The origin of these dreams all has something to do with the American Dream. The American Dream is a particular term usually implying a successful and satisfying life. This term usually implies financial security and material comfort, but can also imply a dream of fame, exceeding social, ethnic, or class boundaries, or simply living a fulfilling life. Perceptions of the American dream are usually framed in terms of American , its associated supposed meritocracy, and the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Bill of Rights. The term is not easily defined, and has subjective meaning to many who claim it. The American Dream is often associated with , as the dream of religious freedom, economic wealth, and opportunity has historically driven immigrants to the . The term is used by many modern Americans to signify success in life as a result of hard work (as in, "living or pursuing the American Dream"). The American Dream applies to all of the characters with a dream.
George and Lennie have a dream of owning a piece of land to work on and live on themselves “an’ live off the fatta the lan’” but then Candy joins in with their dream and offers to help them on their future ranch “I ain’t much good with o’ny one hand. I give me a job swampin’.” This dream originates from the American Dream of living a fulfilling life.
George thinks that by owning land they will become free from the insecurity of going from ranch to ranch that men had to go through at the time. George feels responsible for Lennie and wants him to feel safe. He also doesn’t want to be bossed around by anyone and this offers him personal freedom. There is a difference between George’s dream and Lennie’s dream; George’s dream is rational and he always thinks how he is going to achieve it whereas Lennie’s dream is the vision which are the rabbits in his case which makes it childish.
Crooks has a dream of being equal with all of the white people and not be treated like an animal. In the novel Crooks is treated very badly by the boss and some of the other people on the ranch. He is not called by his name, instead he is referred to as ‘Nigger’ or ‘Negro’, “Sure. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger”. This is also connected to the American dream of equality, exceeding social, ethnic, or class boundaries. At the moment, Crooks does not have a very high position in society, he is even lower then Candy who is old and not respected well either. In the time that this novel was written, black people were at the bottom of society.
Curley’s wife is the only women in this novel. She has a dream to be a Hollywood actress and to be in the movies “Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes”. This is associated with the American Dream of becoming famous. Women were not treated equally to men at the time that this novel was written. Curley’s wife is owned by Curley and we never find out her real name, she is a mere possession of Curley. Her dream is not only to become famous but to have a position in society not so unlike Crooks’s dream, although she thinks that Crooks is beneath her “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” and he can’t do anything to protect himself. She married Curley to get out of the house “Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself”. Perhaps she didn’t plan to stay with Curley for long, she just wanted to get his money to try and get to Hollywood or perhaps deep down there was no letter from Hollywood and to marry a rich man would give her a position in life.
Steinbeck weaves dreams in his novel as dreams allow people to see out of their loneliness and isolation; these are the dreams that all migrants have, even today; it is also the sole motivation which led the country out of poverty and to a place of envy for the rest of the world. Dreams, historically, prove to be the catalyst between what is apparent and the unseen so the dream that all the characters have may have an outcome. In the novel the main protagonist do not achieve their dream as planned; the scheme was for both George and Lennie to have a place however at Lennie’s death, George might have second thoughts about pursuing the dream hence it signifies the death of their dream. Curley’s wife does not achieve her dream and neither does Crooks. Steinbeck does not let any of the dreams materialise in the apparent.
Steinbeck’s title Of Mice and Men comes from “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/gang afta agley” and so best plans may go astray however America did regain her position of power; women did achieve equality with men and the civil rights movement brought an end to the isolation of Crooks as a ‘negro’. The American dream is still alive today with many migrants still flocking for a share of the ‘dream’. Although “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/gang afta agley”.