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: