George and Lennie dream of one day having a farm with rabbits and alfalfa, but this dream, no matter how simple, leads to experience sorrow rather than joy. Since they are both somewhat powerless to control their fate, their dream, which once inspired them to push through hard times ultimately mocks them for their hubris. Steinbeck based the title of his novel, "Of Mice and Men," from a line of Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse." The poem fits the theme of the novel, as it describes how dreaming of what could be often leads to pain, despite our best expectations for happiness. George and Lennie's aspirations hold value but this was not enough to bring them to their goal of owning a farm. The great value of George and Lennie's dream is that it gave them motivation, something to look forward to during rough times. It also helps George to handle Lennie since he can always get Lennie to behave by threatening not to let him tend the rabbits. Their mistake was becoming too invested into their dream. They believed that they would have a piece of land for themselves, gaining the independence that the other farm hands did not have. Despite their best efforts, however, they could not achieve their goal. They are denied their dream by unfortunate and unpredictable circumstances, much like the accidental overturning of a mouse's nest in Burns' poem. .
In the poem, neither the mouse nor the speaker is in control of their fate. The mouse expects to live out the winter sheltered from the cold in a field. The speaker shows true remorse for destroying the mouse's home, offering to share his grain to right his mistake, a clear expression of empathy. In the book, Lennie kills Curley's wife just unintentionally, similar to the farmer plowing over the mouse's nest. The repercussions are just as severe, yet they affect the two men rather than a mouse. George and Lennie's dreams were ruined in a trice, just like the way the mouse's home had been destroyed so suddenly.