Many characters in 'Of Mice and Men' have a dream. Describe the content of the dreams and why they are important to the individuals concerned. Why does it seem inevitable that none of the dreams will ever come true?

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Matthew Hunt

Many characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ have a dream. Describe the content of the dreams and why they are important to the individuals concerned. Why does it seem inevitable that none of the dreams will ever come true?

   

   In ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck many of the characters in the story have dreams. Some dream to be able to be their own boss, whilst others aspire to be in movies. Some dream of the day when they have security and others want to be able to re-live childhood memories. As you can see the dreams contrast with each other. I think that the characters have dreams as something to keep them going. Something to look forward to for the future. When times are hard the dream is a reminder of how good things can be. Dreams can also be seen as a way of escaping. When the characters feel their lives are boring they can imagine an alternative.

   George and Lennie’s dream is to own a piece of land where they both could live. This appeals to George as he could be his own boss by not having to take orders from others. I also think George likes the idea of freedom and security. George complains of how Lennie has lost him every job he has had. By being his own boss that could no longer happen.

   The dream appeals to Lennie for one reason. He has always dreamed of being able to have his own rabbits he can look after. To Candy, the main reason he gets involved is for security. Candy fears of the day when he will be sacked. Candy will be guaranteed a job if he works for himself. Candy appears to be very enthusiastic about the dream, who is unlike Crooks. Crooks is in on the dream but he backs out at the last minute. His dream is to re-live his childhood. This was a time where he felt happy as he was surrounded by family and friends.

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   Most characters are optimistic that the dream will come true. This is shown with the positive language used by the characters. Lennie is forever optimistic-“Damn right, I could” is an example of this. George is also positive-“Jesus Christ !I bet we could swing her” shows this.

   I think that as a reader the idea that the dream will come true is unlikely. I think this because, the time in which ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set is an unforgiving one. Money was a big problem to all Americans in 1930 and George and Lennie are no exceptions. We ...

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