The Importance of Dreams in Of Mice And Men
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” - Harriet Tubman. In the novella Of Mice and Men, the main characters and protagonists, George and Lennie, are two migrant ranch workers who move from place to place looking for jobs in the Great Depression in the US. Even though their dream didn’t come true, they still learn valuable lessons while working towards it. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the author gives the idea that dreams are good to have, but don’t always need to come true.
Dreams are important for everyone to have, even if the person doesn’t achieve it. If people get mad because you believe in your dream, like George says, “The hell with the rabbits. That’s all you can ever remember is them rabbits” (5). Lennie’s dream is to tend rabbits on a farm with George and he constantly references the rabbits, which annoys George. Lennie does not give up though, he still references the rabbits and won’t forget about them. As George explains to Lennie, Lennie blurts, “‘No … you tell it. It ain’t the same if I tell it. Go on …George. How I get to tend the rabbits’” (16). Lennie references this many times throughout the story. George likes to remind Lennie of their dream of owning and living on land by themselves one day, because it calms Lennie down. Like at the end of the novella how George describes, “‘Go on George. When we gonna do it?’ as George says, ‘You got it by heart. You can do it yourself.’ but Lennie explains, ‘No, you. I forget some a’ the things. Tell about how it’s gonna be’. Lennie tells George to explain so he can picture it again, but George tells him to explain because he doesn’t want to. George knows that Lennie knows what to say, but Lennie thinks it more special when George says it. Another example is when Crooks exclaims, “They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it” (62).
Crooks explains to them how everyone who works will have a dream of owning their own land instead of working for somebody else’s. He too can relate to George and Lennie wanting to leave the farm, as he himself also wants to leave the farm as he explains, “[Crooks] hesitated. '… If you … guys would want a hand to work for nothing—just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand” (88). Crooks is in agreement with George and Lennie that they should leave but also wants to be a part of it. He wants to help them accomplish their dream and accomplish it with him alongside of them.
George and Lennie have a long tough ride throughout the novella with many lessons and dreams. The most important lesson is that dreams are good to have, but don’t always need to come true.
