A simple quote, just a few words strung together in a sentence, can often explain the backbone of some stories perfectly. Oscar Wilde's simple seven-word phrase, "Ambition is the last refuge of failure" perfectly articulates the basic ideas of both F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath (" Oscar wilde quotes", 2010). The characters in both books are in search of the figurative Eden of the time, the American dream. However, in both cases, the characters fail to realize the basic ideas of that dream; social development, achieving wealth and endless opportunities. The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby mimic the same ideas in how all of the characters fail to achieve the American Dream and, in the process, fail themselves. Part of the American Dream is the hope of advancing, in some way, socially. ; both Gatsby and the Joads fail the dream by doing the opposite. Jay Gatsby spends his entire life aiming to win Daisy back, but when the time comes, he rejects her. Her sudden courage in extending a hand to Daisy pushes her to tell Gatsby the truth that "Even on my own I can't say I never loved Tom," she admits in a pitiful voice. “That wouldn't be true” (Choat, 2002, chapter 7). The verbalization of that decision is the final straw in their relationship, it will never be exactly the same again, and from that point on he regresses in his relationship. The Joads have a parallel experience, except that it is death and absence that distance them from the American dream. When mom says: "It will be useful for the family" it was just one thing. That's not the case now. It's anyone", meaning that everyone has put themselves first, compared to before leaving when they functioned as a family. The detail...... middle of the paper...... to take, especially when it concerns something as vast as the American Dream. Two stories, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, mutually explore this topic. Both groups of characters lack the three main ideas of the Dream, social development, achieving wealth, and achieving endless opportunities the American Dream. Works Cited Choat, C. (2002). Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http:/ /thinkexist.com/quotation/ambition_is_the_last_refuge_of_failure/8187.htmlSteinbeck, J. (2006)..