What have depictions of the working class in popular culture added to our understanding of the professional lives of Americans? Scenes from the American Working Class: This Hard Land offers twelve unique and profound answers from some of the most impactful and timeless novels ( O! Pioneers , Ann Vickers , and Native Son ), films ( Blue Collar , Wall Street , and Other People's Money ), television shows ( The Wire and Mad Men ), songs (the work of Bruce Springsteen), and poems (Natasha Tretheway's " Drapery Factory, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956 "). Key themes include the turn from agrarianism to industrialism and post-industrialism; the challenges particular to women, new immigrants, and workers of color; and the relationship between the demands of the workplace and the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. Also explored is the extent to which having a productive and fulfilling working life is essential to living a life of meaning and purpose. Although there is a significant gap between the rhetoric and the reality of the "American dream," these portrayals all give a glimpse into the resiliency and optimism of workers and why the country continues to be a land of hope.