Symbolism of Of Mice and Men

Dreams… what are they and why do some die? A dream is a cherished desire. In a book entitled “Of Mice and Men,” a mentally retarded man by the name of Lennie receives a just born puppy from his fellow workman. To make a long story short, Lennie rubbed the pup to hard and the dog died right in the ill man’s hand. The symbolism of the puppy is that dreams will die if you’re not patient, willing and faithful.

Loneliness came over Lennie at times when his work was done and the other men were talking about things he couldn’t comprehend. He didn’t know what to do with himself, so he would pet soft things; that was a hobby for him. So when a fellow workman named Slim, Slim’s dog had puppies and he gave one to Lennie. Slim told Lennie he had to wait a couple of weeks before Lennie could play rough with the new pup. But the mentally retarded man had a mind of a child so he didn’t have patience and went to pet the pup while the other men weren’t looking.

Willingness was not a problem for Lennie; he was ready to do something voluntarily when it was in his favor. When Slim and the other men found out the Lennie were bringing the pup in the bunk house, Slim said he could rub the puppy only gently until the pup develops fully and properly. So did exactly what Slim said to do but Lennie was just too strong for the pup's welfare. I guess be willing is great but you have to have something to back it up, but what can it be?

Faith is the most essential thing to life. If you don’t have faith then you can never get anywhere. That’s the answer, to be patient and willing you have to be faithful to your dreams. Lennie had faith that his new pup was going to grow up healthy and strong. He had faith that if he did what Slim told him to do with the pup, then Lennie’s dream; I mean puppy live a happy life with Lennie. Wow, how powerful is faith?

Patience, willingness and faith have to all be there to achieve goals or to have your dreams come to reality. Being patient is in your mind, willingness is your strengths and faith lies in your heart. Without those three things, dreams will never be possible to accomplish. Lennie’s pup shows that dreams are possible but you have to have those three essential things to have success. You don’t have to kill a person or animal to know that your dreams can one day come true if you don’t pet them too hard.