Niki Holdsworth
Dreams in “of Mice and Men”
Dreams are a frequently discussed topic throughout this novel and they help to define the characters personalities.
George and Lennie’s dream is the most commonly mentioned in the novel, they want to live the American dream and have their own land and home. Although Crooks tells them he “never seen a guy really do it” their determination is beyond that of normal men. They crave the freedom from ordered working life and less responsibility. George desires the relief from the burden of supervising Lennie, on the ranch he constantly has to watch him to ensure he is no danger to himself or others. He talks of how he could “live so easy” without Lennie and it seems to be a private dream of his to marry and raise a family without the childish weight of Lennie upon him. He has cared for Lennie for a large part of his life and wants happiness for both of them without the strain of rules and the risk of characters such as Curley. Lennie’s only dream at first glance seems to be having his rabbits, however at a closer look the rabbits are his way of relating to their entire dream, he connects all other aspects of free life with them such as growing crops to feed them. He loves hearing the story of “how its gonna be”, his own dreams are based on what George tells him is good and bad.