Of Mice and Men
Prompt #18 · Of Mice and Men
Prompt Type: Symbol/Motif
The dream farm functions as a powerful symbol that evolves in meaning throughout the novel. Analyze how Steinbeck uses this symbol to explore the tension between the American Dream and the reality of economic powerlessness during the Depression. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it.”
Chapter 4
Argument
Early in the novel, Crooks articulates the dream farm as a universal but unattainable symbol of economic independence, using the repetition of 'never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it' to emphasize the systemic impossibility that contrasts sharply with George and Lennie's hopeful vision, representing the reality side of the American Dream versus economic powerlessness tension.
Quote 2
“They fell into a silence. They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true.”
Chapter 3
Argument
At the narrative's midpoint when Candy offers his money, the dream farm briefly transforms from fantasy into tangible possibility ('This thing they had never really believed in was coming true'), marking the symbol's evolution from mere escapist comfort to an achievable goal that momentarily bridges the gap between dream and reality.
Quote 3
“—I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.”
Chapter 5
Argument
After Curley's wife's death, George's confession that he 'knowed we'd never do her' reveals the dream farm's final meaning as a necessary illusion rather than a genuine plan, exposing how economic powerlessness forces workers to sustain impossible dreams simply to endure their circumstances, completing the symbol's arc from hope to acknowledged impossibility.
Quote 4
"Well, it's ten acres," said George. "Got a little win'mill. Got a little shack on it, an' a chicken run. Got a kitchen, orchard, cherries, apples, peaches, 'cots, nuts, got a few berries. They’s a place for alfalfa and plenty water to flood it. They’s a pig pen——"
Chapter 3
Argument
George's detailed description of the farm's physical features ('win'mill,' 'chicken run,' 'orchard, cherries, apples, peaches') transforms the abstract dream into concrete imagery, demonstrating how the symbol functions as a psychological survival mechanism that gives specificity and tangibility to an economically impossible goal, making the fantasy feel real enough to sustain hope.
Quote 5
“Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head.”
Chapter 4
Argument
Crooks's simile comparing the dream farm to heaven ('Just like heaven... Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land') explicitly connects the symbol to religious impossibility, reinforcing how the American Dream functions as a secular religion for Depression-era workers—a comforting myth that provides meaning despite being fundamentally unattainable within the economic system.