Steinbeck’s novel told a story of men who accomplished little in their lives, but who dreamed big; just as a mouse would dream of cheese and which also accomplished little in its life. The mice and men constantly go around in circles of no futility; the man makes his money, the mouse eats its cheese, but at the end of the day, what have they accomplished? It’s an endless cycle of poverty and they are unable to achieve the American Dream, like the characters hoped for.
From the beginning of the story Lennie and George ride high on the thought of someday owning a farm. For George, it is the expectation of being his own boss and taking care of his own place. For Lennie, it is the expectation of simply being able to pet animals all day long. This is shown when he says, ‘Can I tend the rabbits George?’ and ‘We could live on the fat of the lan’. Their dream also sets George apart from the others because it means him and Lennie have a future and something to anticipate.
Steinbeck also uses animal images in his story. Most often applied to Lennie, imagery is particularly apparent in his physical description. His hands are called ‘paws’ and indicate trouble when he uses them. He lumbers like a bear and has the strength of a bear. Lennie is also associated with rabbits, which are part of his dream (he will get to tend them on the farm) and because they are soft things he likes to pet. Rabbits also symbolise his realisation that he is in trouble; if Lennie does ‘a bad thing,’ George will not let him tend the rabbits. The dead mouse is also an allusion to the novel's title, a reminder that dreams will go wrong, even the desire to pet a mouse. In addition, Lennie’s loyalty to George is frequently described like that of a dog. In this way, it helps the reader understand Lennie and why he often acts instinctively.
Lennie uses repetition to reinforce and inspire his dream which also makes him feel that he has a goal in life and can live up to that dream. Lennie’s dream of ‘red and blue rabbits’ and ‘cutting the cream in half with a knife’ is obviously a fantasy, but this makes misery bearable and tolerable. Lennie has little memory, but the story of their dream is kept animated and is one he knows by heart. George repeats their dream regularly to Lennie which comforts and soothes him like a bed-time story would. While George never really believes in this farm, Lennie embraces it with childlike enthusiasm. Every time he makes George tell their story, his enthusiasm excites George, too. Lennie’s innocence keeps the dream alive, but his human imperfection makes the dream impossible to realise.
For many people in the early 1920s and the 1930s, the dream of becoming rich quickly was virtually possible. This dream soon deteriorated in 1929 when the Wall Street Stock Market crashed. This was the start of the Great Depression that would affect the whole world. More people were unemployed and generally life was harder for everyone.
We know that their journey wasn’t easy. At first, Lennie and George had very few skills and resources that didn’t help them attain their dream. Secondly, their journey was made even more difficult because Lennie is mentally retarded; his powerful body, his childlike innocence, and his fascination with soft things conspire against him. Finally, Steinbeck fills their journey with obstacles, among them lack of family, cruelty and intimidation, jealousy, fear, loneliness, and self doubt. All these factors lead into the failure to achieve their dream.
George and Lennie’s dream obviously wasn’t achievable. When Lennie killed Curley’s wife he said, ‘George ain’t gonna let me tend the rabbits now.’ To Lennie, his dream is over. George soon found out that Lennie killed her, he then took a few moments to realise the scope. But, realist that George is, he tells Candy over the lifeless body of Curley’s wife, ‘I think I knowed from the very first. I think I know’d we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would (be able to have the farm.)’ Lennie knows he has done ‘a bad thing’ and expects George to scold and lecture him. George, however, is so overcome with remorse that he cannot scold Lennie but must save him from Curley’s cruelty. When George killed Lennie, Carlson was unable to empathasise with George’s grief, ‘what do you suppose is eating those guys.’ He represents the ranch workers who were heartless and harsh in their solitary lives. But on the other hand, Slim comprehends the truth, and he takes George off up the footpath for a drink. In the end, George Milton is man alone once again.
Candy’s only dream is companionship. In this novel, Candy’s only companion is his old dog and his dream is shown through his affection for it. Candy gives Steinbeck an opportunity to discuss social discrimination based on age and handicaps. Candy represents what happens to everyone who grows old in American society: They are let go, canned, thrown out, and used up. Candy’s greatest fear is that once he is no longer able to help with the cleaning he will be ‘disposed of.’ Like his old dog, he has lived beyond his usefulness. Candy’s dog serves as a harsh reminder of the fate that awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness. The only thing he is any good at is gossiping about the other people in the ranch and he thinks that this is the only way to impress people or to make friends.
Candy and his dog parallel the relationship of George and Lennie. Like Candy’s dog, Lennie depends on George to take care of him and show him what to do. Candy, like George, is different from the other ranch hands because he has his dog as a constant companion, someone devoted and loyal to him. When the unfeeling Carlson suggests that Candy’s dog be put out of its misery, Candy abdicates the responsibility to Carlson. He told George later that he should have shot his dog himself, foreshadowing George’s decision to take responsibility for Lennie’s death and ‘be his brother’s keeper.’
Candy also plays a significant role in the dream, providing the money needed to make the down payment. Candy doesn’t have any family; he would give all his share of money to George and Lennie to help with the dream. Because of Candy, the dream almost becomes real. His overall dream was shattered right after the death of Curley’s wife because he knew that to have this dream complete, he would have to have Lennie because he is the life and enthusiasm of the dream. Shortly after, Candy said ‘Then it’s all off George?’ Despite the tragic meeting of Curley’s wife and Lennie, even then Candy still thinks he can have his safe haven, a place where no one would throw him out when he is too old. The dream is so strong in him that he pleads with George, to no avail, to have their farm despite Lennie’s death.
Crooks is the stable worker who takes care of the horses and lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch. Along with Candy, Crooks is a character used by Steinbeck to show the effects of discrimination. In Crooks’ childhood, his father told him how inequality was occurring but he was fully oblivious of it because he was too young to understand. This time the discrimination is based on race, and Crooks is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the white ranch workers.
Crooks’ dream is to have racial equality and to be judged not on his race, but his individuality and character. His loneliness is apparent when the ranch workers go into town on Saturday night to ease their loneliness with alcohol and women. Similarly, Lennie goes into Crooks’ room to find someone with whom to talk, and later Curley’s wife comes for the same reason. Crooks says, ‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you.’ This illustrates his loneliness and he only craves for contact from others to give his life a meaning.
In the ranch, Crooks reads books as a form of escapism. It takes his mind off how he was treated and what he had to experience everyday. Crooks has a ‘fleeting dream’. For once he thought that he had a dream shared with George, Lennie and Candy but this was cut short in a few moments. That he becomes part of the dream farm is an indication of Crooks’ loneliness and insecurity. He, like Candy, realises that once he is no longer useful he will be ‘thrown out.’ Candy realises he has never been in Crooks’ room, and George’s reaction to Crooks being involved in their dream is enough to cause Crooks to withdraw his request to be part of the dream. This is shown when he says to George, ‘never mind, I won’t do it anyway’. This demonstrates that Crooks is very stubborn. He feels that hope for his dream will be lost and that he doesn’t deserve it because of his race. He knows that his feelings will be shattered anyway and he didn’t want to even suffer anymore pain that he has already dealt with.
All the way through the book, Crooks is never respected by his peers and everyone treats him dreadfully. He never retaliates; he keeps all his anger and frustration to himself. The instant when Lennie comes into Crooks’ bunkhouse, he feels as there is a chance to have a moment of power to cause Lennie pain. He shows this by saying, ‘supose George will never come back’ Crooks seems at his strongest when he has nearly reduced Lennie to tears for fear that something bad has happened to George, just as Curley’s wife feels most powerful when she threatens to have Crooks lynched. This suggests that the most visible kind of strength, that used to oppress others, is itself born of weakness. Prejudice isn’t simply a characteristic of the white ranch workers or the daughter-in-law of the boss; it is a human characteristic, and Crooks needs to feel superior to someone also. Like all the others, he wants a place where he can be independent and have some security. But there is no security for anyone in a prejudiced world, least of all a black stable hand with a crooked back.
Curley’s wife is an isolated figure in this novel. She isn’t respected by anyone; she has no name, no status, no identity, and to the men in the ranch, she’s ‘just a wife,’ indicating her powerless position on the ranch. She is defined by her role: Curley’s wife or possession. George and Candy call her by other names such as ‘jailbait’ or ‘tart.’ She wears too much makeup and dresses like a ‘whore’ with red fingernails and red shoes with ostrich feathers, indicating that danger is present. George, realizing Lennie’s fascination, warns him to stay away from her. Curley’s wife knows her beauty is her power, and she uses it to flirt with the ranch hands and make her husband jealous. She is utterly alone on the ranch, and her husband has seen to it that no one will talk to her without fearing a beating. She feels this is the only approach of making friends. She still feels she can escape from her ‘pit’ (ranch), and still achieve her dream of being in the ‘pictures.’ Of Mice and Men is not kind in its portrayal of women. In fact, women are treated with contempt throughout the course of the novel. Steinbeck generally depicts women as troublemakers who bring ruin on men and drive them mad. Curley’s wife, who walks the ranch as a temptress, seems to be a prime example of this destructive tendency.
The dream of Curley’s wife is to act, be respected and to be a famous movie star. She believes ‘she has talent’ which was said by a previous film director. She taunts and provokes the ranch workers into talking with her, an action that causes Curley to beat them up. George sees her as a ‘tart,’ but Lennie is fascinated by her soft hair and looks. She is unsympathetically portrayed as a female tease. Her mother was the only person that valued her but she went against her irrationally. She ended up marrying Curley to get back at her. Lonely and restless, she married too quickly to a husband who neglects her. Not noticing it, but as soon as she married Curley, her dream was completely over. While Curley may strut around the ranch because of his position as the boss’ son, he obviously cannot satisfy his wife and is mean to her.
Her death at Lennie’s hands means the end of George and Lennie’s companionship and their dream. She is portrayed, like the girl in Weed, as a liar and manipulator of men. She can be regarded as a villain because she is ending peoples’ dreams and hopes which a villain would do. These appearances cause the reader to dislike her and see her as the downfall of the men in the story. In the barn scene, however, Steinbeck softens the reader’s reaction to Curley’s wife by exploring her dreams. Her ‘best laid plans’ involved a stint in the movies with all the benefits, money, and pleasure that would provide. Her beauty is such that perhaps that dream might have come true. Steinbeck seems to show, through Curley’s wife, that even the worst of us have our humanity.
The pugnacious Curley loves to flaunt his power and status. His dream is explicit, but it is somewhat shown in the novel by his actions of violence. He wants to gain respect from everyone and attain a high status, but he is attempting this the wrong way. He believes the only possible way of achieving his dream is through violence. According to Candy, Curley is an amateur boxer and is always picking fights, especially with guys who are bigger than he is. When Curley picks the fight with Lennie, he does not realise the danger he is in; once Lennie was allowed to fight him, Lennie crushed his hand breaking all his bones. Curley is portrayed as a nasty person. When Lennie killed Curley’s wife, Curley saw this as his opportunity for revenge. In his meanness, he told Carlson to aim for Lennie’s gut so that Lennie will suffer. This, in turn, caused George to make the decision to kill Lennie mercifully.
Dreams were the main theme of this novel. Dreams and fantasies gave hope for every character and it was needed to make life and the misery bearable. Dreams were the characters’ only companion which meant that all they hoped for in life was to have a dream. I felt sorry for Curley’s wife because she died and never even had a chance to achieve her dream and have a good life. On the other hand, Candy, George and Lennie had a chance to achieve their dream. Steinbeck was successful in trying to show that George and Lennie were the mice in the title and that even mice are seen as a little insignificant. Even ‘mice’ like George and Lennie were ‘men’ that had dreams and hopes like everyone else.
