In the novel, Netherland, Joseph O’Neill tells the life of the main character, Hans Van Den Broek. Hans is a stockbroker who is from Holland while his wife, Rachel and son, Jake is from London. Hans is a man in his mid-thirties who does not know who he is and does not his place in the world, and he is motivated to achieve his American Dream. The American Dream for Hans is to find his identity, so he moves his family to New York and quickly starts to detach himself from them while he does so. As a child he did not grow up with a father because he died and his mother neglected him because of her grief from his father’s death. As a result Hans had no beliefs and values instilled him, which left him not knowing the importance of family and him
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As he is trying to find his place in the world, the employees of the DMV selflessly deny Hans that privilege. For Hans, obtaining a driver 's license is a gateway for him to create his American Dream. As Hans searches for his particular American Dream, he self-consciously detaches himself from his family and his wife, Rachel, scolds him stating, "You 've abandoned me, Hans '... I don 't know why, but you 've left me to fend for myself. And I can 't fend for myself. I just can 't '" (O 'Neill 29). Hans does not yet realize the importance of family, so he abandons his family in search of a better understanding of himself, believing that would ultimately satisfy him. In the article, "Discovering Your Identity," by Art Ticknor, Ticknor acknowledges, "Life is all about finding our identity. We typically approach that search in a haphazard way..."(1). In relation to Hans, his search for his true identity makes him approach his situation in a "haphazard way," as Ticknor points out. Hans was selfish and he ultimately did not care about the well-being of his family, he only cared about …show more content…
Cricket seems to be a major part of him, it is something he is sure about. He is so obsessed with cricket that he wouldn 't even change his batting stance in order to adhere to the American way of playing cricket: "They could, and did, modify their batting without spiritual upheaval. I could not. More accurately, I would not change..." (O 'Neill). Hans was adamant about not changing his batting stance because cricket was important to him and changing his batting stance would have forced him to disrupt his cricket identity, which would ultimately disrupt his American Dream. Hans had finally found something he could identify with, which was important considering that his American Dream is to find an identity for himself. Hans’ life now revolved around cricket because he believed that if he was serious enough about it, he would achieve his American Dream of truly finding himself. The only thing that mattered to Hans was cricket at this moment in his life. "I strained the summer through a strainer that allowed only the collection of cricket. Everything else ran away. I cut back on my trips to England, inventing excuses that were easily accepted by Rachel" (O 'Neill 172). Cricket became a major part of Hans ' identity, while he was trying to achieve his Dream, cricket is something he is sure of in himself. Hans ' feels a sense of belonging when he played cricket, which is why he abandoned his
As he is trying to find his place in the world, the employees of the DMV selflessly deny Hans that privilege. For Hans, obtaining a driver 's license is a gateway for him to create his American Dream. As Hans searches for his particular American Dream, he self-consciously detaches himself from his family and his wife, Rachel, scolds him stating, "You 've abandoned me, Hans '... I don 't know why, but you 've left me to fend for myself. And I can 't fend for myself. I just can 't '" (O 'Neill 29). Hans does not yet realize the importance of family, so he abandons his family in search of a better understanding of himself, believing that would ultimately satisfy him. In the article, "Discovering Your Identity," by Art Ticknor, Ticknor acknowledges, "Life is all about finding our identity. We typically approach that search in a haphazard way..."(1). In relation to Hans, his search for his true identity makes him approach his situation in a "haphazard way," as Ticknor points out. Hans was selfish and he ultimately did not care about the well-being of his family, he only cared about …show more content…
Cricket seems to be a major part of him, it is something he is sure about. He is so obsessed with cricket that he wouldn 't even change his batting stance in order to adhere to the American way of playing cricket: "They could, and did, modify their batting without spiritual upheaval. I could not. More accurately, I would not change..." (O 'Neill). Hans was adamant about not changing his batting stance because cricket was important to him and changing his batting stance would have forced him to disrupt his cricket identity, which would ultimately disrupt his American Dream. Hans had finally found something he could identify with, which was important considering that his American Dream is to find an identity for himself. Hans’ life now revolved around cricket because he believed that if he was serious enough about it, he would achieve his American Dream of truly finding himself. The only thing that mattered to Hans was cricket at this moment in his life. "I strained the summer through a strainer that allowed only the collection of cricket. Everything else ran away. I cut back on my trips to England, inventing excuses that were easily accepted by Rachel" (O 'Neill 172). Cricket became a major part of Hans ' identity, while he was trying to achieve his Dream, cricket is something he is sure of in himself. Hans ' feels a sense of belonging when he played cricket, which is why he abandoned his