Many say that dreams are impossible, so why do people still dare to dream? John Steinbeck's Great Depression era novel answers just that question. Many characters in Of Mice and Men dream of unreachable goals that, deep inside, they know are not accomplishable. Dreams, although often unrealistic, can provide a cornerstone that can be held onto and used to reflect life and its imperfections. When someone or something crushes those dreams, lives can be devastated.

In this book, many characters can relate with each other through impossible dreams. When Lennie asks Crooks, the stable buck, why is isn't wanted, Crooks replies with anger and jealousy, "They play cards in there, but I cant play because I'm black. They say I stink." (p.68). Crooks has a unending desire to be accepted and to have friends. He knows this cannot come true, however, because he is a black outcast. Because...