The american dream is the concept of a perfect life also referred to as "the white picket fence dream" in which one has a family, a stable job, with a nice house and is happy. I believe that the American Dream is projected in Edward scissor hands where everyone lives in a colorful house and nobody is ever mad and everything seems perfect. but obviously perfection does not exist. we are all flawed and shall all run into problems throughout their life. on top of that, not everything wants the same thing. ones great perhaps may not be the same as another. so essentially the american dream should be anything that we want it to be.
I never read "of mice and men" but i know that Steinbeck tries to highlight the harshness of reality to prove that the american dream isn't actually ideal and is completely misleading