George and Lennie both have a dream but are not necessarily the same. Steinbeck represents this by describing in such detail what they want together. “We could live offa the fatta the lan”. The irony is about the countryside they are in, it is rich. They are living of the bounty of nature. Money and family are not mentioned in the dream. It provides them with everything they need. “We could have a few pigs. When the fruit come in we could can it. Every Sunday we’d kill a chicken or a rabbit”. Steinbeck uses “we” a lot in the dream. It shows that the dreamed is shared between Lennie and George. The repetition emphasises this. Steinbeck creates the dream mainly by using dialogue. By having George and Lennie discuss their dream together allows the reader to have a sense that they have been planning this dream together and not alone. George and Lennie’s interpretation of the dream is slightly different. Lennie wants to “tend the rabbits” as he likes feeling soft things. George also has a dream of his own. He could “get a job, eat at any place he likes, stay in a hotel, and get a gallon of whisky. However Lennie is stopping him from doing all of this. George needs Lennie and Lennie needs George. All George wants is love and affection and he knows he can’t get that, because after everything that has gone on, it is hard. George is still with Lennie because Lennie himself is a big man so he can protect George from other people. Lennie is stopping George from achieving many dreams, but the reason why George is still with him is because Lennie is the only person George has got. George has no family nor does he have friends. He only has Lennie. George has a short temper and lashes out at Lennie very often verbally. Lennie is a fragile man who doesn’t like seeing his comrade like this. You can tell that they both care about each other an awful lot.
Another way that Steinbeck represents the American Dream is how Candy lost his companion. Candy had a lot of dreams when his dog was alive. This is because the dog had been through everything with him, but now that he and his dog was getting old there was only one thing left for Carlson to do. “A shot sounded”. Candy’s dream had just been killed. The second that bullet hit that dog, Candy’s dreams were shattered. His dog was a part of Candy’s dreams A dream could be in the in the past or the future. In Candy’s case it was all in the past. His dog had been through everything with him. This is a similarity between George and Lennie who have also been through everything with each other. Candy knows that nobody could ever replace his dog. Slim offers him “any of the pups” but Candy just remained silent. Candy feels that he can’t achieve anything without his dog anymore. That is why he “he lays in his bed silent for a long time”. He treats the dog like a human, as part of his family, someone really close. That is what makes Candy be so silent for a long period of time. As Candy lays there silent on his bed he overhears George and Lennie talking about their dream. Again Steinbeck reveals the dream by dialogue. They talk about how one day they are going to get out of the ranch and “live offa the fatta the lan”. As Candy listens to their dream in such detail he asks if he can be a part of it. An old dream has ended but a new one is just beginning.
Dreams are pacific to an individual however sometimes a dream could be a part of a team. This is exactly what Candy wants to do with George and Lennie. He wants to share their dream and be a part of it. After all shared dreams are much stronger than individual ones.
Steinbeck now introduces and individual character that defines him from the rest of the ranchers. Crooks is the only black man on the ranch therefore he is excluded from society. He is separated by being pushed into a disassociated room. He is not allowed to socialise with the other ranchers because of his race. In the 1930s Americans were against anyone who were coloured. These people would not get treated fairly and would usually get beaten up just for the colour of their skin. Crooks’ father did not want him socialising with white people because he knew that they will abuse him. The American Dream is about equality of all men. This is where Crooks rights come in. The irony here is that segregation leads to a better life.
A very unusual thing about Crooks is that he is the only one who can read; hence conveying that he is very well educated. We know that Crooks has already had his dream just by the way in which he speaks to Lennie. Crooks and Lennie both have a disability. Although he feels appreciated that Lennie is around him, Crooks speaks in a very negative manner about Lennie’s dream. “An’ never a God damn one of ‘em ever gets it”. Crooks is contradicting to Lennie that dreams can never be achieved. However if you don’t try to achieve your dream, it will never come true. Crooks suddenly changes his mind about the dream and hesitates as he asks Lennie if he could be a part of the dream too.
Crooks’ dream is about having those long dark nights alone change by having people talk to him and communicate with him. His dream is all about regaining sense of belonging with others. Crooks’ heart wants the dream but his mind is not allowing him achieve it because his background has knocked his courage. We know from the American Dream, his experiences in the past have made him so brittle and angry. However Crooks can be very venerable to people that are more powerful than him, such as Curley’s wife.
Steinbeck introduces another unique character into “Of Mice and Men”. Curley’s wife is the only girl on the ranch therefore she is also excluded from society. Even though she is more powerful than Crooks, she is not all that different from him. Both are very lonely and want someone to talk to. Both are at a disadvantage, Crooks with his race and Curley’s wife with her gender. Curley’s wife does not know what to do in life. We know her dream was to be an actress, but was crushed by her very own mother. Now her dream is to be more grown up. She dresses like an adult with “make-up, her hair done up and a stylish dress”. However she is still described by Steinbeck as a girl. “A girl was standing there”. She wants to be respected from the men all around her. Being the only woman in the ranch can be intimidating. In the 1930s woman were less valued than men. They had fewer rights.
The reason why she married Curley is to get some attention and be more respected because he was the ranchers’ son. Curley’s wife is a mercenary; she married him for his money and as a rebound for her loss as an actress. Curley is very much respected by all the men so Curley’s wife married him so all the men could look up to her just as they do to Curley. Curley’s wife unexpectedly lets her true feelings out to Lennie. “I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella”. This shows that she is using him but at the same time Curley is using his wife. However Curley’s wife moved to the countryside to get a better life but after two weeks she found out that she had made a mistake. She already hasn’t got a good reputation. All the men think she is a bit of a tart. “Two weeks married, and got the eye”. This shows that she hasn’t been married to Curley for a short period of time and yet she is being judged already just the by the way she looks and dresses. “Curley says he keepin’ that hand soft for his wife”. We instantly know that Curley himself is an abuser. We know this because his dream was to become a boxer. Having not achieved this dream he converts it into abusing women. Curley’s wife is a lot more than what she looks. There is always a person inside who has a dream.
The death of Curley’s wife is very significant of Steinbeck’s treatment of the theme of the American Dream. We know this because Lennie was the one who shook her, shook her so much that he broke her neck, and killed her. Lennie’s character is very timid, so expectedly her runs away, trying to hide from society. We as the reader know Lennie’s dreams are going to come to an end, but we don’t know how. That is how Steinbeck creates the atmosphere which makes the reader what to carry on. Lennie was the one who killed Curley’s wife’s dreams, so now Curley is going to kill his.
When Lennie dies, the whole dream dies. We know that both Lennie and George do not have a family. They have each other instead. They care about one another which makes them so unique. “I want you to stay with me here”. This shows that even know Lennie thinks George is going to “give him hell”, he isn’t. He cares about Lennie and he knows that if he doesn’t kill Lennie himself now that the other ranch men will kill him, brutally. George slowly but in a clever way kills Lennie. He has made the choice of how Lennie is going to die. This is a complete contrast of how Candy’s dog died. George keeps the American Dream alive so it is the last thing that Lennie remembers. Steinbeck describes the dream in such detail so we can actually picture it ourselves. Lennie remembers that one day they could “live offa the fatta the lan”. Lennie has no idea of what George is building up to do. However we as readers know what is going to happen. Steinbeck builds up suspense of how George gradually kills Lennie. George describes how they are going to live with “pigs and chickens”. This is typical of the American Dream, a chance to get rich and have land. However that dream was collapsing all around them as they live in a poor barn house where all the men share the same room.
Lennie is very reluctant about why George has forgiven him. Lennie says that “he might as well just go away” to show that after George said “if I was alone I could live so easy”. Lennie thinks by doing this it would make George happy. We know that if George kills Lennie, he could no longer for fill his dreams without his companion. Gradually Lennie gets very excited about their dream. “Let’s get that place now”. That is when George pulls the trigger and lets Lennie go, for good. George made this choice of killing his best friend. Of what looks horrific, he is actually doing Lennie a massive favour. He was going to be killed anyway so why not do it with a blissful memory rather than a bloody one.
