The Dream unifies all other themes in Of Mice and Men. It appears in the central scenes, it is the catalyst for the plot and so becomes the major theme of the novel. George puts it succinctly: ';We have a dream. Some day, we'll have a little house and a couple of acres. A place to call home.';(60). Having dreams offers a hope, albeit real or impossible, and drives out the loneliness endemic among itinerant workers.
Their Dream of a little farm somewhere recurs as a motif in major scenes. It introduces us to Lennie and George in the opening scene as they camp by the pool the night before beginning at Tyler Ranch. In the bunkhouse, retelling the dream leads to Candy offering financial help, and a plea for future security in his old age. Quite appropriately too, George is narrating the dream in the final scene when he shoots Lennie. It is the motif of their friendship and a great consolation to Lennie.
The Dream is the engine of the plot. The Dream of actually owning a farm with chickens, rabbits and the alfalfa patch has an endearing, narrative quality suitable for itinerant workers. The Dream appeals to them both; it would close their endless drifting, it gives them hope in their work and lives, and is not too fantastic for such itinerant workers. Owning the farm is suitable as a dream. Their Heaven is good food and long rest and private space and comfort by the stove. This Dream reinforces for readers the extent of their miserable working lives. Finally, the tragedy of the ending is heightened by the fact that they never realise what just might have been possible. In their precarious lives, one stupid incident can put paid to happiness.
The Dream is a strong counterpoint to the misery of loneliness and a symbol of their exclusion from America's return to prosperity. For in fact, the Dream is quite unattainable by them. In post-Depression USA, such people had few prospects or resources. Candy's offer of help put a whole new dimension the dream, namely, that it might just be realisable. This plot development put a new pressure on them rather than energising them. Perceptive readers may here sense Steinbeck's implication that Rooseveldt's New Deal in fact bypassed such people as George and Lennie, who were a whole forgotten under-class in the thirties. The Dream then tells us a great deal about the setting, the characters and their lives.
Sharing the dream then acts as a central theme in Of Mice and Men by recurring as a motif of their companionship, as the engine of the plot, as a counterpoint to the misery of loneliness and a symbol of their exclusion from America's return to prosperity. The theme of the dream incorporates the other themes of companionship, loneliness and death. It is a powerless man's parody of the American Dream, and universalises the hope that every person born is entitled to have dreams by right of his existence. Through this device, Steinbeck crystallises yet again what it means to be human.
You should be able to get something from this, however what you should remember is that steinbacks attitude towards life is that it is full of regret, injustice and suffering. Good luck, hope this helps.Information on mice and men please?
sorry i cant answer this coz ive only read a chapter on it.. but its really gd sooo far im duin it 4 gcse tooo SNAP
i liked the book and the film.
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