American Literature Thesis

Greetings! I need assistance with a thesis/term paper for American Literature I. Our assignment is to compose a 6-8 page paper that includes the concept of the American Dream, its cultural significance, whether literature affects the dream or vise versa, literature used as propaganda, etc. etc. (These are just some of the things Prof is looking for) I have attempted numerous times to come up with a topic. Each time, I am tempted to throw something. Can anyone help put me on the right track? Once I have a topic, I am confident I can write an amazing paper.

Sincerely,
Student with Writer's Block :-)

Are you supposed to draw on literature that you've read in the course? If so, it would help us to know what your professor has had you read.

Also, it would be good to know your own interests. The topic is so wide open that who you are will make a big difference in what you would like to write about. Do you believe in the American Dream or do you feel it to be more of a nightmare? Have you or your ancestors come from another country and done well, in which case you might want to focus on immigrant literature, or were your ancestors among those who were displaced by the European conquest of the Americas, in which case you might want to focus on Native American responses to American Dream literature? Do you see the election of Barack Obama as proof of the reality of the American Dream, in which case you could focus on literature with a civil rights theme? Do you feel alienated from American culture, in which case you might want to focus on literature that portrays America as a dystopia in which citizens are seduced into compliance with consumerism by an illusory dream?

You can see by the range of these examples why we need to know more about you and the books you have read for the course before we can offer concrete suggestions.

Also, please tell us the topics you have considered and rejected, as we may be able to work one of them into something you could use.

Great Gatsby centers heavily around the American Dream.
There is a lot of symbolism, about the American Dream, in the novel.
Naturally, if you have read the story, you would also know that the entire Gatsby image is based on the American Dream, and that his rise and death are symbolic for the success of the American Dream as well.

Start by defining what you think of as the American Dream. Then, look at how the authors you have read seem to be conceiving of it. Then brainstorm a bit, and a topic will likely come to you. Hint: most positive views of the American dream take it as involving the pursuit of happiness, whereas most of the negative views take it as involving the pursuit of material prosperity. Perhaps, then the trouble with having a nation founded on permitting people to pursue their own happiness is that people must first decide what it is they think will make them happy, and, being free to make that decision for themselves, they may decide badly. Or perhaps you could look at how those who can choose well, and have the ability to be successful in pursuing their goals, are more likely to approve of the system than those who do not.