Of Mice and Men - Impact of Dreams and Dreaming on the Characters

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In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck clearly shows the powerful impact that dreams have on the characters and how their dreams give them hope and determination throughout the novel. The American dream is deeply rooted within the novel, the dream to have independence and freedom for all. It is also the opportunity to have a better life, like Lennie and George dream of in the novel. This is what all of the rancher’s dream of, to be their own boss; the simplicity of the dream is what makes us empathise with the characters in the novel. One of the main characters we empathise with is Lennie due to his disability and child-like mind. It is clear to us from the start that Lennie is very child-like as his dream is, “to tend the rabbits”, even though this seems like a small insignificant dream, to have the freedom to have your own ranch with rabbits is near to impossible for men like Lennie and George. It is obvious through Steinbeck’s choice of language that Lennie never truly doubts the fact his dream will come true. However, he often reassures himself he hasn’t ruined the dream by asking, “I can still tend the rabbits, George?” this conveys Lennie’s vulnerable side and also how precious the dream is to him. Despite Lennie’s best efforts to keep the dream it was not meant to be. Although Lennie is very child-like mentally, he is physically very strong and doesn’t realise his own strength. Consequently he does ‘bad’ things unintentionally, such as killing his puppy and Curley’s wife. Steinbeck continuously foreshadowed this event using a bad omen, “clashed the chains of their halters”. The word “clashed” has connotations of violence, the way Steinbeck has used this word as part of the bad omen could suggest that the dream ends in a violent way. This continuous reminder keeps us on edge until finally “Lennie had broken her neck”, once again Lennie’s reaction is, “he

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