Steinbeck relies heavily on the stark contrast between reality and fantasy to present the characters ‘dreams for a better life within of mice and men. Two of the major themes presented in “of mice and men” is Dreams and loneliness. These two conflicting themes interlock: it is apparent that people who are lonely have the greatest need to dream to help them through. Through Steinbeck’s use of representation, the reader is able to sympathize with the characters in their dreams bit still however appreciate the futility of these dreams due to the unforgiving society of the 1930s. A major idea of John Steinbeck’s Of mice and men is the American dream and the motivation to attain it. The American dream is the notion that you as a citizen of America you always have the opportunity to work your way up to freedom, owning a house and “live off the fatta the lan”. This was due to the great depression of the 1930s, many were left unemployed after the US entered a prolonged period of economic depression due to the collapse of the New York Wall Street.
The notion of the American dream is clearly illustrated in the dream of George and Lennie “someday were gonna get the jack together and were gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an a cow and some pigs and…”An’ live off the fatta the lan” Lennie shouted. George and Lennie’s tolerant attitude towards the ranch life is fuelled by their shared dream of independence and fortune. George refers to his fellow workers as “they”, “Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place”. This clearly highlight the opposition George has to end up like on of “them guys”. George also feels his situation is unique to other ranch workers as Georg and Lennie have each other. “Because I look after you and you look after me”. This shows George and Lennie have a mutualistic relationship with each other and depend on each other to have a sense of hope and escapism in an...