Of Mice and Men: Dream Significance

703 Words3 Pages
What is the significance of dreams in “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
The dreams in “Of Mice and Men” are core themes used to display the pinnacle of aspirations for the labouring class recently after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. They also highlight the polarization of society where the poor may only have their dreams to hold on to but the upper echelons of society control the wealth, the jobs and the lives of the working men. This is significant as Steinbeck wrote the book to display the hardship for the working class after the economic collapse and Steinbeck involves the lower Characters that existed in reality in California in the theme of dreams – all of whom were in desperately sad situations. The dream of the two main characters George and Lennie, migrating workers, is the hope of owning their own land and the life on their land would be a meritocracy. In the book George and Lennie work on the “Tyler Ranch” in the Salinas Valley, keeping going through the monotonous life with the old-fashioned and misleading “American Dream”. The book details how the dream life the two men dream of having is at times out of reach, tantalizingly close when Candy buys his way into their plans (“S’pose I went in with you guys. That’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in...”) and how the dream is revealed to be false and snatched away at the end of the book with the death of Curley’s wife. In the 1930s the economy was in a bad way in America and most of the sought after land had been taken earlier in the history of the country.
The dreams in “Of Mice and Men” are used by Steinbeck to signify characters in the book that have the potential to aspire to something better. Many people on the ranch are individuals who live in the reality that their lives are very isolated and often futile as they work for The Boss on the ranch and he has absolute control. None of the workers

More about Of Mice and Men: Dream Significance

Open Document