What is The American Dream
The American dream is not dead, it is just that some people do not have the right mindset and work ethic to live it out. Through the characters Willy, Lennie, Candy and his dog, and the poem Brother Can You Spare a Dime, I will show how the American dream is a very difficult life task to accomplish, but it is achievable. I will also show how the American dream can be hard for some people, and how to rid the bad things in life, so that the American Dream can ride that much smoother.
In the book, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses the character Lennie to show the struggles of having problems trying to live the American dream. George gets tired of having to repeat himself over and over again and yells, “I’ll tell ya again. I ain’t got nothing to do. Might jus’ as well spent all my time telling you things and then you forget ‘em, and I tell you again.”(Steinbeck, 4). This quote shows how Lennie has problems forgetting simple things and how this can affect his daily life. The quote also shows how if you have problems, like a mental disorder, people will look at you differently and it is harder to make it in life. Some people do not normally want someone who has a mental disorder working for them, which is wrong because everyone deserves an equal chance. Towards the beginning of the book, George becomes very mad at Lennie and blasts at him, “Blubberin like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you.”(9). The quote shows how George is telling Lennie how he is a big baby, and he is comparing him to one. Being called a baby is not very nice and it is even harder when you know you have a mental disorder or other problems. Lennie can not do much for himself, which makes it even harder for him to live. Just like how Lennie has problems that hurt him, Candy’s dog is just like that in the way that the dog is useless and they want him out of their lives. They want to rid the bad things of their lives so life will be easier.
In the book, Of Men and Men, Steinbeck uses the character Candy and his dog to show how disregarding the bad things actually helps you. Carlson becomes angry at Candy about his dog, “Why’n’t you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up? I can smell that dog a mile away. Got no teeth, damn near blind, can’t eat, Candy feeds him milk. He can’t chew nothing else.”(Steinbeck, 36). This quote shows how ridding the bad things in life, will actually make things easier to complete the American dream. Without the bad things that slow you down, you can strive faster and be more successful. An example is if someone is mean or annoying, ignore them and do not worry about them. Do not let them hold people back from dreaming. Another time in the book was when candy was feeling bad for his dog and he thought that, “”Maybe it’d hurt him,” he suggested. “I don’t mind takin care of him.””(45). This is the best quote because it shows how Candy was blind by the fact that his dog was useless and he needed to get rid of him. He took care of him for no reason and was wasting his energy on him. In addition to Candy’s dog being useless and needing to get rid of him, Willy is sort of like that as well. He needs to get rid of the mindset he is in and change his ways for the better.
In the Film and Novel, Death of a Salesman, Miller uses the character Willy to show how being like him is bad. Willy was lost in his life and had no clue what to do. He had a job, but it was not paying well at all. Willy was becoming pretty mad at Charley about him having a job, “I got a job, I told you that. Why the hell are you offering me a job?”( Miller, 29). This quote emphasizes that Willy is stuck and he believes he is succeeding, but he really is not. Willy believes he is doing fine and that he does not need a job when he already has one. At Willy’s funeral, Charley started to talk about Willy and how, “Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman has got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.”(111). Charley is saying that Willy was losing his dream. Willy did not even start his own dream, but his friends did it for him. Willy dreamt, but he did not dream for himself. When dreaming, always do what will make yourself happy and what you actually want to do. Willy wasn’t happy, he was faking it. In addition to Willy needing to change away from wrong, the poem shows how hard it was, and still is, to achieve the dream. The poem, Brother can you Spare a Dime, it shows how it is not easy with bad things going on, and how the road to success is not easy.
In the poem, Brother can you Spare a Dime, Crosby uses excellent word choice and thoughts to create a very well written poem. This poem shows how back then, times were tough and people had to keep pushing through. Crosby talks about how, “They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead, why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?” (Lines 5-8). This quote shows how hard life really is and how people can lie to others so easily. Crosby was told that the American dream was easy and it is free floating, but then he got hit with reality. Crosby also talks about him asking, “Say buddy, can you spare a dime.” (Line 24). This quote is the main line in the poem and where the poem got its name. This quote also emphasizes what I said above. It shows how hard times were, especially during the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a very hard time for many, and many gave up on life during it. It shows how the road to success has its road bumps. The road bumps can be major or minor, but still affect people. We need to learn to overcome the road bumps we run into, and to persevere through it.
The American dream affects everyone living in America. People come to America just to be able to live out their lives the way they want to. What some people don’t realize is that it is very hard and difficult. The American Dream is not an easy task to accomplish. Some people are brainwashed, like the character Willy, into believing that it is easy and free flowing. Some people on the road to success will make the way harder, but make sure to ignore those people. Ignore the bad things in life and try to get rid of them so they do not stress people out. The American dream is also hard if someone has a mental disorder or some other problem. Some people are biased in the fact that people with problems are useless or not fit for some jobs or tasks. That is wrong and everyone deserves an equal opportunity at reaching the very difficult task that is the American Dream.

Works Cited
Crosby, Bing. “Brother Can You Spare a Dime.” poetryfoundation.org. 30 October 2017. Web.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Penguin, 1998
Steinbeck , John. Of Mice and Men. Penguin, 1993