The Stereotypical American Dream. Then and Now

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,3, University of Osnabrück, course: Urban Landscapes of Modernity, language: English, abstract: The United States with New York as the countrys largest urban city passed through an immense development in the mid-19th and early-20th century. The metropolis changed in terms of urban landscapes, industrialization, pace of life and importance, which influenced peoples views on the cosmopolitan city New York. It is a fact that the citys population is growing since the early 19th century continuously and becomes more and more attractive for people from the whole world. Different artists of different groups and art movements concern themselves with the metropolis New York and its advantages and possibilities. The aim of this paper is to show that the urbanization influenced the stereotypical American Dream in a negative way which has thus changed into a more realistic one. On this account this paper will show the shift of the American Dream on the basis of the metropolis New York, comparing the songs New York, New York and Empire State of Mind, in relation to urbanization within the city. The paper starts out by introducing its historical context: it points out the historical facts of cultural change of the American city in the late-19th and early-20th century, considering the industrialization, urbanization of landscapes and the integration of the urban metropolis into the American Dream. Further more the chapter focuses on the idea of the American Dream, its origin and development regarding the citys social and cultural background. The third chapter, involves the analysis of the two songs, which both pick out the metropolis New York and its opportunity as a central theme. The two songs are connected because of thematic reasons according to the depiction of New York in two different time episodes. Furthermore this chapter provides a stylistic and thematic co