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In the literary criticism by Louis Owens, Of Mice and Men: the Dream of Commitment, Owens portrays the American Dream with a biblical Eden. Owens claims that the people in Steinbeck's novel have the curse of Cain, or to wonder in isolation. That's where Lennie and George come into the picture, to defy their curse. Owens states how Lennie and George upon first introduction are different from the other characters in the novel. They have a joint dream that they are committed to see it become a reality. Lennie, according to Owens, resembles the loner of society. He threatens their commitment to the dream that reality fights. George's commitment rises when he kills Lennie, but when Lennie dies their dream dies with him. 2 usable quotes: "George must reenact the crime of Cain to demonstrate the depth of his commitment. It is a frank acceptance of the way things are," (Owens pg. 149). "The dream of George and Lennie represents a desire to defy the curse of Cain and fallen man-to break the pattern of wandering and loneliness imposed on the outcasts and return to the perfect garden," (Owens pg. 146). http://web.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/lrc/pdf?vid=3&hid=123&sid=44d44b9f-8779-4dc6-841c-0ddc9776cc45%40sessionmgr114

In a literary criticism by Charlotte Hadella, she states that the Eden biblical allusion plays a major part in the development of characters and the American Dream. Nearing the end, the Eden myth haunts Lennie and George because of Curly's wife, a woman dictates the failure of their dream. Hadella claims that even before they enter the ranch that their dream begins doomed. While in the ranch, the fact that the land owners that he wants to buy from have to sell raises a red flag on their dream, that if they could make it off the land, how could they possible accomplish that same feat. Yet, that breaking point fact gets overlooked in the pursuit of their dream because if they think on their plan George will see that they are banished from Eden before they can enter. Usable Quotes: "When George talks about the actual farm that he intends to buy for himself and Lennie, he explains to Candy that he can get the place for a really cheap price, "for six hundred bucks. The ole people that owns it is fiat bust." Apparently, the present owners of George's dream farm are not able to live "off the fat of the land," a detail that both he and Candy conveniently overlook,"(Hadella). "The Garden of Eden myth "looms large" in Of Mice and Men, and Steinbeck appropriates Edenic elements to convey his personal interpretation of the American Dream,".

In Brynie's critical analysis of Steinbeck's book, Tortilla Flat, she stated that Tortilla Flat has similar ideas found in Mice and Me. Yet, in this book Steinbeck establishes a frame that later George and Lenny are built upon. George and Lenny don't have a home or security, yet their dream involves what they do not have currently. Also Brynie comments on how Steinbeck favors the poor or natural man in his book and that Steinbeck closely ties his books to religion. From Brynie's critical analysis, the two books, Tortilla Flat and Of Mice and Men display many similar aspects but they are told in different ways to diversify the way of the American Dream. Usable Quotes: "Steinbeck exalts the natural man, untainted by civilization, unspoiled by either conventional wisdom or conventional morality," (Brynie). "It was the first of Steinbeck's novels to look at life through the eyes of those without homes, possessions, or security, and Danny and his friends foreshadow others of their kind who appear powerfully and poignantly," (Brynie).

Argument: The American dream is something that George and Lennie want in their lives. Claim: Each of their "dreams" consists of owning a farm

In the literature critique "Dissent, Assent, and the Body in Nineteen Eighty-Four", Naomi Jacobs analyzes how George Orwell groups the public in what is called the 'Body' in order to explain the totalitarian oppression in Oceania. Both utopian and dysutopian empires utilize the collective mind of the public in order to sway opinions, build ignorance and subjugate the masses. Utopian empires aim to build a country where "suffering is minimized and pleasure is maximized" (Jacobs 1) while on the contrary a dysutopian empire maximizes ignorance in order to keep the masses from questioning the totalitarian authority. Jacobs claims that the government in Oceania created by Orwell uses the degradation of the physical body as another way to homogenize the population in hopes of destroying any outliers that may question the government. While a utopia uses the "powers of eroticism to regenerate the [individual]" (Jacobs 4), Oceania undergoes a change towards uniformity where everyone is described as "small, dark and ill-favored" (1984, Orwell 52-53). A dysutopian government suppresses natural human instincts such as lust and desire as a way to break the all desires of humans such as rebellion and reform. Ultimately, Jacobs argues that Orwell builds a dysutopian government through the use of population homogenization and the suppression of human instincts.