Den amerikanska drömmen i Cynthia Voigts Den långa vägen hem och Det nya hemmet

Sammanfattning: Cynthia Voigt is a well-known author of children’s books. She deals mainly with contemporary issues, although she also has written some fantasy. The Tillerman saga consists of 7 books. This essay deals with the first two, Homecoming and Dicey´s Song. It is the story of four abandoned young children hiking their way through America, looking for a home to settle down in. The phrase “The American Dream” was first coined in 1931 by J. T. Adams in The Epic of America. It is still used today for example by President Bush, although now users have new definitions and connotations to it. The painter Norman Rockwell has been called “The Painter of the American Dream”. This essay investigates whether the idea of the American Dream as portrayed by Rockwell could be found in the aforementioned two books by Voigt. The author of this essay also used Nickel and Dimed. On (Not) Getting by in America by B. Ehrenreich and Friare kan ingen vara by G. Rosenberg to exemplify the reality behind the American Dream.