The Iceman Cometh 845The amerIcan dream in The Iceman
Cometh
Eugene O’Neill’s tragedy The Iceman Cometh pro-
foundly illustrates the struggle between the societal
expectation that all Americans covet the American
dream—a unique concept assuming individuals can
achieve even their most extraordinary goals through
ambition and hard work rather than nepotism
and/or class structure—and those who have lost
the desire to pursue any dreams at all, let alone
the American dream. From the perspective of the
majority of the characters in The Iceman Cometh,
dreams in general are no longer regarded as a sacred
goal to strive for to make their lives more meaning-
ful. Instead, dreams—or so-called pipe dreams—are
turned into just another illusion to keep the charac-
ters from facing an unsatisfying reality and to dull
their senses, similar to the effects of the alcohol that
they continually consume. Pipe dreams, combined
with liquor, have an extremely powerful tranquil-
izing effect, much more than reality would have by
itself. Consequently, the inhabitants of Harry Hope’s
No-Chance Saloon are marked by a pseudo-death,
symbolized through the references to the morgue,
the “Iceman,” and an atmosphere of a drunken stu-
por that permeates the play.
Two of the main characters in the play, Larry
and Hickey, are in direct opposition to one another
in regard to how they view dreams and the choices
that people have in life, although they used to share
similar perspectives. Larry contends that for the
characters in the play, wasting their lives in a saloon
waiting for tomorrow is their own personal version
of the American dream. At one point he says:
Don’t waste your pity. They wouldn’t thank
you for it. They manage to get drunk, by
hook or crook, and keep their pipe dreams,
and that’s all they ask of life. I’ve never known
more contented men. It isn’t often that men
attain the true goal of their heart’s desire.And there may be something to what Larry says.
After all, the concept of the American dream is
about achieving one’s aspirations. If an individual’s
goals entail nothing more ambitious than existing
within a perpetual drunken stupor, dreaming of
what is yet to come, then the denizens of Harry
Hope’s have certainly achieved their American
dream.
On the other hand, Hickey, who used to concur
with Larry, has acquired a more innovative way of
thinking when the action takes place, one that he
desperately tries to convert his friends into believing.
Hickey, a natural salesman, is under the impression
that when the characters at Harry Hope’s realize
they cannot make themselves go through the neces-
sary steps to make their dreams or illusions come
true, they will face up to the unsatisfying reality that
they have ruined their lives, not only with wishful
thinking about tomorrows that never come, but also
with alcohol. However, when Hickey faces his own
reality and the truth about himself, his American
dream comes crashing down. Because he murdered
his own pipe dream, both literally and figuratively
in the form of his almost-too-merciful wife, he
will probably die by going to the electric chair for
the crime. In the end, Hickey’s fate suggests that
while the American dream may be an overrated,
nearly mythic concept, it is still the decision of each
individual to choose what exactly it consists of, how
to go about pursuing it, and essentially to decide
whether it is a sham to beware of or a paradigm for
which to strive.
It is undeniable that The Iceman Cometh is a
tragedy. However, the reasons why it constitutes a
tragedy are not entirely clear. Is it tragic because a
man murdered his wife? Or because it shows the
effects of delusion, not only related to the American
dream but also in the addiction of alcoholism? Or is
there more to it than that? Largely, the play and its
characters illustrate that it is human nature to numb
an unsatisfying reality with booze and pipe dreams.
At the conclusion of the play, most of the characters
may have kept their pipe dreams as well as their
alcoholism, but they are still residing at a place called
Harry Hope’s and they are not yet facing death, as
Hickey, who has murdered his illusions, will surely
face. Yet despite hope, in the end there is no denying
that The Iceman Cometh is a tragedy of the greatest
kind because it demonstrates that most of us will
never take the necessary steps to pursue our own
American dreams, whatever they may be.
Trudi Van Dyke