Profiting from “The American Dream”

The development of the book’s central conflict is essentially grounded in two opposing opinions on just what it means to live out the so-called “American Dream.” On the one side of that conflict: those like Stacey Haney and her allies (including the husband-and-wife lawyer team of John and Kendra Smith) who believe there is danger to human life as a result of fossil fuel extraction. On the other side: Range Resources and other corporations (as well as government) who believe there is no such danger – or that if there is, the possibility of wider-range profit is worth any potential danger to individual lives or well-being. Both of these beliefs can be seen in the overall perspective of the narrative as manifestations of what has become “The American Dream” – the belief that an individual, to paraphrase and quote the United States Declaration of Independence...