Insight And The Outsight

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject American Studies - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0, TU Dortmund (Anglistik & Amerikanistik ), course: The Image of America in German Language Literature, language: English, abstract: The reason why I decided to focus on this topic is simple: There areinnumerous images and concepts of America1, written down by an equallyuncountable number of writers from all around the world, also includingcitizens of the United States themselves. Moreover, I tend to believe thatthere is no other country in the world, which had inspired more authors todeal with it in their literature. This might be a result of the well-knownpicture of America as the land of unlimited opportunities, which spreadaround people s minds ever since the New World had been discovered in1492.As many people still regard America as the promised land , theresurely developed Images of this country, which might not always be true,or at least not as positive as some dreamers might think. Therefore, Idecided to base my essay on the books of two quite critical authors, PaulWatzlawick and Bill Bryson, who present America in a questioning way anddo not simply glorify its social, economical and political structures.Nonetheless, both authors succeed in drawing a rather sympathetic Imageof America. This literary contrast encouraged me to compare both: authorsand novels, but most importantly, the development of their Images ofAmerica.