American Dream in American Literature

1、美国文学中的美国梦american dream in american literaturecontentsabstract-1key words-1introduction-2american dream-21.the origin of the american dream -22. the development of the american dream -43. the disillusionment of the american dream - -9 conclusion-12reference-13american dream in american literature摘 要

2、：本文通过理性的思辨，探索了美国文学与美国梦之间的脉络，通过一些作品透视了美国社会、文化的精神与物质成果。通过美国历史上各个时期反映美国梦的文学作品，分析美国梦的起源、发展与幻灭，并在美国文学中所体现的时代特征及文化内涵。阐释了美国梦的基础-坚强、勤劳、平等和事业心-铸就了美国人的灵魂。但她也在某种程度上必将走向幻灭。关键词：梦想 起源 发展 幻灭abstract：this article has explored some veins between american literature and the american dream by rational thought and deba

3、tes, and us cultural 、spiritual and the material achievement by some works. it also discusses the origin, development and disillusionment of american dream, and time characters and cultural connotation reflected in american literature by analyzing the literary works in each time of the american hist

4、ory. this thesis explained the foundation of american dream - strong will、diligence、equality and the dedication to work - which casts americans souls . but it is bound to disillusion in some degree.key words： dream origin development disillusionmentamerican dream in american literature. introduction

5、the american dream is one of the most commonly misunderstood ideals in american culture. it has never been defined exactly and probably it is both too various and too vague. many men have meant many different things by it. in my opinion, the american dream is the concept widely held in the united st

6、ates of america, that through hard work、courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. america was founded with the values of independence, individuality and innovation， which were the qualities needed by the original pioneers who crossed the north american continent to found the nation that

7、the world knows today as the united states of america. the american dream was the faith held by these new americans. it was defined as a time of prosperity and peace lay ahead, and that a good life and a successful society could be founded on strength of will, courage, and hard work alone, when nort

8、hern europeans first came to america. what the american dream has become is a question under constant discussion.but american literature has been defined more exactly, and has been outlined in courses and embodied in anthologies, from the beginning of american history to the present day. american li

9、terature has recorded the story of a quest. at different times the quest has taken different forms. most men agree that it is something very different from english literature, and many have sought to describe the difference. the history of literature is a reflection of the development of american dr

10、eam.ii. american dream1. the origin of the american dreamin december 1620, with snow already flying, the now celebrated mayflower dropped another off cape cod. one would have said that these weak and weary pilgrims could not succeed, but they did in a remarkably short time. the saints, as they calle

11、d themselves, were the core of the company. because they demanded liberty of conscience, the right to worship as they pleased, they had been driven from england, and, crossing to holland, had settled in leyden, where they enjoyed religious freedom to the full. so they began looking to the new world

12、as a place where they might live more easily by farming and fishing. before going ashore, the saints drew up the now famed mayflower compact and had all signed it. the compact was a harbinger of the declaration of independence to come a century and a half later. this historic document was not a cons

13、titution, but it set a valuable example for later written constitutions. it was a bold assertion of their might to govern themselves in the new territory and hence a promising step toward the genuine development of self-government in the new world. the origin of the american dream stemmed from 1620,

14、when group of the british colonists went to american and to start to build their settlement there. when mayflower reached the north american，“a new heaven and a new earth in the new world had been announced to the common man: oh yes! oh yes! this is the place where the lord will create a new heaven,

15、 and a new earth in new churches, and a new commonwealth together. in the 16th century, europeans came to the new world in search of the lost continent of atlantics. these fantastic dreams changed in time toward down-to-earth dreams of success. when columbus first discovered the american continent h

16、e mistook the natives that for the people of india, the indians had their own social structure, and they had their own culture though it developed rather slowly. after the discovery of the new world, the european powers sent many explorers to the new continents. from 1607 to 1776, the british had es

17、tablished thirteen colonies along the atlantic coast. so immigrations like a flood come to north american, they work hard, got over all the difficulties, and created their new homeland. at beginning, the bad luck of the pilgrims continued for the next few years. after the first winter more than half

18、 the colony had perished from starvation and disease; they lived in a very poor condition. it was the pilgrims good fortune that relations between them and indians were peaceful. it was an extraordinary achievement. by their tireless efforts and against almost insuperable odds, the pilgrims had succ

19、eeded in firmly establishing themselves in the wilderness along a rather barren and inhospitable coast.writers of the post-revolutionary period had been embarrassed that america did not have much of a history. there was only one writer in the colonial period, whose works are read today. this was ben

20、jamin franklin (1706-1790). franklin is the only good american author before the revolutionary war. he was an outstanding representative of american dream in this period. born in boston in 1706, benjamin franklin went to philadelphia as a young man and began his career as a printer. benjamin frankli

21、n had a definite gift for writing. as an author he had power of expression, simplicity, a subtle humor. he was also sarcastic. his best writing is found in his own autobiography. this book is still very popular, and can be enjoyed today as much as it could at the time when it was written. his newspa

22、per, the philadelphia gazette, was of course ephemeral. when benjamin franklin died in 1790, at the age of eighty-four, he was an honored figure, mourned by many nations. one of his fellows american said, “his shadow lies heavier than any other mans on this young nation.” 5the earliest settlers live

23、d in the roughest sort of shelter. even in the caves. there was little furniture in common houses. the furnishings were as simple as they could be. food, however, was plentiful, but the way of cooking was very simple and primitive. also clothing was simple and rough. but britain began to speed up it

24、s economic exploitation. by the mid-eighteenth century colonial american was no longer a group of scattered, struggling settlements. as american people have this strength will, the war of independence broken out in 1775. it inspired the declaration of independence (1776) by thomas jefferson. perhaps

25、 no document in history has undergone as much scrutiny as the declaration of independence. in this formal statement announcing the severed ties between the thirteen colonies and great britain, thomas jefferson wrote essentially of a new theory of government, in which the government itself was expect

26、ed and required to protect “natural rights” of citizens. since thomas jeffersons writing of the declaration, many groups have interpreted the document to mean different ideas, and frequently, the declaration has been used to justify other political and social movements. while the declaration is an i

27、mportant historic document and incorporates many of americas most basic beliefs, it has no effect of law in 21st century america. i think the declaration of independence was the most on behalf of american dream. it was americans but only them have such spirit and will to break away from britain, win

28、 the independent war and establish a democracy country under their dreams. horatio alger wrote about “american dream”. in “ragged dick”, his hero dick, a poor city boy who shines shoes for a living, becomes a successful and wealthy businessman, therefore rising from rages to riches and fulfilling th

29、e american dream. algers books influenced americans strongly. i think the origin of the american dream in american literature also came from it.2. the development of the american dreamthe u.s. civil war (1861-1865) between the industrial north and the agricultural, slave-owning south was a watershed

30、 in american history. the innocent optimism of the young democratic nation give way, after the war, to a period of exhaustion. american idealism remained but was rechanneled. before the war, idealists championed human rights, especially the abolition of slavery; after the war, americans increasingly

31、 idealized progress and the self-made man. this was the era of millionaire manufacturer and speculator, when darwinian evolution and the “survival of the fittest” seemed to sanction the sometimes unethical methods of the successful business tycoon.business bloomed after the war. war production had b

32、oosted industry in the north and given it prestige and political clout. it also gave industrial leaders valuable experience in the management of men and machines. the enormous natural resources-iron, coal, oil, gold, and silverof the american land benefited businesses. the new intercontinental rail

33、system, inaugurated in1869, and the transcontinental telegraph, which began operating in 1861,gave industry access to materials, markets, and communications .the constant influx of immigrants provided a seemingly endless supply of inexpensive labor as well. over 23million foreigners german, scandina

34、vian, and irish in the early years, and increasingly central and southern europeans thereafter-flowed into the united states between 1860 and 1910. hawaiian plantation owners imported chinese, japanese, and filipino contract laborers, railroad companies, and other americans business interests on the

35、 west coast. the ideal american of post-civil war period became the millionaire. from 1860-1914, the united states was transformed from a small, young, agricultural-colony to a huge, modern, industrial nation. a debtor nation in1860, by 1914 it had become the worlds wealthiest state, with a populati

36、on that had more the doubled, rising from 31million in1860to 76million in1900.by ww,the united states had become a major world power.along with american economy development, the people are pursuing the material wealth, comfortable life, but the innermost feelings even more go out of cultivation actu

37、ally! theodore dreiser (1871-1945) was born on august 27, 1871 in terre haute, indiana. part of a large german-american family, and the ninth of ten children, his childhood was marked by poverty. his father, john paul, had previously been a cotton mill manager, but a series of unfortunate accidents

38、caused his fortunes to dwindle. in 1864 the cotton mill burned down, and during the reconstruction john paul was hit in the head with a beam. he never fully recovered and as a result become deeply religious. his business partners further soon cheated him. the family was forced to move from one india

39、na town to another in order to survive. theodore dreiser later resented his father for the familys poverty. at the age of fifteen dreiser moved to chicago and held jobs washing dishes, clerking a hardware store, and tracing freight cars. dreiser fortunately was able to escape when a former teacher o

40、ffered to send him to indiana university at bloomington for a year. he soon became interested in journalism, but returned to chicago and worked as a bill collector, real estate clerk and laundry-truck driver. dreiser first entered the newspaper world by dispensing toys for the needy at christmas for

41、 the chicago herald. he subsequently got hired as a cub reporter with the chicago globe and later went to st. louis as a feature writer for the globe-democrat. things took a turn for the worse when dreiser accidentally reviewed a theater performance in absentia even though it turned out the show was

42、 never performed. he left st. louis and moved to pittsburgh, working with the dispatch. with a secure job again, dreiser married sara jug white after meeting her at the chicago world fair. the couple moved to new york where he received a job as a magazine editor. at the suggestion of his editor frie

43、nd arthur henry, dreiser began writing . dreiser wrote of life as he saw it, holding back nothing. sister carrie (1900) his revolutionary first novel was published, and an american tragedy (1925) his finest work, they all are grim and bitter narratives. his novels have great emotional power.caroline

44、 meeber, known as carrie, leaves her home at age eighteen and takes the train to chicago. the man sitting behind her on the train, named drouet, starts talking to her. carrie soon becomes interested in him due to his fine clothing and manners. upon arriving in chicago she says goodbye to him, but no

45、t before she has given him her address. carrie meets her sister minnie hanson and moves into one of the rooms in minnies apartment. mr. hanson arrives home that night but does not pay too much attention to her. carrie soon realizes that the hansons expect her to find a job and pay them rent. as far

46、as they are concerned, she is supplemental income. after the weekend she enters the commercial part of the city and starts looking for a job. being naturally timid, carrie is frightened of entering the factories and shops and asking for a job, the result being that she is not hired that day. after s

47、everal days of searching she finds employment in a shoe factory. carrie works hard at her job, but discovers that the salary is too low for her to pay rent and purchase clothes for the winter. she soon falls ill from the cold and takes several days to recover. assuming that she has lost her new job,

48、 carrie returns to the streets in the desperate hopes of finding new employment, but becomes frustrated when nothing is available. almost ready to head home, carrie accidentally meets drouet on the street. he kindly offers her a meal and takes her to a fine restaurant. after much insisting he convin

49、ces her to meet him again the next day and presses twenty dollars into her hand. carrie is loath to take the money and afraid that minnie will find out where she got it, so instead of spending the money she decides to return it to drouet. she meets him again the next day and he takes her out shoppin

50、g, buying her an entire wardrobe in the process. carrie is so elated by the way he treats her that she agrees to allow him to rent an apartment for her. she sneaks her things out of minnies house, leaving only a short note behind, and takes off. things go well with drouet for a while. drouet then in

51、troduces carrie to his friend hurstwood, the manager of one of the top bars in the city. hurstwood is far more refined and elegant than drouet, and soon he comes over to play cards with carrie and drouet. he next offers to take them to the theater.drouet, unaware of what is going on between carrie a

52、nd hurstwood, returns to chicago for several weeks. he is asked to find a girl to perform in his masons lodge play and asks carrie if she would do it. she agrees, and hurstwood get together all the top people in the city to watch her perform. carrie puts on a stunning performance as a result of drou

53、ets support for her, but hurstwood starts to become insanely jealous when he sees them together. hurstwoods family life falls apart rapidly as he has been neglecting his wife in order to see carrie. she finally realizes what is going on and demands that he give her money. meanwhile, drouet has also

54、discovered that carrie has been spending far more time with hurstwood than he ever thought. drouet angrily walks out on carrie, and hurstwood foolishly fights with his wife, not realizing that his wife has the entire property in her name. she then files for divorce, hires a detective, and locks him

55、out of the house. hurstwood goes to his workplace and spends his nights at a local hotel. one evening he is locking up the bar and discovers that the safe is unlocked. he pulls out over ten thousand dollars in cash and accidentally locks the safe before he can put the money back. without thinking he

56、 takes the cash and rushes to carries apartment. he tells her that drouet has had an accident and that they need to go to the hospital. with that lie he gets her onto a train heading to detroit and from there to montreal. carrie is upset and furious with him, but passively does nothing to resist. fr

57、om montreal they head to new york city where hurstwood rents an apartment for them. he has sent back most of the money he stole while in montreal in order to avoid prosecution, keeping only thirteen hundred in order to establish his own business. he soon finds a bar looking for a business partner and buys a one-third stake for one thousand. things are fine until the owner of the land that the bar is on decides to kick them out and build an office building. hurstwood only has seven hundred