Of mice and men

In this assignment I chose task 2, which is to write about the dreams of several characters.  I am going to write about how hope and dreams are important in the book, “Of Mice and Men”.

This is a short plot summary of the book “Of Mice and Men”.                                                                 The story takes place in Soledad, California in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression. We meet George and Lennie who dream about owning a small plot of land to live off, and a small house to live inn. It seems possible for their dream to come true, but then a few problems come up.

Hopes and dreams are important to the story because it is about living the American Dream, to start with nothing and end up with successes. The book is also about the Great Depression, and how the American Dream did not work out for everyone. According to “kclibrary.lonstar.edu” The Great Depression had become a nightmare. This sentence I think shows how the American Dream had become during the 1930’s.  

The main characters in the story are George and Lennie. They hope to live their dream together. Their dream is a typical American Dream. This we can see in the book “Of Mice and Men” on page 18 and 19, where George tells Lennie how it is going to be. The story is repeated several times in the book, which shows that the dream is always the same and does not change. To live their dream they have to save money, and work on ranches like many others.

Another character is the African man Crooks. His dream is different from George and Lennie’s dream. He dreams of equal rights between colored and white people. In the 1930’s Africans and Native Americans did not have the same rights as white people. I think that is very unfair and not right. He also dreams about having friends and not being lonely. On page 64, in the book he is described as a person who kept his distance and demanded that others kept theirs. On the same time he talks about his childhood with his brothers, and how much he misses it. He also said "a colored man has to have some rights even if he does not like them". This I think shows that he wanted friends, and to be treated like every one else.

To conclude, I would say that hope and dreams are important to the story, because almost every character in the book hopes and dreams of something. Dreams are also very important because the American Dream is a central theme in the book. And that is about living your dream.