This program draws on insightful commentary from literary scholars and authors to examine the characters, plots, and themes of seven American novels that deal with wealth, poverty, and the nature of success and failure in the U.S. In an exploration that moves from the turn of the 20th century into progressively more contemporary surroundings, passages from each book are dramatized through inventively animated still photography intercut with original and archival footage. The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, The House of Mirth, Sister Carrie, Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day, Gish Jen’s Typical American, and Ann Petry’s The Street are analyzed. From the public television American Masters series. (116 minutes)