Professor Stephen Clifford
English 233
18 February 2014
Challenging the American Dream Does the American Dream still exist? Did it ever? There is evidence of doubt in this concept that dates even as far back as when James T. Adams coined the idea in 1931. The 1930’s faced a new wave of violence and sexuality in America, and the American ideals that founded this country were being questioned in the eyes of its residents. James M. Cain’s novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, shows the lack of hope that most Americans had in a society where hard work and good intentions were no longer bringing opportunity. His main characters Frank and Cora, a wanderer and a femme fatale, reflect the suffering that surrounded the Great Depression and the feminist movement. Cain reveals the American Dream to be flawed and easily corrupted by desperation and hardship. What exactly is the American Dream? The reason this is so hard to define is because “the American dream” is an intangible concept like “love” or “peace.” This dream is usually different to every individual, but one thing is for sure, it starts in America; so as far as definitions go we can think back to the Declaration of Independence in 1771. It states that all men in the United States are given certain “inalienable rights” that consist of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This means that men and women had the right to be recognized by their knowledge, talent, and hard work instead of their race, class, religion, gender, or other social stratifications. It sounds like a perfect motto to live by, and most Americans work their whole lives trying to receive these privileges; but life is filled with inequality and in many cases the system provides more obstacles than advantages.
For example, despite a long battle from feminist activists, the 19th amendment did not make a big difference in the attitudes of men towards women. It gave women a right to vote, but the right to work was challenged by male dominance, low wages and responsibilities to the household. Cora, the femme fatale character, reflects the attitudes of men and women during the time who were having a hard time adapting to women’s rights. If we look at the female role of an ideal American-family model and compare it to the femme fatale in Cain’s novel, we’d notice a great deal of differences between these characters. For example, Cora, who should be an eager-to-please, well-dressed housewife is a worn-out waitress, tired of being married to someone she does not love. She has the opportunity to become the traditional housewife but she is unsatisfied with her relationship to Nick and wants more power to run the diner freely. The first instance in which Cain introduces an obscure perception of the American Dream is with Cora and her dream of owning the diner. She fears that if she ever left the comfort of her diner, she’d be back working hash houses where she started; however she can’t stand to be with Nick another minute so she is forced to take drastic measures to attain her dream. By using her charm to enlist Frank’s help, the couple murders Nick and inherits the diner.
One of the reasons why Cora is so fed up with Nick is because he only sees her as a housewife, and she reveals this when she says, “He came along. I took him, and so help me, I meant to stick by him. But I can’t stand it anymore. God, do I look like a little white bird?” (Cain 16) Even with the understanding that women should be respected, men were still used to the idea of a woman being submissive and servant to men’s desires. For example, when Frank first flirts with Cora he was fully aware that she was married, but his sexual attraction insisted that he needed to sleep with her anyway, “I wanted that woman so bad I couldn’t even keep anything on my stomach.” (Cain 8) This ambiguity for feminine equality is also shown in the novel by the judge who is questioning Frank about his sexual activity with Cora. “Come on, I've seen her, I tell you. I'd have been in there if I had to kick the door down and hang for rape. So would you. So were you" (Cain 80). The attitudes of Nick, Frank, and the judge were very common in the 1930’s and women were becoming aware of it.
Such sexual behaviors from men developed certain women who took advantage of them through love, which lots of men feared at the time. "I said it, and I mean it. I'm not what you think I am, Frank. I want to work and be something, that's all. But you can't do it without love. Do you know that, Frank? Anyway, a woman can't. Well, I've made one mistake. And I've got to be a hell cat, just once, to fix it. But I'm not really a hell cat, Frank." (Cain 19) Here Cora is telling Frank that she wants to be something but her loveless marriage with Nick won’t allow that, and she needs Frank’s help to fix that situation. This may be a sincere plea for help, but it is also an example of Cora using her charm to make her dream come true.
Another major cause of American doubt during the 1930’s was the Great Depression; which includes the stock market crash, the dust bowl, and soaring national unemployment. During this time, men and women were losing their homes and wandering the country looking for work and shelter. How could equal opportunity be real if the average citizen was living out of rail-road stations and cardboard boxes? It is clear in Cain’s novel that Frank Chambers, our male narrator, is one of these wanderers. Though it is unclear what happened in his life to put him in such a situation, we can assume that it is related to effects of the Great Depression. “I'm talking about the road. It's fun, Cora. And nobody knows it better than I do. I know every twist and turn it's got. And I know how to work it, too. Isn't that what we want? Just to be a pair of tramps, like we really are?" (Cain 17-18) This quote shows Frank’s respect for the “road,” which could be a metaphor for the life that hobos lived, travelling from city to city looking for opportunities. Unfortunately for Frank, Cora has had bad experiences wandering the road and is only willing to love Frank if she owns and operates Nick’s diner. "That road, it don't lead anywhere but to the hash house. The hash house for me, and some job like it for you. A lousy parking lot job, where you wear a smock. I'd cry if I saw you in a smock, Frank” (Cain 18). This could be more of Cora’s charm convincing Frank to murder Nick, but it also shows how being on the road wasn’t the same for women. In the end Frank decides to stay with Cora and run the diner, which is why I believe that Frank’s American Dream is to find a woman willing to love him and settle down somewhere safe together. This is supported by the judge, who appears to have dealt with wanderers before, when he tells Frank, “I've seen her, Chambers, and I can guess why you did it . . . For something like that, plenty of guys have said goodbye to the road, rambling feet or not" (Cain 78). The judge knows that people don’t wander because they like to, they seek opportunities for a stable life. To Frank this stable life meant having a traditional relationship with Cora, while running an illegally inherited diner.
James M. Cain’s novel The Postman Always Rings Twice was considered a controversial book upon its release for demonstrating harsh realities in American society. Just before the book ends, it seems that Frank and Cora both achieved their dreams and are living happily together. Cora, after murdering Nick, owns the diner; and Frank, soon to be a father, is no longer rambling his feet. However Cain’s twisted ending smashes the American Dream once again by killing Cora, who is still pregnant, in a car accident. Frank, who is accused of murdering Cora, is narrating the story from death row in prison. Why did James M. Cain toy with the notions of the American Dream so much? By showing us how easy it was to end up in a desperate situation during the 1930s, Cain proves how the American Dream is not only flawed, but almost impossible to attain. With the Great Depression and all the oppression that women had to face in the 1930s, the events that took place in The Postman Always Rings Twice could have happened to anyone.

Works Cited
Cain, James M. The Postman Always Rings Twice. Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. Web .PDF file.
February 2014.