Defeated Hope in Of Mice and Men When talking about the themes of Steinbeck's novel, we would do well to first examine the title, which is an allusion to a line by Robert Burns, a Scottish Poet: "The best laid plans of mice and men collide astern." Translated into modern English, the verse reads: "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." This cynical statement is at the heart of the novel's action and serves as a foreshadowing of a prophecy of all that is to come. Because, in fact, the two main characters of the novel have a scheme, a specific dream to change their current way of life to have a place of their own and work only for themselves. The tragedy, of course, is that no matter how elaborately our heroes plan, no matter how intensely they hope and dream, their plan will not come to fruition. This is a novel about defeated hope and the harsh reality of the American dream. . George and Lennie are poor, homeless migrant workers, condemned to a life of wandering and toil in which they will never be able to reap the fruits of their labor. Their desires may not seem so unknown to any other American: a place of their own, the opportunity to work for themselves and reap what they sow without anyone taking anything from them or giving them orders. George and Lennie desperately cling to the idea that they are different from the other workers who drift from ranch to ranch because, unlike the others, they have a future and they have each other. But characters like Crooks and Curley's wife serve as a reminder that George and Lennie are no different than anyone who wants something of their own. All the characters (all the ones Steinbeck developed, at least) want to change their lives in some way. fashion, but no one is capable of it; everyone has dreams, and it is only the dream that varies from person to person. Curley's wife has already let her dream of becoming an actress slip away and must now live a life of empty hope. Crooks' situation suggests an oppression much deeper than that of white workers in America: the oppression of blacks. Through Crooks, Steinbeck lays bare the bitterness, anger, and helplessness of the black American struggling to be recognized as a human being, let alone have a place of his own..