Of Mice and Men: Explore how Steinbeck represents the theme of hope and despair

In ‘Of Mice and Men’, Steinbeck represents the themes of hope and despair during the Great Depression in 1930s in America. It was a period of economic decline and high unemployment. This was a dog-eat-dog world where poverty was widespread. There were many deprived people such as George,Lennie,Candy and Curley’s wife, who hoped to fulfil the ‘American dream’ of having a better life.Their hope and despair is explored through their individual dreams and through the restricted times in which they lived. Steinbeck describes in detail the harsh setting of their lives, and shows the failures of their individual dreams.

George and Lennie both share a dream that one day, they’ll own a piece of land and be able to settle down. Their dream is a powerful way of keeping them going through hard lives in the ranch. This is shown when George tells Lennie that, “ We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.” The idea that they’ve got a future encourages them to work on the ranch. George and Lennie’s dream of living off the ‘fatta the lan’’ comforts Lennie just as a bedtime story comforts a child. In chapter 1, Lennie imagines the dream farm saying, “An’ have rabbits…we’re gonna have in the garden and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can harding cut it.” This dream gives them something to look forward to, and to strive for. Also, he has heard George telling the story of their dream many times, so it is kept alive and serves to remind them of it. Their close friendship reinforces their dream and the companionship or parent-child relationship between George and Lennie makes them distinctive from other ranch workers. George’s responsible behaviour of looking after Lennie is very much essential to make their plans come true because Lennie is incapable of taking care of himself. This is shown when George says, ‘You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get.’ This also foreshadows Lennie’s accidental killing of Curley’s wife, which was due to his impetuousness when seeing her. Moreover, Curley is used by Steinbeck as a character who prevents George and Lennie from achieving their dream. The point is evidenced by when he attacks Lennie in order to show his strength. Curley says, ‘I’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself.’ Steinbeck presents Curley’s violence as a weapon which will interfere with George and Lennie’s dream. Their dream farm is no longer possible after Lennie is shot after accidentally killing Curley’s wife. In the end, George has to give up the dream because he no longer has Lennie with him.The dream is no longer possible as he is now alone.

Candy is an old ranch worker who struggles from his disability which gives him limited power on the ranch. Nevertheless, he has a hope to live a better life. He is very quick to get involved with George and Lennie’s dream. He says,“Tell ya what, Lennie I been figuring out about those rabbits.” This suggests that Candy shares a dream with them by involving Lennie into conversation, and planning together to keep rabbits. The idea that Candy is trying hard to hope for a better life is evidenced when he says, “Tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in.” This shows that Candy has been saving money to be free from the ranch. He offers George and Lennie all of his money which will allow him to be part of their dream farm ,because he will be able to work even when he “ain’t no good at it.” Therefore, he is desperate to get off the ranch because the he is largely ignored and doesn’t have much respect from the other as they think he is weak and useless. This gives readers an idea that old or disabled people are treated with prejudice, and they’re not valued or included. His weakness and situation has turned his hopes of being free into despair. His fear is shown when he says, “I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs.” This suggests that he knows it won’t be long before they “can” him from his job. His feelings are not important to other workers. For example, he doesn’t get much sympathy when Carlson wants to shoot Candy’s old dog. He says, “I wish somebody’d shoot me.”. This shows that he’s weak and old like his dog which leaves him as a men who is unable to achieve his dream.

Curley’s wife also had a dream of becoming a Hollywood star. She wants to escape from an unhappy marriage with Curley and become famous and recognised by others. However, her life in the ranch is a contrast to her hopes. This is because the way she chose to escape from her controlling mother was by marrying Curley but she is again trapped. Steinbeck shows her frustration when she says, “ Sat’iday night. Everybody out doin’ som’pin…An’ what am I doin’? Standin’ here takin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs…because they ain’t nobody else.” This suggests that she is trapped on the ranch. She can’t do anything apart from making herself attractive putting thick make-up on, in order to flirt with ranch workers. Even though she is married, her husband doesn’t care about her because he doesn’t understand what his wife needs from him, which is company and attention. “I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella’, a quote from Curley’s wife, suggests that although she knows that he isn’t an ideal husband, she has admitted that she has to rely on Curley. She is powerless and dependant on him. In addition, the fact that Steinbeck doesn’t tell us her name, reinforces how insignificant she is in the life of the ranch, how dependent she is on Curley, and how little she is respected. Curley’s wife has dreams that can’t come true. Perhaps she could’ve become a Hollywood star; we will never know. However, the fact that she is described as Curley’s belonging makes her a more tragic figure because she is further away from achieving her dream.

In conclusion, Steinbeck represents the theme of hope and despair by describing the dreams of George,Lennie,Candy and Curley’s wife, which can never come true. Their hopeless situations are made worse by the ignorance of other people on the ranch. These characters’ lives in Of Mice and Men are insecure and unrewarding and they desperately need dreams to give them purpose. The intensity of their dreams offsets the misery of real life, which can lead to despair. As Crooks says, “You’ll talk about it a hell of a lot, but you won’t get no land.” Therefore, this is a pessimistic view of what life is like during that time.