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Ambition In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Ambition has been humanity’s spark for the fire of innovation since the beginning of time. It’s power has fueled advancements in technology and forged modern society from the invention of the wheel to the discovery of the science behind rocket engines. This desire to succeed, an innate characteristic that connects people across the world, is passed on quietly through the writer’s pen tinted by their own personal experiences. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, this ambition finds its way onto the pages in a twisted form of the American dream. Lennie Small, a large man with a child’s mind, and his friend and caretaker George Milton wander the California countryside in the 1930’s looking for work. The duo clings to Lennie’s dream to own a couple acres …show more content…
Not long after a fluke meeting with an escaped convict in a cemetery by his home, Pip is summoned to the Satis House, a once magnificent mansion owned by Miss Havisham, the wealthiest woman around, to play with her adopted daughter Estella, whom Miss Havisham is raising to break men’s hearts. Pip comes several times, falling in love with the cold-hearted Estella, but eventually becomes his step-brother Joe’s apprentice to become a blacksmith, forever changed by his experience at the Satis house and his new desire to be a gentleman worthy of Estella’s love. Pip’s ambition separates him from Joe and his childhood friend Biddy while planting the idea of superiority. When he loses his fortune, he goes home to find that Joe and Biddy had moved on without him. Despite being completely different, Steinbeck and Dickens made clear statements regarding their characters’ desire to achieve. Both Of Mice and Men and Great Expectations warn against the romanticization of ambition and assert ambition comes at the great cost of one’s relationships with

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III
 24
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 Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:49 PM Comment: TITLE
SHOULD
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