Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath provides an extraordinary view of the American dream. The American dream, as perceived by the people in Steinbeck’s time, was going from a poor lifestyle to a stable and luxurious one. However, in reality very few achieved that. The Grapes of Wrath focuses on both sides of the American dream’s perception versus it’s reality. Ultimately, in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck’s analysis of the struggles and positives of the Joads’ journey presents an intriguing dynamic of the American dream’s perception versus it’s reality and how the Okie’s discover the American dream’s difficulty.
Throughout the early stages of Steinbeck’s novel, the Joads and every other person heading west perceived the American dream as lively as ever and used it for motivation on their journey. The Joads’ journey was presented as a very troubling one. Constantly on their journey, the Joads were met with discrimination and judgement. However, the Joads kept moving forward because of the light that they saw at the end of the tunnel. The Joads were motivated by the fact that California was at the end of their journey, “But I like to know how nice its gonna be in California. Never cold. An’ fruit ever’place, an’ people just bein’ in the nicest places, little white houses in among the orange trees/.../ maybe we can get one of them little …show more content…
The American dream provided the Joads with a sense of family and togetherness that nothing else could have provided them with. Even though the American dream is perceived as a failure, it’s benefits may almost equal the failures. However, the Joads fail to realize the true benefits and meaning of the American dream. The Joads ultimately fail to acknowledge the reality of the American dream being dead but instead keep up with their previous perception of the stable life that awaits them in
Throughout the early stages of Steinbeck’s novel, the Joads and every other person heading west perceived the American dream as lively as ever and used it for motivation on their journey. The Joads’ journey was presented as a very troubling one. Constantly on their journey, the Joads were met with discrimination and judgement. However, the Joads kept moving forward because of the light that they saw at the end of the tunnel. The Joads were motivated by the fact that California was at the end of their journey, “But I like to know how nice its gonna be in California. Never cold. An’ fruit ever’place, an’ people just bein’ in the nicest places, little white houses in among the orange trees/.../ maybe we can get one of them little …show more content…
The American dream provided the Joads with a sense of family and togetherness that nothing else could have provided them with. Even though the American dream is perceived as a failure, it’s benefits may almost equal the failures. However, the Joads fail to realize the true benefits and meaning of the American dream. The Joads ultimately fail to acknowledge the reality of the American dream being dead but instead keep up with their previous perception of the stable life that awaits them in