i Exploring the Shifting Paradigms of the American Dream: A Comparative Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Grapes of Wrath

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.