Abstract:
This study analyzes the changing nature of the American Dream through a
comparative study of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and John Steinbeck's
Grapes of Wrath. Centered around the lives and hardships faced by characters in such
novels, The American Dream features how economic upheaveling, egregious racism,
and human aspirations conform to or oppose the archetype of the American Dream.
Employing Karl Marx's socioeconomic theory, this work investigates the interplay
each novel has with shifting values of justice and equality as well as eroded self-
identification. The Grapes of Wrath targets economic injustice in the heart of the
Great Depression, while To Kill a Mockingbird tackles entrenched racism in a small
Southern town. Collectively, these works demonstrate how the American Dream is a
socially measured institution that often feels unattainable or at least transforms with
socio-economic forces. Through this lens, this thesis also intends to be part of the
discussion surrounding American literature and its function in representing and
interrogating our national values through times of social upheaval.
