Perspectives of the American dream in the works of Langston Hughes, William Faulkner, and Sylvia Plath

Author

Sarah Singleton, University of Tennessee at ChattanoogaFollow

Project Director

O'Dea, Gregory

Department Examiner

Wakefield, Hannah

Department

Dept. of English

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The American Dream is a crucial element of the national consciousness and ethos that has persisted from the nation’s founding; however, when we looks at the Dream and all that it entails in literature, we most often see represented a class of white men striving for the upward mobility that they hope will propel them to affluence. When we consider the American Dream and its place in history and literature, we do ourselves a disservice if we neglect to evaluate it through the lens of the lives and authors representing different demographics and backgrounds. In doing so, a more complete and nuanced understanding of the function of the Dream in twentieth century American literature and society can be had. By taking into account perspectives of the American Dream in the works of Langston Hughes, William Faulkner, and Sylvia Plath, my thesis seeks to address this gap in literary understandings of the Dream.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Dr. Greg O'Dea for his help and patience as my director.

Degree

B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Date

5-2024

Subject

American Dream in literature; Idealism in literature; Materialism in literature; Social mobility in literature; Success in literature

Name

Faulkner, William, 1897-1962--Criticism and interpretation; Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967--Criticism and interpretation; Plath, Sylvia--Criticism and interpretation

Keyword

literature; American Dream; success

Discipline

Literature in English, North America

Document Type

Theses

Extent

iii, 48 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Date Available

7-4-2030

Recommended Citation

Singleton, Sarah, "Perspectives of the American dream in the works of Langston Hughes, William Faulkner, and Sylvia Plath" (2024). Honors Theses.
https://scholar.utc.edu/honors-theses/474