Hopes and dreams help people to survive even if they never become real. How far is this true for the characters in Of Mice and Men? Support your ideas with details from writing.
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck here two itinerant ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small share the same American dream. The story is set in California, at the beginning of the 20th century, during the despotic Great depression where dreams and hopes were the only purposes of living. Desires and aspirations are significant in Of Mice and Men. In a world where it is impossible to have a friend, to talk or to listen to somebody, the hope of a dream coming true is the only thing that can keep George, Lennie and Candy going on, surviving in that hostile environment.
George Milton fantasizes about having “a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens”, helping him to withstand in his precarious situation. The crux of dream for George is not the absence of work, or the easy living, or even having money, it is simply grounded in having for the first time of his life a place to belong. This dream is a driving force for George, a powerful motivation which persuades him that all of these hard working days are not worthless. In fact, George “said thoughtfully, Look, if me an’ Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks”. This shows how George is ready to work hard in order to obtain this sum of money. Moreover, the word “thoughtfully” imparts that George is deeply thinking of working hard, thus portrayed as extremely motivated. The dream is perceived as reward, an indemnity for all the troubles he has already endured in his life. However, George doesn’t believe entirely in the dream. The protagonist knows that there is a very few chances for the dream to come true. Thus, it is not the dream but the hope of the dream which stimulates Lennie’s companion. Moreover, George uses this dream to keep Lennie in check. For instance, George promises Lennie to ‘tend the rabbits all right. ‘Specially if he remembers as good as that”. Here, George manipulates cleverly the dream in order to captivate Lennie’s attention and to have him remember not to “say a word” in front of the boss. The dream turns from a motivating force into a reward for Lennie’s effort.
