Migrant Workers and the American Dream Essay Sample free essay sample

First published in 1937. Noble-laureate John Steinbeck’sOf Mice and Mennarrates the tragic narrative of George Milton and Lennie Small. two Migrant ranch workers in California during the Great Depression of the nineteen-thirties. Turning up in Salinas. California. Steinbeck lived in the bosom of a part that relied to a great extent on migratory farm workers like George and Lennie in his novel. The writer had therefore observed from really close quarters. the life. the dreams and the desperation of these displaced workers. InOf Mice and MenandThe Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck painted a heart-rending image of the predicaments of this public. who. without place. without roots. without any ground tackle to anchor them or haven to salvage them from the unsmooth storms of life. drifted about the state in hunt of a meager support. And yet. like George and Lennie. deep inside all they longed for was a topographic point to name place – this despairing desire to have a little piece of land some twenty-four hours. We will write a custom essay sample on Migrant Workers and the American Dream Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page a place. a ‘shelter from the storm’ is what drove them on. During the old ages of 1880s to 1930s. immense figure of work forces traveled all over America. largely during the seasonal crop seeking work in the farms. As Steinbeck’s novel Tells us. they earned a paltry amount as salary. along with nutrient and really basic adjustment. The First World War. followed by a recession. and the terrible unemployment job during the Depression. merely served to perplex affairs and the jobs of the migratory workers multiplied a hundredfold. Agencies were set up under the New Deal to direct farm workers to where they were needed. In the novel. George and Lennie got their plants cards from Murray and Ready’s. one of these bureaus. In the 1930s these farm workers had a really hard life. Steinbeck describes the life of Lennie and George with bold and telling shots. It is a difficult life reaping barley. The conditions is hot and dry. the rewards are light. and the ambiance itself is undependable on any given spread. Furthermore. the company the two work forces maintain is a bad influence. As they travel from spread to ranch. salvaging every penny they earn. George and Lennie set themselves apart from the other workers who spend their money on spirits. gaming. and adult females because between themselves they cherish a dream of their ain. But the novel reveals the trouble of woolgathering for these migratory workers. Lennie and George are merely ordinary work forces. hankering for their ain infinite to happen peace. leisure. and self-fulfillment: merely â€Å"a small house and a twosome of estates. † But their programs go dreadfully incorrectly ; they can non look to avoid their inevitable licking merely by hankering for a different destiny. â€Å"Tell about how it’s gon na be. † ( 17 ) begs Lennie. the immense. bear-like child-man. who clings to trust through improbable but eager friendly relationship with George. Lulled like a small kid by soft things and George’s repeated confidences. Lennie looks frontward to the twenty-four hours he will pet and care for coneies on the spread he and his best friend have s ecured. But George. smarter and more of a realist than Lennie. understands better the troubles of of all time carry throughing the dream they pursue together. He grumbles about how things are: â€Å"Guys like us. that work on spreads. are the loneliest cats in the universe. † ( 41 ) He is excessively cognizant of the empty. unstable life of itinerant workers. But. he excessively is a dreamer. and holding left Murray and Ready’s in San Francisco to happen ranch work in the Salinas Valley. George yearns to discontinue the life of resiling from one occupation to the following with everything he owns wrapped in one package. But tragedy tallies in their aftermath and the fresh terminals with the decease of Lennie and the decease of George’s dream. The life of the migratory workers of the 1930s as presented in this narrative serves to uncover the emptiness of the Great American Dream. Peace. prosperity. freedom. land – everything America promised to its citizens  œ remained a neer accomplishable dream for this tragic batch.Of Mice and Menbusynesss with the unsophisticated pessimism voiced by the stable-hand. Criminals: â€Å"Ever’ organic structure wants a small piece of lan’ †¦ Cipher of all time gets to heaven and cipher gets no lan’ . † ( 38 ) Surely. things have changed a great trade from the dark yearss of Depression. The migratory workers of today’s America acquire a assortment of securities. are better paid and work under better status. But some things remain the same. They are still pitiably hapless. In fact. â€Å"In 1994-95. 60 one per centum of farm workers lived in poverty†¦ . † ( Farm Worker Conditions. 2000 ) . And even today. â€Å"800. 000 of the 2. 5 million migratory workers in the U. S. do non hold the proper life conditions that they should be entitled to† ( Steven Greenhouse. New York Times. 1998 ) . The lives of the migratory workers and their households still remain in a uninterrupted province of flux ; they still dream about a piece of land of their ain. and they still suffer from the chronic rootless cape. However. certainly things have changed for the better. Plants Cited Farm Worker Conditions. 18 Sept. 2000. Agricultural Missions Inc lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. nccusa. org/publicwitness/mtolive/boycott gt ; . Steinbeck. John.Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books. 1994. Steinbeck. John.The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking. 1989. Timmerman. John H. â€Å"The Squatter’s Circle in The Grapes of Wrath. † Studies in American Fiction ( Autumn 1989 ) : 203-211. Literature Resource Center. Gale. â€Å"As U. S. Economy Booms. Housing for Migrant Workers Worsens. † New York Times 31 May 1998. 5 Mar. 2002 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. ufw. org/hythsg. htm gt ; .