Konstanz, Univ., Magisterarbeit, 2003.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 16, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Andrew Hoberek. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this essay is to analyze the concept of rugged individualism in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. This paper will also examine the American Dream since rugged individualism is related to the American Dream. Marxist criticism problematizes rugged individualism and the American Dream. The title character Jay Gatsby is portrayed as an exemplary rugged individualist. Gatsby shows several traits of rugged individualism and he can be used as a representative for both rugged individualism and the American Dream.

The American Dream is an established theme in much American literature from the beginning to the present. In dealing with this major theme, three critics, Leo Marx, Henry Nash Smith, and R. W, B. Lewis have evolved a cohesive definition of this complex and ambiguous vision. Three major components define the Dream: a pastoral dream of a new, fertile Eden, a success dream of financial prosperity, and a dream of world brotherhood to be realized in the new continent. These three components are examined individually in three novels by Bernard Malamud, A New Life, The Natural, and The Assistant. In these novels, Malamud asserts the failure of the American Dream, but envisions the rise of a new humanity and morality that could lead to the salvation of the American people and to a time where dreams could be reborn.

Thesis advisor: Danielle Hedegard / There are an estimated 150,000 Brazilians currently in the state of Massachusetts living, working, and living as immigrants in the “nation of immigrants” (McDonnell and de Lourenco, 2009; p. 241). The population often goes unnoticed, lost among a sea of immigrants in the landscape of Massachusetts. Occupying sub jobs, these Brazilian immigrants very often lose their status, and voices in the process of immigration to the United States. Over time, many Brazilians are able to achieve economical and occupational success in Massachusetts and decide to make the United States their home. Guided by the research questions: “How do Brazilian immigrants’ perceptions of the American Dream change with respect to reality and their lived experiences?” and “What are the lived experience of Brazilian immigrants?” I intend to understand this transition from temporary immigrant to permanent resident, and how the American Dream plays into these shifting expectations. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

Placing archetypal "underdogs" or "losers" in the roles of protagonists allows and encourages the viewer to identify with them or understand them as an idealized Other, though the audience may differ from the failure protagonist in social class, gender, or any other condition. In film, one of the most persuasive and ubiquitous media of the 20th century, underdog and weakling characters germinated in early popular comedies such as those by Charlie Chaplin and the other silent clowns. Using Chaplin's filmography to illustrate the underdog's ironic supremacy, this thesis aims to unravel the initial values and expectations inherent in Hollywood underdog comedy films, trace these components to their paradoxical political and economic roots, and draw conclusions on their social and economic consequences.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Adviser: James Wright. Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-50).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--North Carolina State University, 2002. / Originally issued in electronic format. Includes vita. UMI number: 3071487. Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-205). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T18:34:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo462_1.pdf: 985565 bytes, checksum: 0f7cbd1dc41a1d7976c5fdd6de36207f (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho tem por finalidade a análise das representações da diáspora, memória e transculturação nas obras Beloved de Toni Morrison (1986) e The Tortilla Curtain de T. C. Boyle (1995). Analisando comparativamente de que maneira, via ficção, cada obra problematiza estética e ideologicamente essas temáticas dentro de seus contextos históricos e sociais. O foco de estudo principal é a diáspora involuntária e forçada do africano para os Estados Unidos devido à escravidão, e a diáspora voluntária do Mexicano que diariamente tenta atravessar a fronteira que une e separa o México dos Estados Unidos em busca do American Dream

The American Dream has its origins in the tenets of this country: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal: among these [equalities] are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."1 The notion that happiness must be pursued, is integral to American cultural thought and ultimately the collective American Dream. Realization of this dream and its physical manifestation, however, are the direct result of an expanding industrial economy beginning in the 1940s. A myriad factors influenced the possibility of expansion into new suburbs within commuting distance of growing cities. The creation of the interstate and the boom of the auto industry made easy transportation into and out of the city a reality. Heightened manufacturing spurred by World War II, the growth of the stock market, and wage growth made fleeing the dense urban center an economic possibility, and for many a desirable pursuit. Cities grew at alarming rates and became overcrowded as a result of the industrial job market Yet, industrial waste made city life untenable; pollution permeated the air and disease filled the overcrowded streets. The desire to leave grew quickly, but it was not yet possible for many working class families until the 1944 G.I. bill.2 The bill increased the possibility of suburban home ownership through subsidized housing mortgages and loans, affording returning veterans the opportunity to participate in attaining the dream.3 To keep up with demand, construction techniques drew on the mass production methods of the auto industry and built "model" homes that were easily constructible with speed and an economy of means.4 Easy access to a autonomous home and yard outside of the city shifted demographics, the American landscape, and cemented the suburban model as the predominant mode of the American home for an idealized nuclear family. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu