PAPER Topics

Start of Term Paper
The American Dream, as it arose in the Colonial period and developed in the nineteenth century, was based on the assumption that each person, no matter what his origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effor ....

Middle of Term Paper
... pursuit of material happiness has corrupted the old values that gave substance to the dream. The characters are Midwesterners who have come East in pursuit of this new dream of money, fame, success, glamour, and excitement. Tom and Daisy must have a huge house, a stable of polo ponies, and friends in Europe. Gatsby must have his enormous mansion before he can feel confident enough to try to win Daisy. Fitzgerald does not criticize the American dream itself but the corruption of that dream. What was once for Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson a belief in self-reliance and hard work has become what Nick Carraway calls " . . . the service ...