The farm dream, its symbolic importance, and why Steinbeck shows it is doomed. A core theme — links to every character.
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Watch first — Mrs Rumsey
Mrs Rumsey · Edexcel IGCSEGrade 9 in Of Mice and Men — exam technique
Key analysis
⚡ 40-mark question structure: AO1 (20 marks) — knowledge, argument, personal response, critical style. AO4 (20 marks) — context (1930s Depression, migrant workers, racism, gender). Every paragraph needs BOTH: a point about the text AND a link to context. Closed book — you must know quotes.
The dream — what it represents
George and Lennie dream of owning a "little place" — a few acres, rabbits, living "off the fatta the lan'"
The dream represents: freedom from the ranch system, self-determination, permanence and belonging
For Lennie it is literal and childlike — he loves the rabbits. For George it represents dignity and escape from itinerant life
The dream becomes shared — Candy joins with his $300 savings, briefly making it seem achievable
Crooks momentarily allows himself to hope — then immediately retreats: "I didn't mean it"
"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place... With us it ain't like that. We got a future."
George — the dream as antidote to loneliness
"We'd just be there. Just nuts. Just be there. We'd belong there."
George — belonging and permanence
Why the dream fails — Steinbeck's message
The title is taken from Robert Burns: "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley" — plans go wrong
Steinbeck sets up the dream precisely to show its destruction
The Depression made such dreams impossible for most itinerant workers
The opening and closing scenes both take place by the pool — cyclical structure suggests nothing changes
George must kill Lennie, ending any hope of the farm — the dream dies with Lennie
Other characters' dreams
Candy — dreams of a place where he belongs before being "cann'd". He is devastated when the dream ends.
Curley's wife — dreamed of being in the movies, believed she had been robbed of her chance
Crooks — as a child his father had a chicken ranch, so he understands what it means to own land
All dreams are crushed — Steinbeck shows the Dream is a collective fantasy of the dispossessed
Exam questions — 2 questions · 22 marks
1 markTitle significance
What is the significance of the title "Of Mice and Men"?
A It refers to the mice that Lennie kills by petting them too hard
B It comes from Robert Burns's poem suggesting that the plans of both mice and men often go wrong — Steinbeck signals from the outset that the dream will fail
C It refers to the powerlessness of both Lennie (mouse) and George (man) on the ranch
D It was chosen randomly by Steinbeck's publisher
20 marksThe dream theme — full 40-mark essay planEdexcel IGCSE Jun 2021/22 style
Explore the theme of dreams in Of Mice and Men. You must consider the context of the novel in your answer. (Full 40-mark question — write at least 4 substantial paragraphs)
Hint: Plan first: intro (what the dream represents) → George/Lennie → Candy → Crooks → Curley's wife → title/structure → conclusion (Steinbeck's message about the American Dream + 1930s context). Every paragraph: quote + language point + context link.