California: Mirage of Unfulfilled Dreams

531 Words2 Pages

Kadyn Chamorro
Professor Rzepka
EN 373: Detective Fiction
4/28/16
The California “Mirage”
Just out of reach, a man sees an oasis and runs to it. But no matter how far he runs, the oasis is just out of reach. Because, unknown to the man, the oasis isn’t there. It’s a mirage shown only to the man dying of dehydration. Like the dying man, the desperate project their hopes and dreams onto California. California becomes a “mirage” for people who need to keep their dreams alive. To the dreamer, California is a land veiled with hope but drowning in disappointment. For a non-native of California, The Golden State shines with potential. “I’m interested in acting. I know that sounds ridiculous. Half the people who come to California probably want …show more content…

“This is a way-stop to Hollywood for you, then?” Lew Archer asks John Brown Jr. who responds with “I guess you could say that” (80). On the surface level, California holds opportunities for those with grand career ambitions. These want-to-be stars dream of basking in the limelight of Hollywood. But their expectations don't stop with job titles. "Your daddy’s name was John Brown,too, and you were born in California," John Brown Jr.'s mother told him (126). "I didn’t know what or where California was, but I held on to the word. You can see why I had to come, finally,” said John Brown Jr.(126). People like John Brown Jr. are looking for something more than the hope of a glamorous career. Even if they don't know what that something is, they're still seeking it. They use California to store their dream of find whatever it is they’re seeking. In The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain writes "Kisses with dreams in them. Kisses that come from life, not death” (108). These dreamers need something to give them hope, even if it feels as fleeting as a kiss. Because California represents hope for something or hope for something better. “Tell him you’ve had enough of this shit, you want to leave. Go where you want,

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