Optimism is the hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. As life happens, there is no way to predict what is going to happen. Optimism is what keeps the hopes of people alive. Even though these two characters seem the same, Lennie should actually be considered more optimistic than Walter because of the dream, their family, and how they are separated because Lennie displays a more optimistic person. Walter, being raised through racism and living through civil rights movement, his background was built in the times of segregation and racism.
Walter, whose occupation is to chauffeur white businessmen around, dreams of a future where he can become financially stable. “Do you know what this money means to me? Do you know what this money can do for us? Mama-Mama-I want so many things. “(73). He has a dream that he thinks about how he will change his families lives. He is so focused on changing his family’s background, that he will take a risk at success to obtain it. Lennie’s focus throughout the story is on the future that he believes is waiting for him and George, a little place that he and George can buy where they can work the land and Lennie can tend the rabbits.
Lennie smiled with this bruised mouth. “I didn’t want no trouble,” he said. He walked toward the door, but just before he came to it, he turned back. “George? ” “What you want? ” “I can still tend the rabbits, George? ” “Sure. You ain’t done nothing wrong. ” “I didn’t mean no harm, George. ” (65-66) Lennie genuinely believes that one day his dream of tending the rabbits will come true. George tells the story of the farm that they are going to own to put an image of happiness into Lennie’s mind. Walter does the same thing to Travis when he learned Travis’s plans for his future Walter asks his son he wants to be when he grows up. Son-son, what do you want be when you grow up? “A bus driver. ” “A what? Man that ain’t nothing to want to be! ” Travis answers that he wants to be a bus driver. Walter who feels disappointed in what his son hopes to be, strives to show his son what is means to have a dream and be financially stable. Walter does just as a parent tells a child about the wonderful things that might happen to them in the future.
Although, the story George tells Lennie makes him truly happy. Later, when it appears that it might actually happen, even George and Candy get excited. Crooks said, ” you say you got the money? “Damn right. We got most of it. Just a little bit more to get. Have it all in one month. George got the land picked out, too. ” … He hesitated. “… If you… guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why i’d come an? lend a hand. “(76) The idea is that hope for the future, even if it seemingly won’t come true, can be a source of happiness that allows the men to escape and think about a time where they are all independent. For a brief time, even Crooks get caught up in the idea when he hears about it from Lennie. For Lennie, the focus is on the rabbits.
For the others, it’s the independence of running their own lives. Walter was never able to attain his dream. He still had hopes, though, that his children would have a chance to see theirs come true. Even though both Beneatha’s dreams of medical school and Walter’s dreams of being a liquor store owner are jeopardized by Walter’s foolish business dealings with the Willy Harris. “THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY FATHER’S FLESH—” p. 128 This allows them to transform to realize that the most important thing in their lives isn’t to be rich as successful people, but to be around the people you love.
While Lennie, an individual who never really knew his family, his life had been composed of him and George going from farm to farm working to make enough money to survive. “George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. ‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to. ” (13-14) Beginning where it ends, guys like George and Lennie are going nowhere.
Even though Lennie has a mental disability, he can’t comprehend the fact that they are on a road to nowhere. He is only has the dream of the farm that he makes George tell him about so he can imagine “tending to the rabbits”. The story of the farm is what motivates Lennie to keep working. While loosing all the money, Walter needs his family to help him through the struggle of the guilt. “Son—I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppersbut ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ’em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor.
We ain’t never been that– dead inside. ” Beneatha: Well-we are dead now. All the talk about dreams and sunlight that does on in this house. It’s all dead now. ” (143) While they were able to make it by on what they had before, Mama assured walter to know that it can’t get any worse. Mama knew the importance of family from the beginning and how they need to stay together. She creates the backbone for the family’s relationship and keeps their spirits high. Lennie although, through everything that happened never lost sight of the dream he wanted. “Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now. ” “Sure right now.
I gotta. We gotta. ” (106) Even though George killed Lennie out of mercy. Lennie died with the dream of tending to the rabbits. The sole thing that he cared about the most in his life. Since Lennie from beginning to end always wanted to be on the imaginary farm, he shows how optimistic he really is. Walter lost his chance to pursue his own dream, but became educated about what the most important thing in his life. While the world is filled with opportunity, hope is what allows people to endure through their everyday struggles. Lennie’s eagerness for a small dream of owning rabbits on a little farm of his and George’s own.
Depicted as their American Dream, the farm creates hope for both men and, later, for others on the ranch. “O. K. Somedaywe’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’a cow and some pigs and—” “An’ live off the fatta the lan’,” Lennie shouted. “An’ have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that George. ” “Why’n’t you do it yourself? You know all of it. ” “No… you tell it.
It ain’t the same if I tell it. Go on… George. How | get to tend the rabbits. ” (1. 119-123) It is a hope of overcoming the terrible loneliness to learn what is really important to them. While walter gives up on his dream of owning a liquor store, he did it for the success of his family. Mama: “Son–I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers, but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ’em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. We ain’t never been that– dead inside. ” Beneatha: “Well—we are dead now.
All the talk about dreams and sunlight that does on in this house. It’s all dead now. ” (143) In the beginning, Walter was very narrow minded on his dream, believing that it is the only way for his family to become economically independent. Lennie on the other hand, never lost the sight of his dreams. Even to the point where he was murdered by the only person left who truly cared for him, he never stopped yearning to tend to the rabbits. The last thing that Lennie heard was the dream of the small fat of land that he and George were going to buy together. “Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be.
We gonna get a little place. ” George raised the gun and his hand shook… (105) While never really being able to obtain their utopia of rabbits, Lennie still believed that one day he would truly get to tend to his own rabbits. While both men exhibit optimism in their lives, lennie proves to be the more optimistic of the two. While both having dreams, Walter ultimately gave up on his dream of having a liquor store and lennie believed wholeheartedly in his till the very end of his life. With their own dreams and families, lennie proved to be the more optimistic character by never losing his hope.
