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UC Merced UC Merced Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The California Dream: a dangerous social and environmental myth protested by John Muir and John Steinbeck Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8bd7p503 Author Winter, Raymond Earl, III Publication Date 2010-05-26 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED The California Dream: A Dangerous Social and Environmental Myth Protested by John Muir and John Steinbeck A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in World Cultures by Raymond Earl Winter III Committee in charge: Professor Jan Goggans, Chair Professor Michael Barbour Professor Gregg Camfield Professor Sean Malloy 2010 The Dissertation of Raymond Earl Winter III is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically. Chair University of California, Merced 2010 iii DEDICATION Before and beyond all others, this endeavor is dedicated to my wife, Kelly, who has been more patient, supportive, and enduring than anyone could possibly expect of another human being. Kelly, your sacrifices throughout this journey have been immeasurable, though I‘ve counted every one. I am honored to share this accomplishment with you, which could never have been achieved without your vision of its completion and what so often amounted to being a single parent of three. Now let‘s all go play outside. To my children-- Emma, Paige, and Ethan—I hope your youth protected you from the hardships of this season. You continue to be my inspiration for pursuing scholarship I believe will make a difference in your world. I hope to do my part in making each of you world-changers who pursue justice where it is needed. To Paula Watney, truly a third parent to our children, thank you for your sacrificial and gracious nurturing of our kids. We couldn‘t imagine entrusting so much of their lives with anyone else. I know you love it, but we no doubt tested your limits, yet never found your breaking point. This degree likewise belongs to you. Thank you to my extended family for the support, encouragement, and a lineage full of the stories and experiences of a western migration which have shaped and inspired me. To my insightful and inspiring advisor, Jan Goggans, thank you endlessly for the healthy doses of perspective, your perpetual sense of humor, and your genuine concern for me, first as a family man and secondly as a professional. You always made this seem more possible when I was less than optimistic. Likewise, I thank committee members Gregg Camfield, Sean Malloy, and Michael Barbour for their insight, and the World Cultures faculty for their investment of wisdom and support. I hope my effort at encouraging greater social and environmental justice models a form of stewardship and service that inspires others and honors God. iv Table of Contents Signature Page ................................................................................................................... iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .................................................................................................................v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ viii Chapter One: The Social and Environmental Destruction Invoked by the California Dream ..................................................................................................................................1 Central California Today: A Brief Social and Environmental State of Affairs ...............7 Defining of Terms and Structure ....................................................................................11 Dissertation Overview ....................................................................................................18 Chapter Two: The Inventors and Investors of the California Dream in the American Imagination .......................................................................................................................21 Explorers ........................................................................................................................28 Builders ..........................................................................................................................46 Profiteers ........................................................................................................................79 Chapter Three: Many Californias: Muir‘s Sermon on Diversity and Justice in California Landscapes .......................................................................................................96 Muir‘s Intentions ..........................................................................................................118 Muir‘s Techniques .......................................................................................................135 The Reception and Effects of Muir‘s Writing ..............................................................156 Chapter Four: Steinbeck‘s Alteration of a Malignant Mythology ..................................175 v Steinbeck‘s Intentions ..................................................................................................180 Steinbeck‘s Techniques ................................................................................................207 The Reception and Effects of Steinbeck‘s Writing ......................................................238 Chapter Five: The Central Valley Testifies: Muir and Steinbeck in the 21st Century ....249 Appendix ..........................................................................................................................264 Works Cited .....................................................................................................................270 vi VITA 1998 Bachelor of Arts, Fresno Pacific University 1999 Single-Subject (English) California Teaching Credential, Fresno Pacific University 1999-2005 English teacher, Dinuba High School 2005-2009 Teaching Assistant, American Literature, University of California, Merced 2007 Master of Arts, English, California State University, Fresno 2008-09 English teacher, Caruthers High School 2010 Lecturer, American Literature, University of California, Merced FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: American Literature Studies in California Literature Professor Jan Goggans Environmental Literature Professor Jan Goggans Ecofeminism Professor Lyn Johnson vii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The California Dream: A Dangerous Social and Environmental Myth Protested by John Muir and John Steinbeck by Raymond Earl Winter III Doctor of Philosophy, Emphasis in World Cultures University of California, Merced, 2010 Professor Jan Goggans, Chair This study examines the intentions, techniques, and effects of John Muir‘s My First Summer in the Sierra (1911) and John Steinbeck‘s The Grapes of Wrath (1939) as they review the social and environmental injustices in the Great Central Valley which have been created by the perpetuation of the ―California Dream.‖ These writers challenge the Dream itself, making a case for a less individualistic and dominating perspective of land ownership and of fellow mankind, to be replaced with a more altruistic and interdependent model. I establish the sources and early applications of this utopian mythology through the explorer, builder, and profiteer phases of California‘s statehood, and assert (1) the viii belief that California is limitlessly bountiful and a guaranteed source of prosperity for every hard worker falsely represents opportunity and literally overwhelms the landscape; (2) certain parties of industry continue to perpetuate an Edenic California mythology for the sake of profit at the cost of land and livelihood; and (3) literary efforts to counter the myth continue to challenge a social and environmental ethic that inappropriately encourages social hierarchies and environmental degradation. These literary efforts, as modeled by Muir and Steinbeck, likewise shift the psychological location of California in the American imagination into a more honest, informed, and justice-oriented position. The study concludes with a contemporary review of how the myth continues to this day to justify social and environmental crises in the Great Central Valley, and how writers and citizens alike must continue to reorient the perception of this place in light of radical social and environmental changes that have occurred since the founding days of the California Dream. ix Chapter One: The Social and Environmental Destruction Invoked by the California Dream The ―California Dream,‖ or the articulation of America‘s mythology of promise as applied to the continent‘s western-most edge: “California is the endlessly bountiful and expansive place to start over and find prosperity—hard work on its beautiful and consecrated land will always result in fulfillment.” ―Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” --Bertolt Brecht “Although the creative and critical arts may seem remote from the arenas of scientific investigation and public policy, clearly they are exercising, however unconsciously, an influence