The difference between visionaries and dreamers is that visionaries make the dreams come true. If this is true then the characters in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are only dreamers. Steinbecks stance on the issue of dreams being unachievable is displayed perfectly in his book. All the characters seemed to dream of something and not one of there dreams came to fruition. Each character represents a human limitation that stops dreams from coming true.
Lennie is the best example of the unachievable dream and how dreams serve as false hope in the book. It is mainly Lennies mental disability that stops his dream from coming true. Lennie although being mentally handicapped still has dreams and they are destroyed when he dies. Lennie dreamt of tending the rabbits and feeding them with the alfalfa patch. There were several moments where he talked of this dream he had memorised and he keeps living because of it. He had memorised it word for word from what George had told him. That meant that it was not only really important to him but also that he had heard it many times. That dream never came true for him or anyone who shared it in the book. Lennie was killed whist he was looking out over the river and imagining the dream coming true. George was talking about the dream to Lennie as he killed him. As Lennie died so did both his and Georges dream.
George shared Lennies dream and was the one who was going to make it come true. When George killed Lennie he killed his own dream of having his own piece of land and being his own boss. He ultimately dreams of having freedom and being in control of his own life, breaking out of the cycle hes living in now. Georges need for companionship is what kept him from achieving his dream. George often complained about living with Lennie and how his dream would be so achievable without him. We find out at the end of the book that it is Lennie who makes Georges dream and without Lennie George suffers the same fate as everyone else. He becomes just like any other ranch worker, the loneliest guys who aint got anything to look forward to. Without Lennie the dream is never reached.
When Candy finds out about the dream he becomes inspired and wants a part of it, but like all the other guys never reaches the dream. He sees how close George and Lennie are to the dream and wants something to keep going on. It is Candys age and physical disability that stops him from completing his own dreams. When he meets George and Lennie his hopes are rekindled but the dream was never his so he couldnt carry it on. It seems that the closer he gets to the dream the more it begins to die and the closer he gets to the dream the closer he gets to death.
Quote: Walter R. Mueller
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