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American Dream in American literary works
American Dream in American literary works
What is the American dream
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Of Mice and Men Essay
Katherine Boucher 10B
“The American dream” an idealistic vision held by many that symbolizes the achievement of a perfect life. “The American dream” is a goal that one aspires to achieve in their life time. To different people the dream may have different aspects in it that mean ‘a perfect life’ to them yet the main aspects of “The American dream are freedom, enough money to live life comfortably and to own your own land/house. While this ideal is chased by many, it is very rare that one achieves it. Often the dream fails and the person chasing it is left to the life they are unhappy with.
In Of Mice And Men we are shown the story of the chase and failure of “The American dream” through Lennie and Georges dream of owning their own farm. Throughout the novel, we are shown them facing obstacles which makes their dream slip further and further away and eventually end. The causes for this failure are plentiful but aspects in the story that effected the dream were Lennie’s strength, the impact of the hostile environment at the ranch and the death of Curley’s wife.
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Lennie’s strength plays a big role in the failure of the dream as he is unaware of the damage he can cause from his strength.
In chapter 1, we are already shown how oblivious Lennie is to his strength and the consequences that come from it, shown through the deaths of the mice. “She stopped givin’ ‘em to ya. You always killed ‘em” Here George tells us of Lennie would always kill the mice he was given to pet. “They was so little” “Then they was dead” Lennie is unaware of his strength and therefore doesn’t register how much damage he causes from it. The deaths of the mice can foreshadow the deaths of both the dream and Lennie himself. Just as Lennie was unaware of what he could do, he was also unaware of what his strength could bring to
him. The hostile environment of both Weed and the farm (set by Curley) negatively impact the dream as it causes obstacles and ripples that push the dream further and further away. In Weed Lennie is said to have ‘Man-handled’ a girl, in truth he just wanted to touch her dress and then panicked and grabbed her when she began to stream. The hostile environment of the men hunting Lennie impacted the dream as they would not listen to his story which resulted in Lennie and George having to move again which set them back in money which they need for them to be able to buy their own farm. At the farm, further hostility is shown by Curley. Curley has a big influence at the farm as he is the bosses son, this means that he can easily get Lennie and George fired. Curley’s wife’s death was the final event in the novel that secured the failure of the dream. Lennie again didn’t see what he was capable of doing and essentially ruined any hope of achieving their goal. “George aint gonna let me tend the rabbits” Lennie’s fear of not being able to tend the rabbits is one that has been carried throughout the novel, the irony of his dream of looking after the rabbits is that no matter what, all he causes is pain or death. The causing of death further shows us that Lennie was unintentionally the cause of the death of the dream. The death of the mice, the dog and Curley’s wife all lead up to the death of the dream which fully dies with Lennie himself. The absolute fragility of “The American dream” is shown in the sad and relatable story of Lennie and George. Without meaning to Lennie had been the cause of the failure of the dream yet George would not be able to achieve it without him, George needs the money from Lennie’s work to be able to buy the farm. So the death of Lennie and the mess ups caused by him have all resulted in the dream being unreachable. As is the case for most who chase the ideal of “The American dream”, making us as the reader able to see just how fragile the dream is and how quickly it can be destroyed.
The term “American Dream” is defined as an idea which believes that all people have the possibility of prosperity and success. The idea first came from James Adams, a noted American writer and historian. He claimed, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.” Therefore, the core concepts of the American Dream were closely linked to hard work and opportunity.
The American dream can be defined as the promise of living in America with opportunities for all, regardless of social class, and according to their ability and effort (Schnell, 2010). Proponents of the American dream believe that there is equal opportunity for all in the American society to achieve success. Success is not pegged on social status, race, or creed, but rather on an individual’s own efforts. The definition of the American dream has unique interpretations to different people. The most common meaning is that of a life of abundance and prosperity, characterized by economic rewards that enable one to live a middle class life of comfort. Here, success is measured by material possessions such as beautiful homes, cars, a high income, and the ability to spend on luxury items. America is considered a land of plenty, and as such, many who come to the United States in search of the American dream have this form of success in mind.
(GS1) Lennie is a man that doesn’t mean to do half of the things he does, because of his ableism; only it doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen, like Lennie murdering Candy’s wife. (DS1a) Lennie says, “I like to pet things. Once at a fair I seen some of them long-hair rabbits. An’ they were nice you bet” (90). (DS1b) Lennie loved soft things, though he was always brutal with them; which is what happened with Candy’s wife, her hair was soft and Lennie accidentally got brutal and killed her.(GS2)Lennie was almost like a force of energy for George, Candy, and his dream; though when he died all the hope once built up for the dream was lost because of what George said. (DS2a)“ -I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would” (94). (DS2b) Lennie was the centerpiece of the entire plan, he believed so much that he was able to convince George and Candy that it was actually possible for them to achieve.(GS3) George was Lennie’s best friend and he was the one who had to kill Lennie because he knew that all the others would have been cruel.(DS3a) Lennie and George talk for the last time, “‘No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s the thing I want ya to know.’ The voices
The American Dream is a thought that everyone has at some point. Some are bigger than others and some are harder than others, but everyone hopes to accomplish their American Dream. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows that the American Dream is a myth, not a reality. John Steinbeck shows the American Dream being a myth through a few of the characters in Of Mice and Men. For example, Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Candy all have American Dreams, but they also have some obstacles that stop them from completing their American Dream.
The American Dream by default is a selfish and materialistic concept based on an individual having more than his neighbour; and always striving to have more, no matter how much they’ve gained. Of Mice and Men explores the American Dream as an individual seemingly impossible dream evolving into a communal, increasingly realistic future; reshaping the possibility of what the American Dream means to me. Throughout Of Mice and Men there is a multitude of different individual dreams that range in varying levels of stereotypical ideals to small innocent desires, however, when these dreams collide there suddenly becomes hope to even the most hopeless of characters. From the different dreams inside a shared dream – to “Live off the fatta the lan’”
For many years America has remained dreaming to manifest its own destiny. It was fantasies like freedom of religion and speech or hope for a better life that fueled a spark in earlier Americans and immigrants that created a hidden movement that would later be known as the American dream. The American dream started when America began to expand to the west coast and built the transcontinental railroad. The dream described America as the land of opportunity and to conquer a new frontier. It wasn’t until the late 1920s that the dream changed drastically after the stock market crashed and the start of the Great Depression. Poverty had struck the nation and the economy collapsed. The dreams that were achieved changed after the Great Depression and more people just wish for a better life. One of the main themes of the novel, Of Mice & Men, is the American dream. The theme has a large effect on the time and place of where the novel takes place. The two main characters of the novel, Lennie and George dream an almost hopeless fantasy to have own small farm and rabbits. The American dream is important during the setting of the novel, Of Mice and Men, due to the unfortunate economic situation of the United States and California’s Salinas Valley during the Great Depression which gives each character their own hopes and aspirations of a better life.
First, what is the American dream? According to David Wallechinsky, “the traditional American Dream is based on the belief that hardworking citizens can improve their lives, pay their monthly bills without worry, give their children a start to an even better life, and still save enough to live comfortably after they retire” (1). “The American Dream” states, “It has always represented the possibility for individuals to succeed and live a life of wealth and comfort, made possible by both the political and economic attitudes in the USA and the individual’s own hard work” (1). Daniella Nicole adds that “in years past, chasing the American Dream meant the sky was the limit. . .” (1).
The American Dream plays a significant role in the Of Mice and Men. novel, but the question I state my views on in this essay is how significant it really is. I shall express every character's hopes and dreams including Lennie and George’s, Curley’s wife, Crooks’, and lastly, the. of all Candy’s dreams. While discussing each of these various fantasies I will consider how important they are compared to the moral of the story. The story is a story.
In the United States there is an idea many pursue called the American dream, which differs from person to person. The American dream according to americanradioworks.publicradio.org is “a revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition”. Yet it has been said there is no real definition of American dream, instead it merely proves that it has an unconscious influence in American mentality (Ştiuliuc 1). The American dream is different for each person because everyone yearns for things that will they hope will in return make them happy. Whatever that may be, each person goes through different struggles to obtain what they want. According to Frederic Carpenter, the American dream “has never been defined exactly, and probably never can be. It is both too various and too vague” (3). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse depicts the different interpretations on what the American dream actually is through the opinions and actions of Hector Esperanza, Efren Mendoza and Mrs. Calhoun.
Up until now, the term American Dream is still a popular concept on how Americans or people who come to America should live their lives and in a way it becomes a kind of life goal. However, the definitions of the term itself is somehow absurd and everyone has their own definition of it. The historian James Tuslow defines American Dream as written in his book titled “The Epic of America” in 1931 as “...dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” The root of the term American Dream is actually can be traced from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which stated “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
The American Dream has changed; it is no longer the same as it was fifty or even one hundred years ago. Today, people not only search for prosperity and wealth, but they also search for happiness, equality, and determination. The American Dream is for everyone, not just the rich. The term “The American Dream” is a term used to describe the American way of life in general. It is a noun stating “the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” Dreams are not limited to just one social class, everyone has a different version of the American Dream but they all work together in a community to create an organized, working society. A dream is a cherished aspiration, ambition, or idea that is open to anyone.
The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.
The American Dream is the ideal that every person in America have equal opportunity to accomplish the goals he or she desire and prosper through hard work. Americans consider the American Dream as being filthy rich, but if you were to ask someone that’s foreign their idea of the American Dream would most likely be equality, freedom, and opportunity. The American Dream has lured people to America and moved them around within it, and it has kept them striving in horrible conditions against impossible odds (Hochschild). Over time the meaning of the dream has changed defining it has the hope to become rich rather than actually doing what it takes to become rich. According to Jennifer Hochschild, ‘’we have failed to face up to what that dream requires
"The American Dream" is that dream of a nation in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with options for each according to capacity or accomplishments. It is a dream of social stability in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve to the fullest distinction of which they are essentially competent, and be distinguish by others for what they are, despite of the incidental conditions of birth or stance. The American Dream is often something that humanity wonders about. What is the American dream? Many people discover success in a range of things. There are many different definitions of the American Dream. However, the American Dream embraces prosperity, personal safety, and personal liberty. The American dream is a continually fluctuating set of ideals, reflecting the ideas of an era.
What is the American Dream, and who are the people most likely to pursue its often elusive fulfillment? Indeed, the American Dream has come to represent the attainment of myriad of goals that are specific to each individual. While one person might consider a purchased home with a white picket fence her version of the American Dream, another might regard it as the financial ability to operate his own business. Clearly, there is no cut and dried definition of the American Dream as long as any two people hold a different meaning. What it does universally represent, however, it the opportunity for people to seek out their individual and collective desires under a political umbrella of democracy.