Of Mice And Men Lennie's Dream

Have you ever aspired to do something, but even after much effort and dedication, it still never became reality? In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a mentally-challenged migrant worker named Lennie dreams of obtaining his own land and tending to his own rainbow-colored rabbits. But after killing his superior’s wife on the ranch, Lennie’s death is inevitable, leading to the nonfulfillment of his aspirations. After Lennie’s unfortunate, tragic death, George, Lennie’s counterpart, appears to become distraught and rather hopeless. Even though George may continue to dream about tending to his own land, George may no longer have the drive to fulfill his dream. But realistically, the dream may never have come true, even with Lennie in his life.

Even though George and Lennie had Candy’s funds to be able to have their own land, the possibility of the dream actually coming true was very slim, since all migrant workers have the same aspirations that are never fulfilled.
The death of Lennie, his companion through his travels and hardships, seems to take a toll on George toward the end of the novel. In the novel when Slim, Curley, and Carlson approach George by the Salinas River after George shot Lennie in the back of the head, George seems quite downtrodden. Once the men arrive at the scene, Carlson asks George how he had killed Lennie, and George responds by mournfully stating, “I just done it” (Steinbeck 187). The narrator continues by stating, “George’s voice was almost a whisper. He looked steadily at his hand that held the gun” (Steinbeck 187). George’s actions and expressions following the killing of his companion represent his helplessness and confusion with what has just occurred. Slim’s actions and remarks also imply that he knows how George is feeling. Following George’s conversation with Carlson, Slim insists, "Come on George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink” (Steinbeck 187). By Slim asking George if he wants to get drinks, it illustrates that Slim knows what is going through George’s mind at the moment and how he is feeling since drinks are, to some people, temporary stress relievers and a way to get your mind off of certain things. George, as we see, is uneasy about what has just conspired, and this could affect his plans for the future regarding his dream.
As illustrated toward the end of the novel, Lennie’s death has a drastic impact on George.

This could lead George to no longer yearning to fulfill his dream of tending to his own land, since he shared that aspiration with his partner Lennie. In the novel when George and Lennie discuss the lonely, meaningless life of other migrant workers, George assures Lennie that they do not have the same lowly life that the other migrant workers have. George continues by saying, “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us” (Steinbeck 14). By George saying this, he implies that they will tread through whatever comes their way together. They accomplish everything together, as well as experience hardships together. They have each other to lean on when life gets hard, unlike the other migrant workers. George emphasizes the importance and essentiality of having each other to get through life and accomplish certain things, but now that George no longer has Lennie, it can be concluded that he cannot completely accomplish the dream. Also, since the dream was shared among Lennie and George, and the plans for the execution of the dream were decided between George and Lennie, it could be concluded that George cannot fulfill the dream after Lennie’s

death.
Even when Lennie was alive, the dream was never truly possible.

Though George, Lennie, and Candy had enough savings to fund their dream, the probability of the dream coming true was very low. In the novel, Crooks, a disrespected stable buck who is deprived of basic rights and necessities from the heads of the ranch, overhears Candy and Lennie discuss their plans for the future regarding the dream. Crooks eventually chimes in by explaining, “…Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. They’re all the time talkin’ about it, but it’s jus’ in their head” (Steinbeck 74). Crooks implies that all migrant workers that he encounters, or even ones he doesn’t, have the same goals and aspirations as George and Lennie. He adds that even though they have their dreams of being independent and living off of their own land, they can never actually fulfill them. Since migrant workers travel alone, do not belong to a certain place, and spend the duration of their life finding work anywhere they could to earn a living, it is quite inevitable that their hunger for independence will never be satiated. Even while Lennie was alive, the odds of their dream of living off of their own land are very slim. Though they had the money to fund their dreams, according to Crooks, it would not be enough for the dream to become

reality.
Considering George was negatively affected by no longer having his partner that he shared the dream with around, it can be concluded that George will not achieve his dream of tending to his own land. Even though he may still long for the independence and ownership, it can be concluded that he will never execute the dream. Even when Lennie was alive, the dream was never certain to become reality. Crooks added that all migrant workers have the same yearnings, but they never come true. So, the odds of it being different for fellow migrant workers like George and Lennie are quite slim.