Lennie's Dream In Of Mice And Men

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In essence, “The Dream” in Steinbeck’s 1937 Novel “Of Mice and Men” is George and Lennie’s aspirations of owning and maintaining their own ranch. Without a doubt this is one of the major themes in the story and the telling of it becomes a ritual between the two. The significance of it comes in the form of motivation and empowerment to keep working hard. It also stops them from going “into town and blow[ing] their stake” which George says a lot of guys do that work on ranches. Lennie, who is mentally handicapped, doesn’t really understand the complexities of all this but none the less, “The Dream” still impacts him as he “get[s] to tend the rabbits.” This idea gives Lennie a sense of security and sanctuary of what is to come of the farm. For …show more content…
To a certain extent they both need each other, and this is present early on in the novel when they’re discussing their friendship and plans for the future (i.e. their own ranch). Before they get to the ranch, George tells Lennie that other men “ain’t got nothing to look forward to.” And Lennie replies “But not us! An’ why? Because . . . . Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you”, which reflects the need for one another. George needs Lennie for companionship and a purpose whereas Lennie needs George to protect and guide him. But this changes at the end of the book where George ends up killing Lennie. This event is somewhat foreshadowed within the same conversation when George becomes angry at Lennie when talking about the last job they had. “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.” George had told Lennie. Perhaps George does get along easily with work after Lennie’s death as he no longer has to look after him. However George ultimately ‘protects’ Lennie (in a way) by taking his life instead of letting Curley kill him slowly and painfully. I believe the relationship is more weighed towards Lennie needing George compared to vice versa, and it is hard to tell if George really needed Lennie at
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