Assignment: The American Dream—Steinbeck and Now Essay Assignment

Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date The American Dream, as illustrated by Steinbeck and now The social-political and economic dream, which most Americans cherish as part of their American experience, was a mirage experienced by many willing spirits. For years, it has become an integral part of Americans' virtues as people believe everyone can succeed and be self-employed if they work hard. Yet, as far as it goes towards building national dreams, the American Dream has also exposed vulnerability to social and economic structuralisms. In his book, “Of Mice and Men,” Steinbeck portrays the American Dream imperfectly because it is almost unreachable by minorities in their society, especially during the significant depression. In the story of George, Lennie, and the rest of the characters on the ranch, Steinbeck shows how the dream is systematically unattainable for the powerless. At the same time, this critique introduces essential themes of the ethnographic novel authored during the Great Depression and can be applied to current discussions regarding the American Dream. Defining the American Dream. The American Dream has always referred to the attainment of happiness through the exercise of liberty and the prospect of getting wealthy interruption. Built on the principles that enshrine the "Declaration of Independence," which, as mentioned by Thomas Jefferson, presupposes everyone is equal and has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (United States Congress). Moreover, the social meaning of the dream, associated initially with hard work tied to the ownership of land and individual self-sufficiency, changed in the twentieth century and especially after WWII, when it increasingly embraced upward social mobility and material success on the back of the following of the American Dream by suburbanization and mass consume culture (Steinback). However, even in this primitive state, the current dream was never made available to the public. The promoters defined the dream very expansively, as various historians such as James Truslow Adams, who was credited for the coining of the word in his book “The Epic of America” in 1931, argued that the dream was a lie in so far as it did not embrace 'the lady, the negro, and the Boot (Adams). This exclusion is represented well in Steinbeck's work, and how systematic prejudice and economic depression deny people the dream. The “American Dream” as Depicted by Steinbeck in “Of Mice and Men” George and Lennie, two migrant ranch hands in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Major Characters: George and Lennie, Jobs, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's Wife desire to own their piece of ground as ranch hands in California during the Great Depression. Their dream encapsulates the simplicity of the American Dream: ownership of land ...