John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a simple, yet powerful book. This book has many thematic ideas within its covers that many people still experience today. The significance of dreams, loneliness, and the importance of relationships are the most frequent, meaningful thematic ideas throughout the novella. These ideas help to give the book the powerful impact it has.
George and Lennie share a dream that later expands to include Candy. Their dream to buy their own piece of land to have a farm on is what has driven them to earn the money they need. The significance of dreams in this novella signifies the need for one to have a goal that drives them, but when that goal is stripped away from you, leaves you feeling empty. The novella also shows how dreams are often hindered by unforeseen objects. When Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife, he realizes that he won't get to tend to the rabbits, hence hindering their dream. Furthermore, when George finds Lennie by the pond, where he had told Lennie to go if any trouble were to happen, and tells him the story of the farm, George realizes that the dream …show more content…
Almost every character suffers from loneliness and isolation. Curley's wife is one character who is constantly seeking someone to talk to stating she gets lonely. Part of this is because she "can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad"(Steinbeck 125). The most lonely person is Crooks, as he is black, crippled, and was not always discriminated against. He often spends time in his room alone because he is not welcome in the other worker's room. When Crooks lets Lennie come sit in his room with him, he tells him "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that?(Steinbeck 111)" This shows how most of Crooks loneliness is due to the fact that he is