I believe that this dream would appeal to them mostly because of the fact that they are migrant workers; they own nothing but that which they can carry with them, and never stay in one place for too long. This is the normal state-of-affairs for most migrant labourers, as can be seen by the description of the bare, unfriendly bunk-house at the beginning of Chapter Two. The bunk-house is merely a place to sleep; it isn’t any kind of home. To settle down and accumulate possessions, farming their own land, would seem an idyllic life to George and Lennie, who have most likely been travelling from place to place for a lot of their lives.
The dream would appeal specifically to George. It gives him a kind of power over the other labourers, makes him different. If ever the work is especially hard, he could just think to himself that soon he would leave it all behind, and live a better life than any of the other workers, because he has Lennie.
Lennie, however had different reasons for the dream. He has probably been persecuted previously because of his size and mental handicap. However, if he were to live in a house of his own with George, no-one would come to ridicule him, and if they did George would send them away. Also, he would be able to look after the rabbits. The rabbits are a central theme in the story; whenever Lennie feels he has done something wrong, his first thoughts go to the rabbits and whether George will let him tend them any more. This is because Lennie loves to pet and stroke soft things; a simple, uncomplicated love that in the end led to his death.
The dream is powered by the fact that there are two of them behind it; Lennie to believe implicitly and George to take care of the practical side. On their own, neither of them would have a chance, but together then maybe it could have happened. They certainly seemed to be well on their way to obtaining the house. However, George , after finding the dead body of Curley’s wife says: “I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like hearing about it so much I got to thinking that maybe we would.” I believe that they might have managed it eventually, even if it started out as just a silly dream, as George seems to be suggesting. However, without Lennie to always be repeating the dream to and keeping the hope alive, he stands almost no chance and must revert to a life of loneliness.
