Literary themes for students.

Literary themes for students. examining diverse literature to understand and compare universal themes / The American dream [electronic resource] : Anne Marie Hacht, editor ; foreword by Margaret Brantley. - Detroit, Mich. : Gale, c2007. - 1 online resource (2 v. (654 p.)) : ill. - Literary themes for students Gale virtual reference library . - Literary themes for students. .

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Volume 1. Guest foreword -- Introduction -- Acknowledgments -- Advisors -- Contributors -- Literary chronology -- The American dream: overview -- Absalom, Absalom! -- Adventures of huckleberry Finn -- ... And the earth did not devour him -- Autobiography of my dead brother -- The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin -- The big money -- Black elk speaks -- Call it sleep -- Cane -- Chronicle of the Narva Ez expedition -- Common sense -- Daisy Miller -- Death of a salesman -- The declaration of independence -- Elbow room -- Finding my voice -- Grapes of wrath -- The great gatsby -- House made of dawn -- John F. Kennedy's inaugural address -- Little house on the prairie. Volume 2. Lonesome dove -- Main street -- "Mending wall" -- "A model of Christian charity" -- Montage of a dream deferred -- "My kinsman, major molineux" -- On the road -- O pioneers! -- Our town -- Rabbit, run -- Self-reliance -- Sister Carrie -- "Song of myself" -- White house correspondents' association dinner 2006 speech -- The American dream in the nineteenth century -- The American dream in the twentieth century -- The American dream today -- The African American dream -- The American dream abroad -- The American feminist dream -- The American political dream -- The Asian American dream -- The colonial American dream -- The frontier American dream -- The Hispanic American dream -- The immigrant American dream -- The Native American dream -- The southern American dream -- What do I read next? -- Media adaptations -- Glossary of literary terms -- Author/title index -- Nationality/ethnicity index.

Provides readers with an overview of literary works that explore the theme of the American dream. Analyzes poetry, plays, short stories, novels, and works of nonfiction that address this theme in some capacity, and how that theme has been treated in literature at different times in history and across diverse cultures.

9781414429311 (electronic book) 1414429312 (electronic book)


American Dream in literature.
American literature--History and criticism.
American literature--Themes, motives.
Idealism, American.
Materialism--United States.
Success--United States.
National characteristics, American in literature.


United States--Social life and customs.