Marginalization American Dream

The American Dreams of Disenfranchised Mice, Men, and Outsiders For hundreds of years people have come from all over the world to America, to chase a dream coined “The American Dream”. This dream follows the belief that America offers vast opportunities to everyone who is willing to work hard. While the American Dream is most frequently of improving life quality for these immigrants and those they care about, often having land or a business of their own, it is also quite frequently for fame and fortune. These ideals have the great power to give people hope, voices, happiness, and even life. However, when something that powerful is taken away, the damage caused is more often than not, substantial. As is shown in the novella by John Steinbeck

In Of Mice and Men, this is shown by Candy’s change in voice when given the dream to go with George and Lennie and get a piece of land. Candy is the swamper of the ranch, and because of his old age and one hand, he is unable to do many tasks and is believed to soon be fired from the ranch. This dream was not only a place to stay for Candy, it was a place where he will have company, since he wouldn’t end up fired and dying alone with no job or home, as he has presumed. Candy had enough confidence in this dream, that he no longer felt as though he was walking on eggshells and trying to cling on to this job and chance at company. Upon losing the dream, Candy loses the voice and confidence provided by the dream. Without the dream Candy is submissive and easily gives in to others, but with the dream as his backbone, “Candy joined the attack with joy” (-page 62 of Of Mice and Men) even though they both know that Curley is more powerful. Candy’s loss in voice is clear and pointed, however, the loss of voice from The Outsiders character Darry Curtis, is more subtle. Only seeing him after the dream has been taken from him, it isn’t possible to see a visable change and are limited to what Ponyboy (Darry’s younger brother and the main character) tells. From Ponyboy learn that “he had been a real popular guy in school; he was captain of the football team and he had been voted Boy of the Year But

As is the case with Curley’s wife and Dally. The wife of Curley, the cruel son of the boss who picks fightd on the ranch, from Of Mice and Men, is considered a tart by the ranch hands, and while she may be one, she is often just searching for someone to talk with. She doesn’t enjoy life on a ranch and is excruciatintly lonely the majority of the time. She likes to talk about a man who told her that “ ‘He was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural. Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it.’ She looked closely at Lennie to see whether she was impressing him. ‘I never got that letter,’ she said” (-page 88 of Of Mice and Men). Curley’s wife has lost her dream of being a movie star, and fame and fortune which she believes is due to her mother, causing her to walk into her loneliness. Due to this loneliness, she again walked into her own destruction, this time her death, when she joined Lennie in the barn even after seeing that Lennie has killed a puppy. Due to her loneliness, which was self-inflicted, she ends up dying, much like Dallas Winston from The Outsiders. Dally, the stereotypical greaser and thief, who is cold when it comes to all but Johnny, the second to youngest member of the gang, and the one who all feel obligated to take protect. Dally has lost most of his dream, knowing that given his social