The American Dream: a good life for all who are kind and courteous, enough money to live on, and freedom. In the book Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck recounts George and Lennie's dream: to have something that is theirs and to be relatively self-sufficient. Steinbeck wrote this book to show the problems of the working poor to those who have enough money to buy the book. He invented two typical characters, but they are not entirely invented, because this was the typical person of the time: at that time, an ambitious young man with a big dream is not difficult to find. For George and Lennie, unfortunately, this dream never comes true. After all, it was above all a lullaby that George had created to calm Lennie, to give him something to hold on to, to give him hope. George uses this "lullaby" to convince Lennie to work hard, behave, and stay out of trouble. Over the course of the novel, we gradually learn that for these two unfortunates, realizing their dreams will be impossible and why. Steinbeck says that Lennie is mentally retarded, huge, and, as Curley's wife says, "just like a big baby" (90). ). George is smarter, smaller, and has taken care of Lennie since his Aunt Clara died. The two travel together, lean on each other and love each other like brothers. Furthermore, they are both looking for the same thing: the American dream. They want a house of their own, some land and some rabbits. But they are in the wrong era to pursue their dream: millions of others have the same ambitions, and few actually succeed in realizing those dreams. George seems to know this, yet he has become so accustomed to telling the story to Lennie that he seems to have begun to believe it himself. But he continues to fight, wanting the dream to come true and repeats... in the middle of the paper... and says: "Jump in." And jump. I didn't know how to swim a single stroke. He almost drowned before we could catch him. And he was so damn nice to me for bringing it up. I had completely forgotten that I had told him to intervene. Well, I never did anything like that again. (40). The two rely on and need each other, like friends, like brothers. Although never achievable, the dream kept George and Lennie alive. Deep down, George knew it would be impossible to live the dream: "I think I knew it all along. I think I knew we would never do it" (94). He knows he will never have the farm, but just the thought of it transports both him and Lennie to their happy place and makes them forget about all the hardships they are facing. It gives them hope, which pushes them forward and convinces them to live, whatever the conditions. And that was all the dream could ever be, and always ultimately was.