“S’pose
they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or
any damn thing.” Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. “We’d
just go to her,” George said. “We wouldn’t ask nobody if we could.
Jus’ say, ‘We’ll go to her,’ an’ we would. Jus’ milk the cow and
sling some grain to the chickens an’ go to her.”
In the middle of Section 3,
George describes their vision of the farm to Candy. At first, when
Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing the farm they intend
to buy, George is guarded, telling the old man to mind his own business.
However, as soon as Candy offers up his life savings for a down
payment on the property, George’s vision of the farm becomes even
more real.
Described in rustic but lyrical language, the farm is
the fuel that keeps the men going. Life is hard for the men on the
ranch and yields few rewards, but George, Lennie, and now Candy
go on because they believe that one day they will own their own
place. The appeal of this dream rests in the freedom it symbolizes,
its escape from the backbreaking work and spirit-breaking will of
others. It provides comfort from psychological and even physical
turmoil, most obviously for Lennie. For instance, after Curley beats
him, Lennie returns to the idea of tending his rabbits to soothe
his pain. Under their current circumstances, the men must toil to
satisfy the boss or his son, Curley, but they dream of a time when
their work will be easy and determined by themselves only. George’s
words describe a timeless, typically American dream of liberty,
self-reliance, and the ability to pursue happiness.