This Land Is Your Land John Steinbeck Analysis

Questioning the American Dream George Milton and Lennie Smalls were just two fictional representations of these struggling migrants in John Steinbeck’s classic, Of Mice and Men. In this novel, the two men experience hands on the burden of being agricultural workers hoping to make enough money to fund their American dream of buying a house and settling down. This however isn't the only example where migrant workers wished for a better future. The same struggles are evident in the classic tune, This Land is Your Land which also focuses on a migrant who tries to find work and make a life for himself on American soil. The singer gives the listener a sense of not knowing where to turn next which is also felt from Dorothea Lange’s photo, Migrant
In the novel, Of Mice and Men, they are so desperate for work that George silences Lennie from speaking to the boss ahead of time so his mental challenges do not prevent them from the jobs. George makes his worry on the issue very clear when he explains to Lennie before arriving at the ranch, ‘’ When he[the boss] finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we're set’’(Steinbeck 6). Just the urgency from George makes the reader understand how important these jobs were to the men, and if they were going to reach their dream, nothing could mess that up. Like most migrant workers in this time, they were not permanent and could certainly be turned down which was the case for the worker within Woody Guthrie’s,This Land is Your Land.Similarly to George and Lennie’s situation, the worker within the song is traveling and searching for some sort of decent job. By him not actually finding one in the end shows that these job positions were rare, and explains why George and Lennie were so passionate about maintaining their spots. However not everyone was as luck as the two men to find some sort of work that was somewhat steady. In the case of Mother Migrant, worker Florence Owens Thompson, relied on the delicate pea plant which froze on fateful day
Both the lack of decent jobs, and hunger resulting from these positions got in the way of these individuals from thriving like they imagined in their dreams. Works including Of mice and Men, This Land is our Land, and Migrant Mother all represent the struggles that so many faced during the Great Depression through their characters along with subject matter. Most importantly, they all showcase how lucky American’s are today to get up knowing that they have a desk job, and that their next meal is at their fingertips. Migrant workers fought in vain for their version of the American dream while today, so many take for granted the luxuries that they could only wish they could