英语国家概况论文，美国梦与美国文学.doc

题目: Criticism of the American Dream
in American literature
姓名: 项赛衡
学号: 3100102484
专业: 医学试验班类1001
学院: 求是学院蓝田学院
邮箱: xiangsaiheng@
Criticism of the American Dream in American literature
Abstract:
The American Dream originated from the English colonial times, and it has been greatly developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. It implies that people can achieve their dreams and gain ess by their persevering efforts. However, the reality is much more cruel than we can image, so that many people can't actually realize their dream, and there are plenty of tragedy because of this. It has been strongly criticized by many American literary works such as "Martin Eden" and "The Great Gatsby". These works both revealed the corruption of the American Dream.
Keywords: Criticism, the American Dream , American literature, "Martin Eden" ,"The Great Gatsby"
The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "We hold these truths to be self-evident ,that all men are created equal ,that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights ,that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness " Thomas Jefferson :The Declaration of Independence
.The "pursuit of happiness" demand can be traced back to the beginning of American civilization .after the great discoveries of geography ,Spanish, French and