The inspiring novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, uses the theme of hope with great excellence. Hope plays a very important role in this novel. Lennie and George have hope that they will own their own piece of land. Crooks hopes that other people could see past the colour of his skin. Curley's wife had hopes that someone would see her as any other person, and be willing to have a conversation with her. She also hoped to leave the ranch and become a movie star. These people had many problems and hope helped them deal with them.
Lennie was always getting George and himself into trouble wherever they were working. In times of trouble, it often made them feel better when they spoke of their hopes and dreams for the future. They spoke of the piece of land, the little farm and the livestock that they hoped to own. They would " " live off the fatta the lan","" (Pg. 14) Lennie was most enthralled by the rabbits. " Lenny spoke craftily, " Tell me --- like you done before." " Tell you what?" "About the rabbits."" (Pg. 13) Even when George is incredibly upset with Lennie, talk of their hopes for the future would bring them closer together.
Similarly, Crooks, the ranch's stable buck, also has a lot of hope. For the most part, the people on the ranch are very prejudiced towards Crooks. What makes him different from everybody else on the ranch is that he is black, and for that reason everybody thought poorly of him. Hope, that one-day people would judge him by his soul instead of his body, helped him get by. Lennie seemed to be the only one who treated him like any other person and, for once, Crooks was happy. His hopes and dreams were being realized, even if just for a few minutes. When Candy went into his room, Crooks couldn't help but be glad of what was happening. " " Come on in. If ever" body's comin" in, you might just as well." It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger.