Of Mice and Men is a novel of hopes and dreams that get broken or shattered. John Steinbeck presents the novel in a theme of broken dreams and a since of hopelessness. This is evident from start to finish in the novel. The theme is kept strong by having all the characters wanting to have hope for something or a dream of some kind. The story had a feeling of hope as well as a terrible feeling that something terrible was going to happen and that it would break the dream of the main characters. This is why John Steinbeck titled the novel Of Mice and Men. The title comes from a line of a poet named Robert Burn. The original line is "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft aglay." This translated in modern English reads: "The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." .
The title serves as a foreshadowing of what is to come in the to our two main characters in the story. The two main characters being Lennie and George get the theme of broken dreams started. It all starts in Soledad both Lennie and George are migrant workers looking for new jobs. They are looking for new jobs because there other job was cut short by Lennie's actions. Lennie was accused of raping a young lady. Of course this wasn't true, Lennie was just touching her soft dress. But this got out of hand and the girl screaming for help, both were forced to run and hide. They were running because they were going to be lynched. Then two men make a strange couple. They are as opposite as black and white. George is small, quick man with well-defined features. George is smart and has to be on the look out for Lennie and his innocent ways of getting them in trouble. George serves as a guardian to Lennie, ever since Lennies aunt Clara past away. Most of Georges energy is devoted on making sure that Lennie doesn't make any mistakes that will jeopardize there dreams of having there own place. The tension of having to look after Lennie gets to George sometimes, showing anger, sadness, and hope that there dream would be alive and not destroyed.
