Wang Lihua

摘要：Most of the characters in Of Mice and Men admit, at one point or another, to dreaming of a different life. George and Lennies dream of owning a farm, which successively attracts Candy and Crooks, is the central one. Yet，their dreams are proved to be impossible at last.

關键词：dream; land; George; Lennie

1. Introduction

The American dream ideally constitutes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as stated by Americas forefathers in the Declaration of Independence. Of Mice and Men is a novel which portrays a class of ranch workers in California whose plight had been previously ignored in the early decades of the twentieth century. In this novel, the main characters dreams make them one of the themes in this novel. George and Lennie dreamt of their “little house and a couple of acres”. The growing popularity of cinema was the last American Dream for many, Curleys wife was one: “Coulda been in the movies, an had nice clothes.”

John Steinbeck, the writer of this novel, is a famous American writer from the early twentieth century. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses his characters, locations, animal imagery, and a simple game of cards to demonstrate to his readers that most people dream about lives of great significance. Those dreams carry the characters through circumstances of injustice and loneliness. But in reality, most humans limitations keep these dreams from coming true, and in the long run, they are destined to experience common lives.

2. Dreaming of a Piece of Land

George and Lennie, two ranch hands on the farm, are the two main characters in the novel. A little bit of land, their own crops and animals-this is all they want. This piece of land represents a world in which the two men can live together just as they are, without dangers and without apologies. To George, this dream of having their own place also means independence, security, being their own boss, and, most importantly, being “somebody.” To Lennie, the dream is like the soft animals he pets: It means security, the responsibility of tending to the rabbits, and a sanctuary where he wont have to be afraid. This perfect world is one of independence. They want to be self-reliant. Although the relentless situation often make futility of their dream, their wishful thinking still keep going without exception.

When Candy, the lonely old man who lost one of his hands in an accident, overhears George and Lennie discussing their plans, he seems pitifully eager to join in this paradise. At that time, he is deeply lost in the sadness of losing his company, the dog. So when George and Lennie finally finish talking about the farm, he asks eagerly where the place is. In Candys eyes, the farm they dreamed is the Garden of Eden. From the death of his dog, he realizes that the same fate will happen to him. Since he is old and crippled, he worries that the ranch will let him go soon. He clutches at Georges dream as the only escape from his fate. Candy offers to contribute his lifes savings, $350, for a down payment on the property, and asks them to allow him to live there too. He even explains that he was not so crippled that he can work hard if he wanted to.

George describes a timeless, typically American dream of liberty, self-reliance, and the ability to pursue happiness. Described in rustic but lyrical language, the farm is the fuel that keeps the men going. Life is hard for the men on the ranch and yields few rewards, but George, Lennie, and now Candy go on because they believe that one day they will own their own place. The appeal of this dream rests in the freedom it symbolizes, its escape from the backbreaking work and spirit-breaking will of others. It provides comfort from psychological and even physical turmoil, most obviously for Lennie.

For Crooks, the black stable, the little farm will be a place where he can have self-respect, acceptance, and security. The news that the three already have the land picked out and nearly all the money theyll need to buy it piques the black mans interest. Shyly, he suggests that maybe they could take him along with them. Crooks shows feelings of hope that the farm dream could come true.

The ranch hands in this novel are closer to the land than anybody, closer even than the owner of the land. Their sweat goes into the soil when the crops are sown and when they are harvested, but they cannot claim ownership from the land of what they have produced.

3. Conclusion

In this novel, Steinbeck does more than present the dream; he shows it smashed and disintegrated.

The dream exactly exists in the novel, with almost everybody involved in. As George portrays it, the dream appears in many lights; at various times it appears as intensely moving, pathetic, a practical possibility, and pure wishful thinking. By depicting those dreams, the novel shows that ordinary people need these dreams to survive. Often their lives are dull and unsatisfactory, and they are denied status, respect, and fulfillment by the way they live. In this sense, Georges story proves to be only a temporary escape from the worlds troubles. Still he himself needs this dream from which he gets a lot solace and comfort. In a word, he also needs the dream to survive.

Suppose the land really exists somewhere waiting for them. Despite the fact that with Candys help the possibility of purchasing the farm grows more real for George and Lennie than ever before, it is clear that tragic events will intervene.

Having and sharing the dream, however, are not enough to bring it to fruition. Each man must make a sacrifice or battle some other force that seeks, intentionally or not, to steal the dream away. Initially, the obstacles are difficult but not insurmountable: staying out of trouble, not spending money on liquor or in bordellos, and working at the ranch long enough to save the money for a down payment. But greater obstacles soon become apparent. Some of these obstacles are external (the threat from Curleys wife and Curleys violence, for example, as well as the societal prejudices that plague each man); others are internal (such as Lennies strength and his need to touch soft things). For George, the greatest threat to the dream is Lennie himself.

Lennies personality is like that of a child. Lennies greatest feeling of security comes from petting soft things, like puppy and mice. But he kills them accidentally, by virtue of his failure to recognize his own strength. Lennies prodigious strength combined with his lack of intelligence and conscience make him dangerous. His panicked but brutal squeezing of Curleys hand anticipates the force with which he grab Curleys wife by the throat, unintentionally breaking her neck, which leads to Georges shooting of him. Lennies death means the death of the dream. Lennies innocence keeps the dream alive, but his human imperfection makes the dream impossible to realize.

The reason they do not get the land is also stated by Crooks and echoed by Curleys wife. Crooks explains, “I seen guys nearly crazy with loneliness for land, but ever time a whorehouse or a blackjack game took what it takes.” This pronouncement is played out in Whits and the rest of the hands behavior on Saturday night: All have gone into town. They never see beyond the end of the week. Curleys wife reinforces this idea when she tells them “If you had two bits in the worl, why youd be in gettin two shots of corn with it and suckin the bottom of the glass. I know you guys.”

No matter how hard George and his fellows struggle for it, their plan is doomed to fail. First, Lennie and George have very few skills and resources that will help them attain their dreams. Second, their journey is made even more difficult because Lennie is mentally retarded; his powerful body, his childlike innocence, and his fascination with soft things conspire against him. Finally, Steinbeck fills their journey with obstacles, among them lack of family, cruelty and intimidation, jealousy, fear, loneliness, and self doubt. What George and Lennie are discussing are destined to be thwarted and shattered by inevitable forces over which they have no control.■

Bibliography

[1]Bloom, Harold, ed. John steinbeck. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.

[2]Hadella, Cook. “Of Mice and Man”: A Kinship of Powerlessness. New York: Twayne, 1995.

[3]Van Kirk, Susan. CliffsNotes on Of Mice and Men. 24 Jun 2012 .