What is the American Dream? The term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America which was written in 1931. He states:"The American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be betterand richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according toability or achievement. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages, buta dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able toachieve the fullest stature of which they are capable of, and be recognizedby others for what they are, regardless of the circumstances of birth orposition." These are wonderful sentiments, but as is suggested by the title of the book,a fragment of a longer quote from a poem by robert burns:'the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry'.........these dreams aredestined to fail. The book 'Of Mice and Men' was written in 1936, at the height of the greatdepression, when hardship and isolation had made the lives of itenerantworkers in mid-America harsh and emotionally crippled. You only have to lookat the last page to understand how seperated these men have become fromwhat we would consider to be normal human compassion. When Curly andCarlson find George sitting traumatized near Lennie's dead body, Carlsonasks -'Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?'Under these circumstances it is amazing that the ideals of The AmericanDream lived on at all, but George and Lennie's dream of havin 'a little house'and living 'off the fatta the