Was John Steinbeck successful in celebrating the honesty, courage, and dreams of ordinary people?

John Steinbeck was, for the most part, successful in celebrating the honesty, courage, and dreams of ordinary people, even though I don't particularly agree with the honesty part. He shows the values of courage and dreams in his characters, but his characters aren't necessarily honest. In fact, a few of the key characters lied about a lot of things throughout the book. They may not be big things but they are lies nonetheless. Steinbeck was …

…Almost everyone in this world lies about one thing or another, and I don't think that anyone can say that they have never lied before. Everyone has dreams, most everyone has courage when they really need it, in those do or die situations, and everyone lies. The characters in the book lie to make things better for themselves and are courageous to help each other, and I think that today we are the same way.