The American Dream Redefined: A Study of Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape

Abstract

The American dream is the first thing to be mentioned in any discussion of American literature. The meaning of the term the ‘American dream’ gets changed in course of time. Particularly, twentieth century met world level upheavals that questioned the existence of the dream. Eugene O’ Neill is a well known playwright of the century whose has a great social concern. His view on the negative impact of the concept of American dream is beautifully presented in the play The Hairy Ape.