In the novel “Of Mice and Men” published 1937 John Steinbeck describes the friendship between two American intinerant farm workers, the mentally handicapped Lennie, who is like a child and intellegant George, who cares for Lennie.
They dream of save so much money that they can jointly buy a farm and have a bright and carefree future. But Lennie gets them always into trouble, because he loves to touch soft things. George and Lennie had to flee the last town, because Lennie touches a woman's dress and he'd been accused of rape.
At the beginning of the novel, it seems that George and Lennie's dream is just a fantasy that will never come true,
but at their new work place they find another worker, who has almost enough money to buy a small farm and wants to come with them. But Lennie destroys their dream. He pets the hair of Curley's, boss sons, wife and she gets scared. In the resulting struggle, Lennie kills her and runs away. George finds him first and he tells him about their dream and kills Lennie by shooting him in the back of the head to save from a worse fate. Lennie dies in the middle of his dream.
“Of mice and Men” is regarded as a typical work of the American Dream.
Everyone has a dream to strive for in this novel. The Dream of George and Lennie is doomed to shatter to be unrealizable in the real world. Curley’s wife, who is killed by Lennie dreamed of to becoming a movie star. The other ranch workers read pulp magazines and dream of becoming heroic cowboys.
Crook, a black worker, dreams for equality. This dream is destroyed by racism and the attitudes of others.
