"The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Crucible": Deconstructing the American Dream

Today, America is considered to be the most powerful and influential nation on Earth in terms of its cultural and political dominance. Its self-promotion as a 'Land of Opportunity' continues to attract migrants from all over the world wishing to pursue what's known as the American Dream. This ideological way of living, concerned with monetary wealth, family values, equality and individual liberty, is fostered by American society and publicized through the media and other forms …

…onto them. The Grapes of Wrath and The Crucible are two texts which deconstruct the dream and resist the common beliefs that everyone has equal opportunities. Through their use of historical events John Steinbeck and Arthur Miller reveal some of the injustices in American Society. They demonstrate that for some people to achieve the dream, their must also be those who fail as America is a society which is starkly divided into winners and losers.