American dream 🗽

"Tell me about the rabbits, George."

This refrain becomes a symbol of hope and comfort for Lennie. The simple, repeated request reflects Lennie’s childlike innocence but also shows the fragility of dreams in the harsh reality of 1930s America. Steinbeck uses this line as a motif throughout the novella to explore the gap between fantasy and reality (AO1 + AO2)

“An’ live off the fatta the lan’.”

The dream of self-sufficiency stands in contrast to the instability of itinerant life. The colloquial tone reflects working-class aspirations, while the metaphor “fatta the lan’” links their dream to a biblical paradise, positioning it as both natural and unreachable (AO2 + AO3)

“Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.”

Crooks’s cynical voice undercuts the romanticism of the dream. The repetition of “nobody” and the double negatives emphasise the universal inaccessibility of the American Dream, especially for marginalised groups like black men (AO2 + AO3)

“I think I knowed we’d never do her.”

George’s realisation after Lennie’s death confirms the dream’s impossibility. The use of the pronoun “her” objectifies the dream, making it seem mythical and out of reach. Steinbeck here presents the American Dream as a cruel illusion (AO1 + AO2 + AO3)