For Lenny the dream was very much real, it helped him to cope with the boredom that he faced and he always went to sleep happy thinking about tending the rabbits.
For George on the other hand, the dream was at first like a fairytale he told Lenny to bring a smile upon his face and the promise of tending the rabbits helped him to stay out of trouble but all the while he was very optimistic about the dream and felt that there was no way it would become a reality. George’s first views towards the dream were soon changed when Candy found out about what they were planning, he offers financial help and suddenly a new view is seen of the dream. This unexpected offer by Candy means that the dream is no longer a fantasy and finally all the pain and suffering might have payed off for George, Lenny and Candy but the threat to the fulfilment of this dream is ever present in Lenny’s behaviour and in the end its Lenny’s uncontrollable actions which finally destroy dream.
The dream is constantly changing, at first it was just a story told by George to cheer up Lenny, then in the middle it seemed like it would come true and finally in the end it was apparent that everyone’s dreams were shattered with Lenny as the only exception, because he dies happy with the picture of the dream in his head.
Candy wishes to share in the dream with George and Lenny because he is becoming old and useless like his dog, he has nowhere to go to and now one to care about him and unlike his dog they’re not going to take him out and shoot him, instead there going to put him in an old folks home where he will feel lonely and have no freedom. By joining Lenny and George he can live out his days happy and free, forever safe knowing he won’t be canned. Once Candy realises that the dream is more or less a reality he stands up for what he believes in with dignity and courage, something he didn’t do before he realised the dream was within reach. Candy realises that he doesn’t have to be the useless old cripple anymore because he can live the rest of his life happy, without being told what to do. Candy’s dream ended in a pessimistic way because all he wanted got destroyed leaving him with nothing and hence left in the same way he was before the dream- old, useless and hanging onto his job by a thread.
Crooks dream was to be respected and not judged by his colour, he too wanted to live on the ranch with Candy, George and Lenny. Crooks is an example of the bitterness, anger and hopelessness that a black American struggling to be recognised as a human being is faced with. At first Crooks was most cynical about the dream of owning a ranch but the dream was powerful enough to convince him that it was the real thing for a few moments only to be shattered by Curley’s wife who made it clear that there is no way a black, crippled outcast such as himself would ever make such a dream a reality. That statement that Curly’s wife made, made Crooks realise that he was nothing more than an outcast and what she said was in a way true, with that all the hopes and dreams of Crooks were crushed.
Like Crooks, Curley’s wife is stricken with isolation and sadness. She was out of place on the ranch and because of that she was a really lonesome person with lonesome feelings and hence was often desperate for someone to talk to. Throughout the novel Curley’s wife stirred up many emotions among the workers of the ranch, such as the way she looked and acted lead other characters in the novel to see her as a “tart”. Curly’s wife indulged in a dream which had already passed her by, leaving her with a life of empty hope. Like many young women, she aspired to stardom in films after being wrongly told that she was a “natural”. At first she seemed cold hearted and set herself to make trouble but then it became apparent that she was just lonely adn wanted someone to talk to and as Curley was not interested in hearing about her hopes or dreams, the only person she found willing to listen to was Lenny.
