The Importance Of Dreams In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Jobless, homeless, and unable to support themselves, many farmers during the 1930’s moved west in search of better life. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, readers observe how dreams keep people motivated; especially through tough times. Steinbeck’s characters George Milton and Lennie Small, search for work in the struggling agricultural market of California. Although there are many hardships that the men face, both George and Lennie have a dream that they are determined to accomplish. Despite Lennie’s lack of social boundaries and the hardships of the Great Depression, it is the dream that they have together that keeps them motivated. Walking for miles to their jobsite, George and Lennie must camp out near a stream before meeting
Steinbeck makes this evident by writing, “‘We’d jus’ live there. We’d belong there…’ (57)
‘An’ rabbits, ‘Lennie said eagerly. ‘An’ I’d take care of em’.’ “(58)
There is an obvious contrast between their dreams; George wants to belong somewhere and feel accomplished, while Lennie wants comfort, symbolized by rabbits. Steinbeck uses this difference to foreshadow the dream’s weakness. Having two different versions of the dream emphasizes the idea that, with George and Lennie’s different needs for comfort and security, the dream can not survive. Toward the end of the novella Lennie fears he’s “done a bad thing.” After accidentally killing Curley’s wife, Lennie hides by the stream that George foreshadows as a meeting place, in case something bad were to happen. Knowing that Lennie can never be accepted by society, George makes the decision to take Lennie’s life in order to save him from the cruelty of society. Steinbeck writes, George “pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again.” (106) Steinbeck uses this tragic moment to make apparent that George and Lennie’s dream has to die with