Through George’s use of short and aggressive sentences we see that this dream is not what he really wants. Also through repeated use of the word “I” in the counter-dream we can see that George will be truly alone in contrast to use of the word “us” when recalling the true dream. It is also ironic that at the end of the novella and as a result of the death of Lennie the dream he does not want is realised. Consequently we see the harsh reality of the Depression and the ever-damaging effects of ranch-life.
The dream of George and Lennie is the main dream in the novella and therefore Steinbeck concentrates on it deeply. The crux of the dream is that of a ranch, run by George and Lennie alone with “a little house and a couple of acres”, “a cow and some pigs”, and a “rabbit-hutch and chickens”. This very simple dream sounds so basic that the readers may feel it to be feasible. This simplicity, however, is contradicted when we hear of George’s language when recounting the dream:
“George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before.”
It is significant that George’s voice becomes “deeper” and “rhythmical” in contrast to his usual colloquial harshness. The dream is spoken of in a comforting manner almost like that of when a bedtime story is read to a child which is perhaps fitting for Lennie. We sense however that these bedtime stories never come true, subsequently a sense of doubt is built within the readers’ subconscious. In the same way we gather the information that George has spoken of the dream “many times before.” Again a sense of anxiety is built as we feel that George has been dreaming of this many times before and it has still not yet come true.
Furthermore, this ranch seems almost heavenly by linking in with the biblical imagery of the Promised Land:
“The cream on the milk is so thick like you can hardly cut it.”
This use of biblical imagery when talking of the ranch perhaps makes the dream seem even more ungraspable.
We can clearly associate the dream of George and Lennie with the original American Dream, as the ideals are essentially the same. To begin with both George and Lennie already have their independence and freedom, however due to financial difficulties they cannot put these into practice. Consequently they must work on the ranch in order to gain the capital needed to live. Also the main appeal of their own ranch is that they have a chance to settle down and escape the grasp of the capitalist status quo. Though essentially what attracts George, and later Candy and Crooks, is the ability to “reap what you sow” with its clear biblical overtones:
“An’ when we put in a crop, why, we’d be there to take the crop up. We’d know what come of our planting”
For Lennie the dream fundamentally represents a place of safety; being there will provide him with a stable environment, much like the environment a child needs. Though Lennie is incapable of thinking of such a reason for having their own ranch, George is most likely to have thought of this, keeping in mind the future of Lennie. Lennie sees the dream as being a place where he cannot do any more “bad things”. Due to the complicated nature of the reasons for having their own ranch George simplifies it for Lennie by telling him that he will be allowed to “tend the rabbits”. It is ironic, however, that ultimately this leads to the downfall of both Lennie and the dream as it is ultimately his fear of losing this that cause him to kill Curley’s wife.
For George the dream has been deeply rooted in his heart for many years. George yearns also for a stable life; to provide reason for his existence. George’s main interest in the dream is the ideal of freedom. He wishes not to be part of this harsh milieu and run his own ranch. He also wishes to provide a stable future for Lennie and maintain the companionship they have had since childhood. George’s needs for this more authentic version of the American Dream are also more general than the needs of Lennie. In the present mercenary society there is an omnipresent need for dreams. We are shown this many times in the book through a multitude of characters; especially when we are introduced to the character of William Tenner in the pulp magazine. This is significant as Steinbeck overtly displays Whit’s grasp on the magazine, symbolic of his desperation for dreams:
“Whit found the place again, but he did not surrender his hold on it.”
Whit also treasures the magazine:
“And then he went to his box shelf and laid the magazine carefully in”
Furthermore one of the main appeals of the dream not only to George but later to also Candy is the idea of reaping what you sow which I have discussed earlier.
Bearing this in mind, we must consider whether the dream is realistic. At first the dream may seem an attainable target; it is not until we see the harsh reality of ranch life and its itinerant workers, who all have a dream, that we recognise that this dream is not going to materialise. However when Candy gets involved and a significant sum of money made available the reader may feel that it is going to become true.
Nevertheless the dream does not realise and upon re-reading we see the reasons for this. Even from the title of the novella however we are predisposed to feeling that the dream will not be realised. The title “Of Mice and Men” initiates a sense of tragic inevitability, recalling the popular poem by Robert Burns “To a Mouse”. The poem states that the “best laid schemes of mice and men … often go awry”. In the novella this is representative of the dreams of George and Lennie who are also searching for a place to live instead of the nomadic lifestyle. However, due to the cruel exigencies of Fate and the mechanised world these dreams are shattered. The mechanical plough in the poem is mirrored in the novella with Carlson’s Luger pistol. This poem is in fact in complete contrast with the American Dream which George and Lennie so desperately yearn for. So even from the title we are presented with the images that the world is cruel and fate is harsh.
The dream of George and Lennie also soon becomes the dream of Candy, the “old swamper” of the ranch. Candy is clearly a victim of this harsh milieu; this is seen repeatedly throughout the novella. This is first indicated when we see that people are judged in this society by their physical strength:
“Curley’s pretty handy”
Candy, however, is physically disabled; through the loss of his hand and advancing age. This shows that Candy is a victim of his environment. Candy yearns for escape and is one of the dream’s main appeals for him. Candy gets involved in the dream through over-hearing a conversation between George and Lennie. Upon hearing of the dream Candy talks “excitedly”. The reader may feel that Candy is involved in the dream only due to the death of his dog, which shows the cruel utilitarian attitude of those on the ranch. This creates a sense of unease for the reader as Candy is old and must have seen many itinerant workers pass through the ranch with dreams, however with George and Lennie, due to the death of his dog, he is seduced by the dream.
Candy’s needs for the dream are very different to those of George and Lennie; Candy is old and will soon be unwanted in the capitalist system where the only aim is to make a profit. In effect he will be an unwanted commodity. The dream represents to him companionship and the right to be treated as a human being rather than simply a swamper; a tool to be discarded when it is no longer effective.
However, all of these thoughts are shattered when Curley’s wife dies. At first, Candy’s reaction to the death of Curley’s wife is somewhat subdued. We feel that maybe Candy recognises that the dream will never come true and was never going to come true. Candy’s fears are eventually realised when George tells him that he knew from the beginning and that it was only because of Lennie’s need for the story of the dream that George was eventually engrossed in it:
“I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.”
George’s register here is very revealing; its despairing resignation is extremely painful to the reader. We are also presented with Candy’s despair when George leaves. He pities himself and begins to “snivel” and ends up “blinded with tears”. Steinbeck presents us with the stark consequences of when dreams don’t come true.
Crooks is also attracted by the ideal nature of this dream. He is subject to the prevalent racial segregation within the pre-dominantly white society. The dream represents to him the chance of being free of this discrimination He is at first, however deeply cynical as he is old and has had experiences of the prejudiced world. As soon as he hears of the dream he immediately contradicts it:
“You’re nuts, you’re crazy as a wedge”
Crooks’ background gives us an insight into the reason for having such a cynical and pessimistic opinion on the dream:
“My old man had a chicken ranch, ‘bout ten acres. The white kids come to play at our place an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice”
This information that Crooks had once had the same ranch sort of that that George and Lennie strive for is significant as it shows that the tragedy of Crooks is that he once had his dream but has lost it. This intensifies our doubt that the Dream will ever be achievable in the current conditions as Crooks’ pained scepticism is telling:
“I seen hundreds of men come by on the road … an’ that same damn thing in their head … Just like heaven … Nobody never gets to heaven and nobody gets no land”
Crooks’ opinion is based on sheer experience. He is not an itinerant worker and has been working on the same ranch for many years and has seen many people go by. This view indicates that all ranch-workers have a dream but also indicates that it is also largely unachievable. Furthermore the idea that the dream is like heaven is made explicit by Crooks. The dream is not achievable and may not exist in the real world any more.
Despite his negative view of the dream Crooks also ends up seduced by it and then becomes actively involved in it. I think that this is because the dream reminds him of his past:
“Had to brothers. They were always near me, always there. Used to sleep right in the same room, right in the same bed-all three.
Before this Crooks explicitly tells us of his loneliness:
“Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so and what ain’t so.”
From this we are shown that Crooks is an extremely lonely man, he spends his time “readin’ books” or “just settin’”. The main appeal of the dream for Crooks is that it is representative of his past life. He reveals that he “had” two brothers and essentially companionship. He may feel that with Candy, George, and Lennie he could try and rekindle these old memories and live a life free from racial segregation with a degree of companionship and hope.
Eventually Crooks’ dream is also shattered through the entry of Curley’s wife. Both Curley and his wife are representative of disruptive forces in the novella as Curley also destroys the dream of George and Lennie by trying to kill Lennie. Curley’s wife, by not being named, emphasises the idea that she could be considered a societal force as well as a character:
“Well you keep your place, then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.”
When Curley’s wife undermines Crooks we see the hierarchical nature of the society and the vicious circle within which everyone is involved. Crooks who has only just stopped “torturing” Lennie is now being threatened with death by Curley’s wife. Oppressed people will oppress others others in order to substantiate their own ego and regain their own pride. The environmental factors that cause people to oppress others essentially links in with the theme that people are products of their environment. This is not a fertile environment for dreams to be realised. In this example Crooks is left with:
“No personality, no ego – nothing to arouse either like or dislike.”
However, even though Curley’s wife may have power over characters such as Crooks and Candy she is also oppressed and she too has lost a dream. She reveals all of this in a “passion of communication” as she tells of the dream that she had and immediately we see that it is more superficial and materialistic than the main dream:
“Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes”
This materialistic dream of Curley’s wife is extremely different to that of the other dreams in the novella as it is centred on wealth. Her dream’s ideals are not that of companionship and freedom like those of the dream of George and Lennie but self-gratification. It is a debasement of the original American Dream and is also representative of the harsh lifestyle of women. It is ironic that Curley’s wife must use men in order to fulfil her dream and that they only need her because she is “real purty”. It is clear that these men who claimed to be in the movies only wanted her as a sexual object. Though she is incapable of accepting that she will never be in the movies, she easily blames it on her mother. By her blaming her mother we see it is a convenient way of deluding herself into thinking she could have been in the movies. This is another example of self-deception. The clothes and wealth are what really appeal to her, as she is young and naïve.
Curley’s wife’s dream of a career in Hollywood is very unrealistic, in contrast to George and Lennie’s basic dream, which also did not come true, this dream is totally impractical. Her dream is eventually shattered by her death, but in truth it had been denied her by society a long time before. Tragically she is perhaps the least free of all the characters as even her superficial and naïve dream of escape was in the past and entirely reliant on the men who ere in fact exploiting her.
In conclusion “Of Mice and Men” is a deeply pessimistic book. It at once demonstrates how dreams are necessary to make life worth living and at the same time demonstrates that in the barren environment of Depression hit America they are inevitably destroyed.
