Everyone Has a Dream :: miscellaneous

Most people have some kind of hopes or dreams. Hopes are â€Å"desires accompanied by expectations of fulfillment, they are one that give promises to the future.† ( The Merriam Webster Dictionary, page 367). Dreams are â€Å"notable for their beauty, excellence, and/or enjoyable quality.† ( The Merriam Webster Dictionary, pages 234-235). However, these dreams are many times thwarted by many obstacles along the way, as happens to George and Lennie’s in John Steinback’s novel, Of Mice and Men. George promises Lennie’s aunt Clara, right before she dies, that he will take care of Lennie, and that they will always be together. During the 1930’s, people like Lennie, who has a mental handicap, and black’s, such as Crooks, the stable man, are discriminated. During this time, also known as the Great Depression, barn workers like George and Lennie would go around looking for work at a ranch. Very few Americans owned land, and only rarely did they have any freedom. George and Lennie want to buy a piece of land. To George this symbolizes his freedom, he will then be able to control his destiny, yet to Lennie, it means he will be able to tend the rabbits, and therefor pet them as much as he likes. Steinback expresses some of man’s hopes and dreams through the main characters actions. George and Lennie live in hope that their own, very particular dream, will one day come true. They hope they will work enough to earn the sufficient amount of money needed for their piece of land. The land is important to them because it symbolizes their liberty, their independence. From the moment they buy the land and on, they become independent human beings. They stop depending on whether they have a job, on whether they have enough food amongst other things. They dream of building a small house on this land, and on having a small farm with chickens and rabbits and cows. Lennie’s greatest dream is being able to tend the rabbits. Whenever Lennie does anything wrong, instead of thinking of the consequences that may follow, he only thinks of not being able to tend the rabbits when they acquire their new home. Lennie tries not upset George, because when he does, George threatens not to let him tend the rabbits. George, on the other hand, dreams on living a self sufficient life off the money and food they can make off the land and the animals.