In the television show, Supernatural, two brothers spend their days fighting paranormal forces, a duty left to them by their father. They strive to live “the American Dream,” but at the end of the day, they always get pulled back into the world of hunting. The idea of living a normal life provides the brothers with a hope that everything they’re doing and all the hard work they’re putting in to save the general public will eventually pay off in the long run. What they call “an apple pie life” gives them a sense of purpose because otherwise, their lives would feel pointless.
This can be said for many contemporary Americans as well. We are raised to believe that through hard work, we can realize any dream that we want to in our lives. We go through years of school to attain knowledge and to gain experience that we’re told will help us to achieve these goals, but sometimes hard work isn’t enough. The Winchester brothers are an example of this sad truth, because after years of nothing but hard work, they are still in the same (if not worse) predicament that they were in when the show began nine years ago.
Here’s a clip of Dean’s brief attempt at a normal life:
The struggle to fit in and create a space for oneself in society is a theme that we have seen in many of the works read throughout the semester. W.E.B. DuBois’ “Souls of Black Folks” details the struggle of the negro problem and the color-line. By 1903 when this was written, slavery had been abolished for thirty years. The fact that there was still such a confusion by the rest of society about what to do with the newly freed black people parallels the struggle of the brothers in Supernatural. They cannot lead a normal life as much as they try, not because they are unable to, but because society is unable to accept them. The brother’s plight also reflects the theme of double-consciousness. They want to lead a normal “apple pie life” but are unable to because they are unable to give up the world of hunting.
I have to agree with your argument that hard work does not always pay off, Steven Crane illustrates this idea in his short story, “The Open Boat”. The oiler is the only character to lose his life in the end yet he worked the hardest on getting the crew near land. The other characters reap the benefits of his hard work, which is also seen today. In group project there are always those indivduals who go along for the ride benefiting from the hard work of others.
Another point I would like to address is the reference to “an apple pie life”. This brings to mind the phrase “its easy as pie”, the brothers in this show may use this term for inspiration to keep them going. As they hold on to the thought that “this is easy” they continue to put forth effort to finish the job. Similar to the real world when we tell ourself our work is not so hard, we accept the idea that we have the ability to complete the task and this inspires us to keep going until we’ve completed it.