In structuring your answer to this question, you want to make an assertion, or claim, about why Lennie's dreams are important to him and how they help sustain him. Your assertion could be along the lines of the following: In Of Mice and Men, Lennie's dreams of having a ranch of his own with George help sustain him through the difficult life of working on another man's ranch and being treated disrespectfully because of his intellectual disability. You may decide that Lennie's dreams were important to him for a different reason.
Next, you want to provide a quote from the text that backs up this assertion and provide some context for the quote. For example, at the beginning of the book, Lennie forgets what George has told him about where they are heading. After George yells at Lennie, Lennie says, "I remember about the rabbits, George" (3). The page number is the citation for this quote. The explication of the quote involves explaining it more fully. For example, Lennie is feeling stressed at this moment because he cannot remember where he and George are heading, and his thoughts about his dreams—including one day raising rabbits—help him get over this difficult moment.
The interpretation of the quote operates on a more symbolic level. The word "rabbits" in the quote is Lennie's shorthand way of representing his dreams. The word "rabbits" stands for animals he can care for and that he understands, as he feels somewhat distanced from the people around him, who can be confusing. "Rabbits" also represents the freedom he imagines he will feel when he and George have their own land and are not bossed around by other people. The conclusion involves a restatement of your thesis and your explanation about why Lennie's dreams are so critical to helping him. You could also end with a wider thought about why dreams are so critical to people, especially people like Lennie who have a tough road through life.
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