Synthèse "Myths and Heroes"

INTRODUCTION

This year in class we studied several documents about myths and heroes and in particular immigration in the USA and the American Dream. We will study how the American dream is a constantly growing idea. For this, we will see where the idea of ​​the American dream comes from, and how it is represented in today's society, and at least we will see if the American Dream is a real myth or if it contains a part of reality.

1/ WHERE THE IDEA OF THE AMERICAN DREAM COMES FROM

Puritans were Protestants who didn’t felt at ease in England, because of the Anglican Church. They believed that the church of England was becoming more corrupt, they argued that it was still too Catholic, there were too many traces of Catholicism in the Protestantism in England, it remained too much influenced by the Catholics. They wanted a truly Protestant church, but by arguing so in England, they were persecuting themselves by the king because they criticized the English church. Some of them, in the early 17th century believed that the only way to survive as Puritans was to separate themselves from the church of England (Anglican church), that’s why they called themselves separatist. Some of them moved to Holland to live freely their faith as Puritans but they didn’t feel comfortable so some of them decided to create a new colony. They moved abroad the Mayflower, they were a group of around 30 people but they were not enough to pay the trip to North America, so they found people to join in their project to make a new colony, which will be pure. They were 100 approximately, but only 1/3 of them were separatist Pilgrims.

They had an agreement to create a new colony near Virginia but when they arrived in North America because of wind, they didn’t arrive in Virginia, they arrived near what is today Boston. So, in November 1620, they landed at Plymouth Bay, which was far from the place they should have arrived. They had no official authorization of creating a new colony where they landed. They had to create a document by themselves that would make their colony official but it wasn’t a royal charter signed by the king. This was the famous “Mayflower Compact”. All the men on the boat signed this document, creating the Plymouth colony. There was more self-government than in Virginia as they had no charter by the king; it was a political legitimacy that didn’t come from the top of the society but from the people themselves. These people were not anarchist, they asked for permission later so they wouldn’t conflict with the king. It was seen as the first example of the constitution of the USA, this document had an enormous influence on the American history, and this was more prestigious than a charter by the king.

Since then the USA are considered as the perfect place for opportunities.

Transition: Since that time, the American dream has evolved a lot and has been embodied by more current characters.

2. HOW IT IS REPRESENTED IN TODAY’S SOCIETY

Steve Jobs embodies the American dream because he has grasped the opportunities. Abandoned by his parents, he was modestly raised by an American family. He finishes high school and went to college, where he stayed only one quarter because of the too high price of studies. Thanks to his work, Steve Jobs, however started from nothing, succeed. He changed the technological world and left a trace in history.

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