Our primary goal has been to become more engaged
critical readers, able to derive meaning from literary works, formulate that
meaning in a clear way, and present evidence in support of our interpretations. For this essay you will use “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “A&P” by John Updike. Put the two texts side-by-side and write an
essay comparing what they have to say about this topic: The American Dream. How is this dream defined?
What is particularly American about it?
Is it real or illusory? Is it
equally available to everyone? Are the
authors you have chosen generally accepting of the American Dream, or do they
question and challenge it? Do they agree
or do they differ? What can reading
these particular texts tell us about the American Dream? As you can see, there are a wide variety of ways
to approach this topic. Depending on the
works you choose, you might discuss how race or gender affect a person’s access
to the American Dream; you might discuss whether the American Dream is defined
purely in terms of money or materialism; you might discuss how the Dream is
different at different points in our history.
It’s up to you!
A successful essay will:
Be at
least three double spaced pages long
Have a
thesis statement, a strong central idea that holds the entire essay together
and which is supported by every part of the essay
Be
well organized
Use
direct evidence from each of the texts under discussion to support your
points
Be
substantially free of mechanical and grammatical errors