These are the things that are missing from their lives, showing that the reason they need the dream is to have some hope that their lives may improve. AnalysisĪll George and Lennie are really hoping for is described here: a place where they feel they belong and do not have to leave. No, sir, we’d have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house. There wouldn’t be no more runnin’ round the country and gettin’ fed by a Jap cook. “All kin’s a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. George recites the dream to Lennie like a story, which suggests that they don’t really believe in it, even though the things they are dreaming of are quite modest. George and Lennie’s dream How does Steinbeck show this? The end of George and Lennie’s dream (which is also the end of Candy’s dream).Candy and Crooks turning to George and Lennie’s dream as a way of escaping the hardships in their lives.In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck explores dreams through: Curley’s wife also has a dream – to be a film star – and although she no longer has any real hope that this could come true, it gives her a distraction from the unhappiness of her life, which is also true of dreams for the other characters. For the men on the ranch in Of Mice and Men, having dreams gives them some hope that their hard work will be rewarded. This is linked to the United States Declaration of Independence which states that ‘all men are created equal’. This is the idea that in America, it is possible for anyone to achieve success and improve their lives through hard work. This dream is very important to the men because it represents freedom and having control over their own lives, which they do not have while moving around looking for work.ĭreams in Of Mice and Men are linked to the ‘American Dream’. They continue to discuss this throughout the text, with Candy also becoming involved and making it finally seem possible. The theme of dreams is introduced at the start of the book through George’s description to Lennie of the farm that they hope one day to own together.

It was all a dream