the hell out’, and by God he’s got to do it An’ if a friend’ come along, why we’d have an extra bunk, an’ we’d say, ‘Why don’t you spen’ the night?’ an’ by God he would.”. This quotation shows that he tries
George and Lennie know that their dream will take time and hard work. George and Lennie in the story Of Mice and Men, reveal the challenges and struggles one must go through because the American Dream is so difficult to attain. John Steinbeck wanted to show you the amount of work and heart you have to give to conquer your dreams; that most people cannot overcome the work you have to go through because they are too lazy or that something goes wrong and it is no longer attainable. For George, it was the death of Lennie that made the American Dream unattainable. Overall, the American Dream is different for everyone, but it is still a great challenge and it is hard to accomplish for
George says on page 12, “Where the hell could you go?...How’d you eat. You ain’t got sense enough to find nothing to eat.” Lennie doesn’t have any skills to live without George which makes it hard for George to not feel bad about him. On page 22 “Lennie smiled to himself. “Strong as a bull,”” he repeated. George scowled at him, and Lennie dropped his head in shame at having forgotten.” Lennie forgets sometimes what he is told, and the while the results of these
George had to kill Lennie instead of the other guys dealing with Lennie. Without the other main benefactor to the dream, George realized that he would never be anything but a migrant worker. “ The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”, Robert Burns’ TO A MOUSE. The title of the book comes from this quote, which means no matter how carefully a project is planned, something can always go wrong. George believed his plans were going to be successful but he learned that seldom are dreams