Hammer
Direct force, applied at a single point — the right tool for some jobs.
A hammer in a dream is the dictionary's image of direct force. Used well — driving a nail — it is the dream's image of an action that is exactly the right size for the task. Used poorly — hitting something it cannot fix — it is the dream's image of force misapplied.
Where you often see it. A hammer held but not yet used. A hammer striking a single nail. The dream uses the hammer for direct force, applied at a single point — the right tool for some jobs.
What it is not. A hammer is not always violence. The dictionary reads it as the focused-force tool.
Related in the dictionary. Read hammer with weapon contexts, hands, work, and any scene where committed force is being applied to one point.