When George shot Lennie, the pair seemed at peace with themselves, and each other. George knew what he was doing was right, and he knew that Lennie would agree if he had the time to explain his reasoning to him. If Lennie could comprehend the reasoning behind George’s actions, he would realise that George was taking Candy’s unknowingly offered advice, ‘I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog.’
Lennie’s dream was a lot like Geoerge’s. Whatever George wanted, Lennie wanted. It seems as though Lennie and George share the same vision but Lennie’s dream appears to be simpler. When Lennie pestered George to talk of their shared vision of their future home, Lennie would only seem to be concerned and interested in the rabbits. It appeared as though Lennie’s dream was inevitably not going to come true because he was killed later on in the book. Lennie’s death did not only affect George but Candy’s life as well. Lennie, with his child-like mentality, believes whatever he hears, so when George told him that they would really get their own land, he believed it with all his heart. To Lennie, the question is not if, but when, ‘George, how long´s it gonna be till we get that little place an´ live on the fatta the lan´ - an´ rabbits?’
Candy was an old man, probably in his sixties and he had been working on the ranch for a long time. He was looking for companionship since his dog was killed but I think he found companionship with George and Lennie, but his dream was soon shattered when Lennie was killed. As well as this, Candy also shared George’s dream after over-hearing George and Lennie talking about their future home.
Crooks was the stable-buck and he lived all on his own because he was black. Crooks’ dream was to find companionship and equality. In his dream he wants to be treated equally like the other ranch workers. When he was a young boy, he had a family who owned a piece of land but they had not achieved the American Dream because they were denied equality. On Christmas day he was invited to have a drink with the other ranch workers, however a fight broke out and Crooks was beaten. It is likely that this highlights the racism at that time. Crooks may have been beaten because he was black and separated from the other ranch workers, however it is also possible that it could have happened to any of the workers. The first sign of proper interaction that Crooks has with a person is when Lennie sees the light on in Crooks’ room and decides to come in. Crooks briefly gains equality because Lennie doesn’t understand the racism and prejudice in the world. However shortly after, Curley’s wife arrives at the scene and when Crooks says she is not welcome in his home, she insults him and makes evil threats, ‘I could get you strung up on a tree so easy that it ain’t even funny’. This is followed by George who walks in and tells Lennie to get out. Crooks says that he doesn’t mind Lennie being there and he says this in such a way that not to seem desperate but indicating that he is enjoying the company.
Curley’s wife had a dream, she wanted to be in the pictures and the movies but it was unlikely to happen because it was a common dream of many women at the time. Besides, she had no training and no experience that would suggest that she would be successful. Another dream she had was to one-day find true companionship. In the marriage Curley did not offer her companionship because he was more interested in showing off to the other ranch workers. Even if she wasn´t murdered, she was stuck in a rut with Curley, a rut that would she would have gone round and round in until he left her for another woman, or she finally built up the courage to leave him. Also, someone who is referred to throughout an entire story as someone´s possession does not make a major character.
Curley wished to be a pro boxer and resents the fact that he didn’t make it professionally, because he was supposedly “the best welter in the country” as Carlson called him. Curley is a small man and because of his size, he is constantly trying to show he’s tough by picking a fights over any disagreement and uses the fact that he’s the boss’s son to intimidate the workers. He had a lot in material terms because he was the bosses’ son and it is likely that he would have inherited the farm. There was no unconditional love in his marriage as he shows by ignoring his wife most of the time and in the way that she seems very lonely all the time not being able to talk to him. However later his wife was murdered. Curley hadn’t achieved his dream and so had taken up working on his father’s ranch.
Whit and Carlson’s dream was to be recognised and noticed by a wide audience. Whit’s influence was a letter he saw in a magazine written by a man that they used to know who worked on the ranch called Bill Tenner. This letter is something Whit seems envious about. This is a great example of a small man, who thinks small, aims low and probably misses. They hoped for recognition. They also wanted to be strong, respected characters just like Slim was on the ranch. Carlson seems to feel that emotions are a sign of weakness. I think this because he portrays it in the way that he kills Candy’s dog and his reaction to the death of Lennie, ‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them?’
The Boss appeared to have achieved the American Dream. It seems that he had gained a lot in material posessions and was living a comfortable life. He did not have a name but he had a home and owned a lot of land and was living off the produce of that land. However, his only family was Curley and there was no hint of a positive relationship between them. The novel also didn’t mention anything about Curley’s mother. The Boss did not seem to want to help others to achieve their dreams and was happy to allow no sense of community apart from that one Christmas Day when he brought round a gallon of whisky.
Slim is a character that likes to keep to himself and he expressed no dream, yet it is clear that he strongly admired George and Lennie’s rare companionship. Perhaps this is another sign of a person in need of companionship.
In conclusion, loneliness in this book is like a disease. George had Lennie to and Lennie had George to fight the terrible affects of it. But there were others who were not so fortunate, like Crooks who was intensely unhappy, unconfident and seriously mentally damaged from the lasting affects of loneliness. Curley’s wife was killed essentially by loneliness and it was that that made her talk to the ranch workers and Lennie which lead to her death.
Loneliness is a part of human nature and companionship was what the characters strived for or lacked in and had yet to achieve. Companionship was the common dream. Companionship was what George and Lennie had and which all the other characters wanted.
