The Grapes of Wrath" novel written by John Steinbeck portrays the Joad family as it tries to cope with all the difficulties that migrant laborers had suffered during the Great Depression. Across the novel, readers are presented with the 1930 farmers that, in search of the American dream, find themselves trapped into a world in which the wealthy are willing to exploit the working-classes to the maximum, regardless of the

In this way the American Dream became even less accessible to poor persons, who in the past may have expected help from the more fortunate sectors of society. Instead they were forced to see the rich grow increasingly richer without any chance for access to prosperity. Unemployment and disparate income rates exacerbate the problem. Those employed in the most worthy of caring professions are often at the lowest end

Where Problems Begin The emphasis on funding and innovation that drove the advance of the American economy throughout much of the twentieth century was without a doubt a major part of the nation's success (Lemoncik 2006). This is not where today's issues of the internal crumbling of American society has its origins, however, and in fact the facade of great wealth, opportunity, and success that the United States still puts forward

It was a give and take society of inherent fairness and justice as each individual stood forth to do their part in the interest of all concerned....for the sake of America. While freedom should have meant for one and all, it is unfortunate, but as well expected in the human condition that the standards and beliefs of the Founding Fathers as to freedom failed to consider independence and its'

The development of the American automobile industry is one of the best examples of this interplay: "Unlike European manufacturers, who concentrated on expensive motorcars for the rich, American entrepreneurs early turned to economical vehicles that could be mass-produced," (Jackson 159). The fact that so many Americans then became capable of purchasing a car both fed the notion of the American dream, and also served to expand American cities and

The quest for primacy is likely to lead to the formation of adversarial alliances and greater distrust of American intentions, endangering international stability and peace. In the domestic sphere, quest for primacy will lead to greater abuse of power and the expansion of the military, threatening the health of American democracy. Democracy may be eroded and the U.S. economy may be drained before advocates of American primacy may achieve