To what extent is their dream typical of the time and what does John Steinbeck conclude in the novel as to the feasibility of pursuing dreams in 1930s America.

I think Lennie also likes the idea of it being only him and George as when he is with other people, he always seems to get into trouble. An example of this is the girl with the red dress in Weed where both Lennie and George had to run away because Lennie did ‘bad things’. We get the impression this situation is not uncommon when George is talking to slim as he says, ‘he gets in trouble alla time.’ If they got the ‘small place’, George would be the only other person there with Lennie and so he wouldn’t be able to get into trouble as there would be no one to get into trouble with.

As you can see, Lennie’s dream − and to some extent George’s – are different to that of many others at the time because they are in unusual circumstances. Lennie’s view of the world is not as cynical as many others at the time because he cannot fully understand the situation in the wider world and George has the responsibility of looking after Lennie which most other migrant workers in similar situations at the time would not have had. So, although the actual dream of the small ranch, independence and self-sufficiency is typical of many others at the time, their reasons for it are not.

So far I have only looked at George and Lennie’s dream in comparison with ‘everyone else at the time’ and this can be difficult, as there were obviously many people in the countries in many different situations. However, we can look within the novel and see many examples of other people with dreams. Two of these are Candy and Crooks. Both try to involve themselves in the dream but again it is because they are in different circumstances than many others. They are peripheral characters to many on the ranch and both want to feel included.

Candy dreams of being needed and accepted by others as at the moment he is always cut off from the rest of the ranch hands. Being a swamper, he does not go and work in the fields so misses out on the feeling of comradeship that this must create. He is also left out because of his age and his disability. This comradeship is what Candy would get from becoming part of the dream of the ‘small place’. We see this by how much he is willing to put into it with the money – ‘tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in’ – for how little he is willing to get out of it – ‘maybe you’ll let me hoe in the garden even after I ain’t no good at it’. An example of Candy’s needing to be needed is with his dog. It is not just because he has had the dog for a long time that he is upset when the others force him into accepting Carlson shooting the dog, but also because he is losing the only thing that needs him. Candy also shares George’s idea of the dream of being self-sufficient because he has always done things for other people. In this way, his dream is also similar to that of many people at the time who wanted to be self-sufficient, as the economy was so unstable.

Crooks also dreams of being accepted and of having company. On the ranch he is isolated from the others and we know he feels lonely from his one proper conversation – with Lennie in the barn – where he says, ‘A guy needs somebody – to be near him.’ He gets quite irate about not being allowed in the bunkhouse – except once at Christmas (as we are told by Candy) when he was just laughed at. He is allowed to play horseshoes with the other guys but otherwise spends his evenings alone. It is when he is talking about this loneliness to Lennie that Crooks becomes angry with the other ranch hands and take this anger out on Lennie as he is the only one who talks to him. He also tries to make Lennie feel insecure about his friendship with George because he is jealous of it.

When Crooks first hears about George and Lennie’s dream he is very dismissive of it. He says, ‘you guys is just kiddin’ yourself’ and that ‘ever’ guy got land in his head.’  This shows not only that many others had the same dream of getting their own land but also that they did not achieve this dream, showing Steinbecks’ view on the subject. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up because he has seen it all before and understands that the life of a migrant worker in this turbulent time means always moving on. However, when he finds out they have the money, he allows himself to believe in it and to feel hopeful about it. This shows money was always the problem for previous dreamers he met – this is significant as it was a time of economic depression so money was everything to some people. Those with it had power, those without had nothing. As soon as Crooks thinks the dream could happen, he tries to involve himself in it, becoming so excited that he can’t even get the words out. The dream gives Crooks the hope that he will be worth something to somebody and valued on the small ranch, something he doesn’t get on the ranch at the moment.

Another reason Crooks wants to be involved in the dream is to regain what he had as a child. We are told that Crooks grew up on a chicken ranch and that he used to ‘play with the white kids’ – they were on equal terms and Crooks seems to want this again. This is similar to George who describes how he wants specific things like a smoke-house ‘like the one gran’pa had’ on the small ranch. He has got some of his ideas about the dream from his childhood also. This reason shared by these two characters may well have been echoed by many at the time. Men of this age at this time would have been born in a time of economic prosperity for many. Even in the war years, there would have been many who were still living comfortably as well as the fact that communities are often made stronger by war. Therefore, many suffering from the depression would have also wanted to recreate the happiness of their childhood.

Lennie is one of the two dreamers of this novel. He keeps up his idea of the dream right until his last moments. The other dreamer of the novel is Curley’s wife. She dreams of being famous and adored. She tells Lennie how she got the opportunity twice when she was younger but her ‘ol’ lady’ prevented her from achieving this dream. She seems to have settled for Curley simply because she could not se any other option in life. Indeed, for a girl of her age in a time of such difficulty, there would probably have not been very many choices available other than marriage. She tells Lennie how she ‘don’ like Curley’ and that ‘he ain’t a nice fella.’ She tries to achieve her dream in a small way by getting the attention of the other men. This is shown as soon as we meet her by the description of a girl ‘heavily made up’ with ‘hair in little rolled clusters’ and shoes with ‘little bouquets of red ostrich feathers’, not typical attire for a housewife living on a ranch! She craves attention and does these things to get it. However, it does not work with most of the ranch hands as they are scared of losing their jobs – this is, after all, a time when any job was precious – except Lennie. This is why she seeks him out in the barn at the end and, in the end, it is her craving for attention which kills her.

Although the dream held by Curley’s wife is not the same as that of Lennie and George, it is one that was shared by many at the time and indeed many people today. It is another example of a typical dream of the time. It is also an example of Steinbeck’s conclusions of the feasibility of pursuing dreams in 1930s America. At the end of the novel, with Lennie in the barn, Curley’s wife is finally getting what she wants. Lennie thinks she is beautiful and adores her but then, as soon as she achieves even the slightest part of her dream, it is taken form her as she dies.

This is again similar to Lennie, as he has just got his dream of ‘rabbits’ (and so much more) within his grasp but then dies, taking the dream with him. George encourages Lennie to talk about the dream just before he shoots him so that Lennie leaves him thinking of the thing that means most to them. In a way, as George shoots Lennie, he is shooting the dream of himself, Candy, Crooks and the many others in the country who shared it with them. It was always Lennie who needed the dream the most and I don’t think George could even consider doing it without him. He gives the dream to Lennie to take with him and we know that if there is a heaven, for Lennie it will be the small place with the rabbits.

Everyone in the novel needs dreams because they are unhappy with their lives at the moment and if you live in a dream world, you don’t have to live in the real world. Dreams give them something to aim for, a ray of light in the darkness of the depression for them to work towards. This need and desire for dreams is typical of the American people during the 1930s. People reading the book when it was written would have been able to relate to the characters’ hopes and ambitions and perhaps even share in their dreams and in the disappointment felt when these dreams fail. I cannot speak for readers of the time, but I know I did find myself sharing both the dreams and the disappointment of the characters in this novel.

In this novel, Steinbeck expresses his opinions of dreams in 1930s America very subtly through his characters. The most obvious example of this is Crooks before he finds out about the money. We also see the majority of the ranchers just getting on with their daily routine of work, horseshoes and mindless talk of magazines and fights. The killing of Candy’s dog is made into a big event and everyone involves themselves in it as it is a change from the mundanity of their everyday lives. This is showing how they try not to dream too much and live in a dream world, as they know that these dreams will not come true. Although this may appear a very pessimistic view, I think it is really seen more as realism by the ranchers and therefore by Steinbeck.

The dream that George and Lennie have is very typical of the time. It is simple and would provide with some stability in their life – something that many people needed with the economy and therefore the country being in such an unstable situation. This is shown within the novel as other characters have the same dream, with Crooks and Candy involving themselves in it. However, the reasons characters have this dream vary and are not typical of the time because they are not in typical circumstances. George has the added responsibility of Lennie, Lennie has a mental disadvantage, Candy has a physical disability and Crooks has both a physical and social disadvantage. These are difficulties which were not faced by the majority of the population.

In the novel, Steinbeck concludes that, no matter how hard people try, dreams in 1930s America were very difficult to pursue and almost impossible to achieve. The only characters in the novel who it can be said achieve their dreams in any way are Lennie and Curley’s Wife and the price they pay is great. This is how Steinbeck expresses his opinions of the fragility of dreams at this time. Although this view may seem cynical, it was merely realistic to Steinbeck and to many others at the time who felt there was no hope in the world and that dreams could keep them going but that they were not possible. This was a time when for many it was difficult enough to survive. Dreams were simply something to get you through the day – they were very rarely achieved.

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