The Tale of the American Dream in Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican American war in 1848 was a very important decision in our history. We allowed the Mexican government to keep Mesilla Valley in place of them giving us the Santa Rita Mountains. We believed that we would profit off of this compromise due to the fact that we thought there was rich copper deposits, and some silver and gold which had not yet been mined. Little did we know that the Mesilla Valley was essential for the construction of a Southern Transcontinental Railroad. The reason it was important for the railroad was because it consisted of flat desert land about fifty miles north to south and 200 miles wide, east to west. There were two parcels of the land that President Pierce instructed Gadsden to try and buy. The Baja California Peninsula was the first for fifty million dollars or the thirty eight thousand square miles of dry arid desert. Santa Ana needed money badly to help build up his army to defend against the very people wanting to pay him, the United States. He thought the best solution was to sell as little land as possible for the most

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1948 would have lasting negative effects on Mexican Americans. The Treaty was signed after America had won the Mexican American war. America gained possession of the southwest states that had been part of Mexico for the price of around eighteen million dollars. In Article IX of the Treaty, it states that the Mexicans "shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restriction"(Vargas 139). And as Rachel Rivera points out Article VII promised the Mexicans the right to keep their land which previously belonged to Mexico. However, the Treaty would not grant the

The aftermath of the war had great affects on Mexico's and Americas government. The war officially ended on February 2, 1848, when Mexico agreed to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The terms of the treaty were set by the United States after winning the war, the treaty added land the makes up present day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Utah , and Wyoming. Additionally, the U.S paid $15 million and

Propaganda filters throughout the world to lean people’s views one way or another. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife to demonstrate the American Dream. This is unattainable but is their motivation to carry on their daily on the ranch lives. George and Lennie’s actions revolve around their American Dream. In a conversation between George and Lennie they discuss their dream, George states “... We’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres, an’ a cow and some pigs” (Steinbeck, 14). George says this to Lennie to motivate him to keep quiet and out of trouble so they can eventually reach these dreams. The American Dream can be defined as people

Signed on February 2, 1848, in Guadalupe Hidalgo, a city north of the capital. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed by the U.S. and Mexico. The United States appointed Nicholas P. Trist, a citizen of the United States and the Mexican Republic has appointed Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, Don Bernardo Couto, and Don Miguel Atristain. This Treaty, brought to an end the Mexican American War. Bringing peace between the two countries. The U.S. called for Mexico to cede 55% of its territory, extending the boundaries of the United States by over 525,000 sq/m. This newly acquired land is what is known as present day Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado,and Wyoming. In exchange for this land, Mexico received a $15 million compensation.

With the widespread confusion and battles throughout the Nueces River and the Rio Grande, the U.S had offered a treaty to Texas, and shown in Document C “It would consider such an act ‘A declaration of War.’” Today Texans and American citizens believe that Mexico had attacked first, when in reality they were just defending their land. The U.S took Mexico’s land and had blamed them for attacking for the start of several battles and casualties when Mexico didn’t give up the land in the first place. Explained in Document D “Citizens of the United States had already begun to move

People living during the great depression had dreams but on seemed to be the most popular but with their own twist to their dream. The American dream is in the Declaration of Independence stating “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. This dream is called the American Dream. The American dream is a set of standards in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success that can be achieved through hard work and determination. Steinbeck uses the American dream to give each character a goal to work toward to. Each character had their own American Dream. Owning some land so you could live independently, to tend the rabbits or to be playing cards with the other guys.

The perception of history is often crafted by the information given and the information available, however, almost too often the facts accessible are warped by the viewpoints of others before they can be properly assessed. Differing outlooks thus explicate the controversial nature of historical events and why the motives and conclusions behind certain occurrences are called into question. The Mexican American war as many American historians would call it ushers a contrary tone in Mexico as their own historians would claim the “war” as United States invasion; the difference in referral is based on the different perceptions of the conflict. In the American viewpoint, the Mexican American War was driven by economic, social and political pressures to bolster United States territories, through the annexation of Texas. In the converse, it could be argued that Mexico did not declare a formal war against the United States but rather was interested in defending their country’s territorial integrity and resisting United State’s invasion. In a Mexican viewpoint then, the war was not a result of arrogance but a consequence of defending Mexican territory from United States invasion. Nonetheless the aftermath of the war produced immense repercussions, furthering American exceptionalism, slavery, and disregard for international borders prompting the inquiry of not only the unjust methods applied but the unjustified results.

The Mexican War of 1846-1848 was one of major importance to U.S. history, but has since fallen into annals of obscurity. It was the nation’s first war fought on foreign soil: a war that advocated the concept of “manifest destiny”, the United States God-given right to claim territory for the establishment of a free democratic society (Stevenson 2009). Even though many historians claim the war was forced on Mexico by slaveholders greedy for new territory, President John Polk viewed the war as an opportunity to defend the annexation of Texas, establish the Rio Grande as its border, and to acquire the Mexican territories of California and New Mexico (Stevenson 2009).

The war had ended with a treaty called “The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,” but it still caused unnecessary bloodshed upon Mexico and the states. ] The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico because Mexico had the right to protect their land, and they only wanted the

“I think the American Dream used to be achieving one's goals in your field of choice - and from that, all other things would follow. Now, I think the dream has morphed into the pursuit of money: Accumulate enough of it, and the rest will follow” (“Buzz Aldrin Quotes”). The real American Dream is not an income level. The American Dream is the ability to rise through one's own work and improve the condition, no matter where the person started from. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and Cannery Row both contain characters that are misfits and outsiders who are lonely and are striving for the American Dream which they think is being successful by being rich, but the author guides people to understand that money is not the root of happiness and success is not necessarily based on being rich.

How would one feel if they spent their entire lives working towards an unattainable goal? That goal is the American Dream, a term that can be loosely defined as one’s attempt at what they believe is success, whether it be a family, high-paying career, a beautiful home, or all three. The American Dream can be whatever one makes of it. James Baldwin and William Buckley strongly debated this issue with underlying similarities but ultimately Baldwin had a stronger argument. This House Believes in the American Dream is at the Expense of the American Negro, was a historic 1965 debate about society’s mistreatment of the African American race throughout history. Baldwin highlighted that white Americans innately believe they are still superior to African Americans and their pursuit of the American Dream holds more weight while Buckley attempted to discredit him. Baldwin drew scrutiny to the social injustices faced by blacks in their daily lives especially in their pursuit of the American Dream and attempted to direct white America’s attention to the issues that desperately need a solution.

The book Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, is about a town that goes through good times and bad times. This book shows that despite your differences, you can work together to make a great community. It also demonstrates that the choices you make have an effect on other people.

When we try to chase our dreams, we end up in our own diminutive lonely world. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, has taught readers that the American dream can only ever be accomplished through hard work and determination. More times than others, we are distracted by the dream itself, and don’t chase the reality, which can then lead to high expectations, and without hard determination, that can then failure. In the end, we have been lonely for so long, chasing a dream, that when reality hits us, we become isolated and lonely. For George and Lennie, they have each other, until the American dream seemed too hard to chase.

Dreams can’t always come true. In the novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck there is an interesting theme, the inevitable failure of the American Dream. Steinbeck expresses this theme through the characters and plot development through consistent retellings, suspicious doubt, and the inevitable death of hope. Steinbeck expressed this theme through consistent retellings of the American Dream. “Tell about that place, George.