In the time John Steinbeck wrote the book he was obviously influenced. The book was set in the 1920s- early1930s this was the time of the great depression where it was a mans world and men were constantly on the move because of the mass unemployment. This meant there was no room for the weak, elderly or women & children. Society lacked respect for the elderly. In the book it was foreshadowed when Carlson killed Candy's old dog, candy knew that it would also happen to him though rather than someone shooting him he would be thrown out and left to fend for himself. Also when Steinbeck wrote this book there were no civil rights and there was a lot of prejudice going on which is shown in the treatment of crooks. There was inequality for women; which was shown in the treatment of Curley's wife. The American dream was what kept the people going at the concept of the frontier as a line beyond which civilisation ceased to exist.
George and Lennie are the leading characters in this book. Lennie is the brawn of the two and George is the brain. The two meet through Georges aunt Clara when they were children and the two grew up together. George promised his aunt Clara that he would look out for Lennie when she died. George and Lennie's dream is to have a small place of their own with a little house where they can grow their own crops and Lennie can tend the rabbits. To Lennie the dream represents hope that things will get better and their dream will come true.
"Tell me- like you done before "
"Tell you what?"
"About the rabbits."
This shows like a child Lennie needs George to repeat the dream just like a fairy story to reassure Lennie. Lennie is very simple minded so he does not understand many things this is why everyone on the ranch can speak to him "Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated him". This shows that Lennie mind is extremely child like and he does not understand certain issues in this case with crooks he does not understand what is racism and why crooks did not like him talking to him in the first place.
George he only actually believes in the dream because Lennie does, to George this dream represents hope and when Lennie dies all that hope is gone. The dream represents hope to both of them.
In the novel it is shown that the dream means a lot them because Lennie will not be able to go on without the dream, Lennie needs something to believe in and will do anything to achieve it this is shown when he tries to hide his dead puppy from Curley's wife "In a panic he shovelled the hay over the puppy with his fingers an looked sullenly at her" he did this in the fear of not being able to fulfil his dream of tending the rabbits,
"George ain't gonna let me tend no rabbits now "
"Why don't he?"
"Well he said if I done any more bad things he ain't gonna let me tend the rabbits."
This shows how much of a father/ authority figure George is to Lennie as far as Lennie is concerned what ever George says goes. George feels the need to believe in the dream for Lennies sake to keep him happy. "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 thinking maybe we would."
Candy and Crooks help us understand how important dreams are, this is because I feel out of the whole book their dreams were the simplest and today it would not have been a dream but a reality this is because Crook's dream was to have equal rights and Candy's dream was to have stability, security and comfort which is the NHS in this country. This shows that dreams are achievable though it takes time.
Candy gets involved with George and Lennie by over hearing George and Lennie's conversation in the bunk house "When Candy spoke they both jumped as though they had been caught doing something reprehensible." he then asks to come in on their dream by putting forward over half of the money.
"Well- I could get it for six hundred bucks"
"They give me two hundred an' fifty dollars 'cause I los' my hand. An' I got fifty more saved up right in the bank, right now. That's three hundred, and I got fifty more comin' the enda the month. Tell you what...' He leaned forward eagerly. Suppose I went in with you guys. Thas three hundred an' fifty bucks I'd put in."
Candy reacts as if his prayers have been answered and offers to put in his life savings. This is because if this deal will pull through he will have the security that he needs, he will have a place where no one can kick him out from and if anyone tries George and Lennie will deal with them, he will have the company he wants. It will be his dream fulfilled. At the end of the novel it shows us how important the dream became to candy when he says his greatest fear after telling George about Curley's dead wife ""You an' me can get that little place, can't we, George? You an' me can go there an' live nice, can't we George? Cant we?"
Before George answered, Candy dropped his head and looked down at the hay. He knew" Candy looses all hope of ever fulfilling his dream, in that short space of time took over his life.
When Lennie tell Crooks about his dream Crooks does not believe him as far as he is concerned dreams are "Jus like heaven. Ever' body wants a little piece of lan'. Nobody ever get to heaven, and nobody ever gets their land. It's just in their head" this shows how Crooks lacks hope as far as he is concerned it is a waste of time thinking about it. Though when Candy comes in and says "Dam right. We got most of it. Just a little bit more to get. Have it all in a month. George got all the land picked out, too." Crooks also wants to be a part of it too ". . . If you . . . guys would want a hand to work for nothing - just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand." When Curley's wife comes in and gives Crooks abuse about being black "Listen, nigger,' she said. You know what I can do if you open your trap?" Crooks decides not to have any part of their dream, before Curley's wife came in, the way Lennie, Candy and Crooks were talking was as if Crooks was equal to them but when Curley's wife came in she reminded him how he wasn't and how other white people will always be that way toward him.
" "Member what I said about hoein' and doin' odd jobs?"
"yeah,'" said candy. "I remember.
"Well, jus' forget it,' said crooks. I didn't mean it I was Jus' foolin'. I wouldn't want to go to a place like that." "
Another character for whom dreams are important is, Curley's wife's dream, to become a movie star and be in the pictures. She belived she could be in the pictures because one night before she married Curley she met a guy who claimed to be from Hollywood at the "Riverside dance" and said that she was pretty enough to be put in the pictures. "A guy tol' me he could put me in pitchers". All Curley's wife wanted was a little bit of attention and affection though seeing as it was in a mans world it would be very rare to actually get it.
Dreams are Vital in this story to all the characters who want hope, for example Crooks does not want to have a dream because he will need hope but he has no hope of people not discriminating him because he is black. I feel that if this book was written today these characters would not all have the same dreams as is written for them. The reason being today there are equal rights, civil rights, NHS, etc. I think that if this novel was written today all the people on the ranch would have another dream even Crooks because today there is equality and Civil rights. My point being even if this novel was written today in this day and age there would still be dreams, there were in the past, there are today and there will be in the future, these dreams all represent hope and as long as these dreams exist so will we.
