7/21/2019 How is the Theme of Dreams Portrayed in the Novella of
Mice and Men
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How is the theme of Dreams portrayed in Steinbecks novella Of
Mice and MenBy Angus au !" #$%&
'n Of Mice and Men( the theme of dreams play a pivotal role in
the construction of the plot and the
shaping of the characters( as it acts as the characters
motivation to endure the American Depression and
escape their current lifestyle) *he common American dream was to
have freedom and to own a piece of land(
yet there are different interpretations of the dreams for each
of the characters in the story) +et( from the title of
the novella( ,Of Mice and Men-( it suggests that no matter how
well one plans his.her dream( it will not come
true as a reference to /obert Burns poem ,*o a Mouse-( from
which Steinbeck took his title)
As stated in the novella 0eorges dream was to ,get the 1ack-
with ennie( ,have a little house and a
couple of acres an a cow and some pigs- and ,live off the fatta
the land-) *his dream is the most similar to the
typical American dream that characters have and from the
previous 2uotes( we could infer that 0eorge had
planned his dream well and it seemed achievable to the readers)
't is because 0eorge( unlike the other itinerantworkers( has saved
up money and we know he doesnt spend it at the cat house) +et( when
0eorge says that
his farm would also include ,red and blue and green rabbits(
millions of them- as well as work ,si3( seven hours
a day- for such a big farm and only two people( these details
seem a little bit idealistic and might suggest that
the dream will never come true as 0eorge doesnt seem to have
considered over eventualities) *his can be also
ascertained in the fairy4tale4like way 0eorge told ennie about
their dream) 5e could also infer from 0eorge
being forced to kill ennie( 0eorges dream will never come true
as his dream consists of ennies
accompaniment in the utilitarian society where loneliness is
prevalent and thus( killing ennie also meant killing
his own dream and this links back to the poem ,*o a mouse-)
ennies dream is similar to 0eorge as it too involves them being
together and having the opportunity to
own a ranch and ,live off the fatta the land-) +et( ennies dream
also includes him owning rabbits( and this plays
a momentous role( as it is ennies obsession with rabbits that
makes him constantly need 0eorges
reassurance to tell him that their dream will come true) *his
can be seen from ennies pleading ,6ome on(
0eorge) *ell me #the dream&) 7lease 0eorge( like you done
before-) *hrough this( 0eorge is able to control
ennie because if ennie misbehaves( 0eorge only has to threaten
him with not letting him own rabbits) *his is
seen throughout the novella when ennie constantly checks whether
he can still have the rabbits with 0eorge
after he has done something wrong( ,' didnt want no trouble8 '
can still tend the rabbits( 0eorge9 ))) ' didnt
mean no harm( 0eorge-) 5e can infer from this that it is the
desperation of keeping the dream that causes
ennie to panic when 6urleys wife started yelling at ennie in
section : when he was going to ,mess up her
hair-) Because of his fright at the noise and his fear that
0eorge will not allow him his dream because of it(
ennie tries to muffle 6urleys wifes screams by covering her
mouth and holding tighter and tighter to her hair
as he did not want 0eorge to blame him for interacting with the
,1ail bait-) ennies actions are all due to his blind
pursuit of his dream) *he destructive nature of the dream is
further proved when the gigantic rabbit that
appeared in ennies mind #in section ;& suggests that ennies
dreams would go against him( and 0eorge
would leave him) *his we understand to be ennies conscience)
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7/21/2019 How is the Theme of Dreams Portrayed in the Novella of
Mice and Men
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ike ennie( 6urleys wife also blindly pursues her dream to be
noticed and appreciated) *hus( due to
her desperation( she believes the lie that the man she ,went out
to the /iverside Dance 7alace with- said that
he was ,gonna put me #her& in the movies) Said ' was a
natural) Soons he get back to Hollywood he was gonna
write to me about it)- +et( the blind pursuit of her dream
bunded her senses 1ust because the man ,gonna put me
in the movies-) 5hen this doesnt happen( she then marries 6urley
in the hope that he would give herappreciation e lacks) However(
this backfires( as she becomes unimportant to him( to the e3tent
that she did not
even have a name( and she believes he ,aint a nice fella-) *his
means that the only way for her to achieve her
dream was to attract other men on the ranch and ennie is the
only one naive enough to talk to her) im for too long- when
6arlson
suggested shooting his dog and the fact that he does not buy a
piece of land even if he had the funds) 5hen he
finally convinced 0eorge to let him share his and ennies dream
with him( it seemed that his contribution
makes the dream close to realisation( yet it is shattered when
0eorge had to kill ennie in Section ;( as seen
from ,*hen ? its all off9- after 6andy ,spoke his greatest
fear-) *his shows that a dream is empty if it is not
shared with someone)
@nlike the other characters( 6rooks( the most intelligent
character of the novella( has the most realistic(and almost cynical
view about the American dream) As he had been on the ranch long
enough to see that the
dream never comes true for the itinerant workers( and his own
e3perience as his American dream when he was
young was taken off him 1ust because he was black) 'n the
novella( it states ,' never seen a guy really do it8
ever time a whore house or a black1ack game took what it takes-)
However( 6rooks does let himself believe for
a short time that the dream is possible due to 0eorges great
plan( 6andys money and the chance to be
accepted in a group) 5e could see that this is very similar to
what 6andy dreams of( as they are both impaired
individuals and are separated from others in the society) *his
is seen when 6urleys wife enters and reminds him
to ,keep your place then( =igger-( and the fact that she ,could
get you strung up a tree so 2uickly it aint even
funny-( shows that he is both physically and socially separated
from the others again)
6urley presents a different view of the American dream as it
typically consists of a ranch( freedom and a
wife) +et( he is still not satisfied with it and wants to gain
respect form the ranch workers( primarily by beating up
big guys to prove that he is strong) *his indicates that people
will always want more even when they have
achieved something and that it is only the process of pursuing
the dream that is important but not the outcome)
*his may also be the foreshadowing of the sad ending of this
novella( when 0eorge has to kill ennie out of
love( destroying his dream with him)
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