Dreams in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay Example

Dreams are an important part of life. They help give people something to aim for, which benefits us in many ways. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about two men named George and Lennie that travel and work together. Lennie is a big guy who is extremely tall and strong, however, he is very simple. He would never be able to survive and make enough money to have a nice life without his friend Geroge. George is a very quiet man who enjoys his peace and quiet. George is a father figure to Lennie and they both dream to one day own a small farm with land and animals. This dream is what motivates the two men to keep working, as they want to have control of their own lives. Due to various life's challenges, John Steinbeck wants us to realize that even though you have a perfectly planned dream, things will not go as planned and turn out differently than anticipated. 

In the beginning, George and Lennie set a  perfectly planned dream of owning a small farm.  George mentions the idea to Lennie and describes a farm that they hope to someday own. The dream starts by stating, “Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and—” “An’ live off the fatta the lan’,” Lennie shouted. “An’ have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages...”(7). This dream is certainly achievable for some people, but it remains a dream for them because each of them has something that prevents it from becoming a reality. Lennie's obsession with soft things would make him unable to raise rabbits because he would eventually kill them. Lennie is always getting in trouble so George is constantly trying to keep him safe. George would not have time to own any of those animals or keep the farm in shape because Lennie is a full-time job. Next, Candy tries to be a part of George and Lennie’s dream so he could have a place to stay in the future. Candy does not want to worry about getting fired from his job and having nowhere to stay. Candy tries to convince George by saying, “Tha’s three hunderd an’ fifty bucks I’d put in. I ain't much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some.” (29). Candy really wants to join their dream so he offers them $350. George denies the offer at first because he was just planning on doing it with Lennie, but he reconsiders when the dream seems like it could actually happen. Throughout the beginning of the novel George and Lennie's dream appears to be a possibility. Unfortunately, things only get worse from there.

Gradually, however, the perfect plan George and Lennie have made out does not go as planned due to many obstacles. First, Lennie's obsession with soft things caused him to touch a girl's red dress. The girl panicked and screamed. Lennie tightened his grip, forcing George to come over and hit him over the head to make him let go. When Lennie finally let go he said, "Jus' wanted to feel that girl's dress--jus' wanted to pet it like it was a mouse” The girl told the police because she thought that Lennie was trying to rape her. The townspeople and police were attempting all day to catch Lennie. George and Lennie were forced to spend the day hiding in a ditch until it was dark enough to run away. Next, Lennie was in a shed with Curley's wife telling her how he loves to touch soft things and how he really wants to touch her hair. She allows him to touch her hair until, “He shook her then, and he was angry with her. “Don’t you go yellin’,” he said, and he shook her and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”(44). This is exactly what happened with Curley's wife as the text shows.  Lennie clearly took it too far and is unable to let go when it is brutally obvious that he should. Clearly, Lennie has made it difficult for George to make their dream true. Lennie begins to display behavioral patterns throughout the novel.

Furthermore, George and Lennie’s dream has not been achieved. Unfortunately, everything has turned out differently than anticipated. First, George is about to shoot Lennie and is talking to him normally. He knew he had to kill Lennie the fastest way possible. George states, “We gonna get a little place,” George began. He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger; he snapped off the safety, and the hand and gun lay on the ground behind Lennie’s back.” (51). The text shows that all of the dreams George and Lennie had planned out will all end with George picking that gun up. Lennie has caused enough chaos and George just wanted him to have a fast and painless death. Next, George built up the courage to shoot Lennie. He has been watching over Lennie for a very long time and knew if he didn’t pull the trigger Lennie would die painfully. The novel states, “George's hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again.”(51). Lennie has caused enough stress for George and George wanted to let go of Lennie in a painless way. Clearly, this was very hard for George as they did everything together. When Lennie dies, the dream dies. Finally, this shows that all dreams do not come true and may have a completely different ending than most have anticipated. 

In conclusion, Due to various life's challenges, John Steinbeck wants us to realize that even though someone might have a perfectly planned dream, things will not go as planned and turn out differently than anticipated john Steinbeck shows us that many dreams that seem perfect sometimes may not go as planned and turn out completely different than expected. At first, George and Lennie make an ideal dream to own their own little farm with animals. It starts to come together when Candy offers them $350 to be able to share and start their dream. Lennie creates many conflicts for George to try and have their dream come true. Finally, all of their plans that George and Lennie have out will all end when George picks up that gun and shoots Lennie.  In The Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck shows that not all dreams will end the way you plan them to. Dreams are an important thing in life. They help find identity in individuals, which helps us in a number of ways.