A Corpus Linguistic Study on The “American Dream” in the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Truslow

Facultad de Filología GRADO EN ESTUDIOS INGLESES TRABAJO DE FIN DE GRADO CURSO:2022/2023 Título: A CORPUS LINGUISTIC STUDY ON THE “AMERICAN DREAM” IN THE WORKS OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD AND JAMES TRUSLOW Alumna: ANDREA DE DIOS MORENO Firmado: Tutora: Teresa López Soto Código Seguro De Verificación j+uxuB3CwdaNLAX2WJw/vw== Fecha 18/05/2023 Firmado Por MARIA TERESA LOPEZ SOTO Url De Verificación https://pfirma.us.es/verifirma/code/j%2BuxuB3CwdaNLAX2WJw%2Fvw%3D%3D Página 1/1 A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 2 of 33 ABSTRACT! The$ idea$ of$ the$ American$ Dream$ has$ been$ depicted$ by$ many$ authors$ since$ James$ Truslow$ defined$ it$ in$ the$ 30’s.$ This$ study$ presents$a$comparison$between$how$F.$Scott$Fitzgerald$and$James$ Truslow$ represent$ the$ American$ Dream$ using$ the$ Corpus$ Linguistics$for$the$exact$purpose$of$demonstrating$the$proposed$ hypothesis$ which$ states$ that$ Fitzgerald$ gives$ a$ more$ depicted$ version$of$the$concept$of$the$American$Dream,$while$Truslow$stays$ positive$ about$ the$ concept$ and$ presents$ America$ as$ a$ promised$ land.$The$study$has$demonstrated$that$Fitzgerald$reflects$the$idea$ of$ a$ corrupted$ AD$ whereas$ Truslow$ depicted$ the$ concept$ in$ a$ positive$and$almost$fanciful$way$through$their$use$of$the$language$ and$ semantic$ categories.$ That$ is$ why$ the$ semantic$ category$ is$ social$classes$is$more$present$in$Fitzgerald’s$works$rather$than,$for$ example,$words$related$to$effort$and$hard$work$that$are$more$often$ in$Truslow’s$works.$ $! Keywords:! F.! Scott! Fitzgerald;! James! Truslow;! American! Dream;! opportunity;!roaring!twenties;!puritans;!gold!rush.! ! RESUMEN+ La$ idea$ del$ Sueño$ Americano$ ha$ sido$ plasmada$ por$ muchos$ autores$desde$que$James$Truslow$la$definiese$en$los$años$30.$Este$ estudio$presenta$una$comparación$entre$cómo$F.$Scott$Fitzgerald$ y$ James$ Truslow$ representan$ el$ Sueño$ Americano$ usando$ la$ Lingüística$ del$ Corpus$ con$ el$ propósito$ exacto$ de$ demostrar$ la$ hipótesis$propuesta$que$establece$que$Fitzgerald$da$una$versión$ más$representada$del$concepto$del$Sueño$Americano,$mientras$que$ Truslow$ se$ mantiene$ positivo$ sobre$ el$ concepto$ y$ presenta$ a$ Estados$ Unidos$ como$ la$ tierra$ prometida.$ El$ estudio$ ha$ demostrado$que$Fitzgerald$refleja$la$idea$de$un$Sueño$Americano$ corrupto,$ mientras$ que$ Truslow$ describió$ el$ concepto$ de$ una$ manera$positiva$y$casi$fantasiosa$mediante$el$uso$del$lenguaje$y$las$ categorías$ semánticas.$ Es$ por$ eso$ por$ lo$ que$ la$ categoría$ semántica$ “clases$ sociales”$ está$ más$ presente$ en$ las$ obras$ de$ Fitzgerald$ que,$ por$ ejemplo,$ las$ palabras$ relacionadas$ con$ el$ esfuerzo$y$el$trabajo$duro$que$están$más$presentes$en$las$obras$de$ Truslow.$ ! Palabras$clave:$Fitzgerald;!Truslow;$sueño!americano;!oportunidad;!locos! años!veinte;!puritanos;!fiebre!del!oro.! ! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 3 of 33 TABLE&OF&CONTENTS! ! 1.!!!!!INTRODUCTION…..............................................................................6! 2.!!!!!OBJECTIVES2AND2HYPOTHESIS…...............................................10! 2.12Objectives2………………......................................................................10! 2.22Hypothesis………………………………………………………………...11! 3.!!!!!MATERIALS2AND2METHODS2.......................................................11! 3.1!Materials……………………………………………….............................11! 3.2!Methods…………………………………………………………………….15! 4.!!!!!RESULTS……………………………………………………………………16! 5.!!!!!DISCUSSION….....................................................................................24! 6.!!!!!CONCLUSION….......................................................................................26! REFERENCES…..............................................................................................27! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 4 of 33 LIST%OF%TABLES! ! Table!1:!Semantic$Categories,$lexical$terms$and$their$absolute$frequency$present$in$ Corpus$Fitzgerald……………………………………………………………………………………………14! ! Table!2:!Semantic$Categories,$lexical$terms$and$its$absolute$frequency$present$in$ Corpus$Truslow……………………………………………………………………………………………..15! ! Table!3:!Absolute$Frequencies$of$each$semantic$category……………………………..16! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 5 of 33 LIST%OF%FIGURES! ! Figure!1:$Percentages$of$semantic$categories$in$corpus$Fitzgerald…………………….17! Figure!2:!Percentages$of$semantic$categories$in$corpus$Truslow……………………….17! Figure!3:!Outlier$Corpus$Fitzgerald…………………………………………………………………..18! Figure!4:!Outlier$Corpus$Truslow.…………………………..…………………………..……………..18! Figure!5:!Comparison$of$percentages$of$the$two$corpora…………………………………..19! Figure!6:$Comparison$of$normality$of$percentages$in$the$two$corpora………………19! Figure!7:$Concordance$Neighbors$of$the$word$“America”$from$corpus$ Fitzgerald………………………………………………………………………………………………………...20! Figure!8:$Concordance$Neighbors$of$the$word$“Poor”$from$corpus$Truslow……….20! Figure$9:$Concordance$Neighbors$of$the$word$“Rich”$from$corpus$Fitzgerald……21! Figure!10:$Concordance$Neighbors$of$the$word$“effort”$from$corpus$ Fitzgerald………………………………………………………………………………………………………..21! Figure!11:$Concordance$plot$in$the$word$“America”$from$the$lexical$category$ Places$from$corpus$Fitzgerald………………………………………………………………………….21! Figure!12:$$Concordance$plot$in$the$word$“rich”$from$the$semantic$category$Social$ Classes$from$corpus$Fitzgerald$and$corpus$Truslow…………………………………………22! Figure!13:$$Concordance$plot$of$the$word$“poor”$from$the$semantic$category$ Social$Classes$from$corpus$Truslow…………………………………………………………………22! Figure!14:$$Concordance$plot$of$the$word$“wealth”$from$the$semantic$category$ Economy$from$corpus$Truslow………………………………………………………………………23! Figure!15:$Concordance$plot$of$the$word$“wealth”$from$the$semantic$category$ Economy$from$corpus$Fitzgerald……………………………………………………………………23! Figure!16:$Concordance$plot$of$the$word$“effort”$from$the$semantic$category$Jobs$ from$corpus$Fitzgerald…………………………………………………………………………………23! Figure!17:!Scatterplot$showing$the$data$of$both$samples.…………………………….24! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 6 of 33 1.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!INTRODUCTION! This!study!presents!a!comparison!between!the!two!points!of!view!of!the!idea!of!the! American$ Dream$ (AD)! through! the! works! The$ Great$ Gatsby$ by! Francis! Scott! Fitzgerald!and!The$Epic$of$America$by!James!Truslow!Adams!which!is!going!to!be! studied! in! terms! of! Corpus! Linguistics.! A! Corpus! Linguistic! is! a! method! that! analyses!and!studies!the!language!and!its!linguistic!phenomena!based!on!how!that! language!is!expressed!in!the!text!by!using!corpora.!The!concept!of!the!AD!(American$ Dream)!is!part!of!American!culture!and!society.!The!concept!is!correlated!with!the! objective!of!giving!hope!and!encouraging!people!to!work!hard!in!order!to!succeed! in!the!United!States,!but!then!this!concept!changed.!In!1849,!gold!was!found!in! California!and!the!attitude!of!getting!rich!challenged!the!values!of!hard!work!and! effort!as!a!key!to!success.!The!Pilgrims,!Founding!Father!and!immigrants!are!the! ones!that!were!connected!to!this!idea!of!the!AD!since!the!very!beginning.!!The!AD! has!become!a!very!current!topic!in!literature!and!thanks!to!this,!people!can!see!the! evolution!of!the!term!and!also!how!it!was!affected!by!the!history!and!the!different! movements!of!America.!In!many!works!such!as!“The!American!Dream!in!the!21st! Century"!(Hanson!&!White,!2011)!or!"The!American!Dream:!A!Short!History!of!an! Idea!that!Shaped!a!Nation"!(Cullen,!1962)!provides!a!study!of!the!impact!of!the!AD! and!how!the!concept!has!evolved!over!time.! Most!of!the!time,!the!AD!is!presented!in!a!not!so!positive!way,!for!example!in!“The! Revolutionary!Road”!(Yates,!1961).!!In!this!novel,!and!also!in!the!film,!Frank!and! April!are!a!couple!and!both!of!them!had!different!dreams!but!they!are!not!fulfilling! them,!so!they!try!to!change!their!lives!completely!and,!after!finding!what!seems!a! perfect!life,!they!still!feel!unhappy!and!depressed.!This!presents!a!very!negative! and,!at!the!same!time,!revolutionary!vision!of!the!AD!because!it!suggests!that!it!is! not!enough.!Another!example!in!which!the!AD!is!seen!as!a!negative!concept!is!in! the!novel!“Invisible!man”!(Ellison,!1952).!In!this!novel,!the!AD!cannot!be!applied!to! African!Americans,!so!it!is!presented!as!racist!term!and!this!essence!of!justice!and! equality!for!everyone!that!Truslow!claimed!is!now!gone.!In!the!“Invisible!man”!by! Ralph!Ellison,!there!is!a!belief!that!the!black!community!should!not!have!the!same! right!to!the!AD!than!the!white!community.! The!AD!is!not!only!present!in!literature,!but!also!in!many!films.!“American!Beauty”! (1999)!by!Sam!Mendes!could!be!a!great!example!of!this.!In!this!film,!money!seems! to!be!the!priority!and!the!main!source!of!happiness!for!people!but!at!the!end!of!the! film,! the! protagonist! discovers! that! the! true! AD! is! family! and! not! materialistic! things.!! In!addition!to!novels!and!films,!the!AD!is!also!present!in!art!and!paintings.!The! exhibition!“Between!the!World!and!Me”!by!Ta-Nehisi!Coates!(2015)!represents!the! concept!of!the!AD!and!it!works!as!a!critic.!It!intends!to!show!how!the!AD!used!to! discriminate!black!society!and!other!cultures.!! According!to! Hodo!(2017)! in!“The! Failure!of! the!American! Dream!in! The$Great$ Gatsby”,!the!AD!represents!the!ideals!of!a!nation!which!are!equality,!liberty,!civil! rights,!opportunity,!pursuit!of!happiness!and!democracy.!She!has!stated!that!those! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 7 of 33 ideals!have!been!understood!in!different!ways!by!people!and!she!studies!“how!the! real!values!related!to!these!ideals!have!changed!and!deviated!from!what!was!meant! into!the!enormous!desire!and!greed!for!wealth!and!power!that!Fitzgerald!depicts! in! his! works”! (p.299).! For! that! reason,! and! also! related! to! the! keywords,! the! Semantic! Categories! in! the! linguistic! corpus! that! this! study! analyzes! focus! on! concepts! such! as! identity,! social! classes,! education,! places,! etc.! because! these! factors!are!relevant!to!understand!the!real!meaning!and!values!of!the!AD.!More! about!this!will!be!seen!in!the!section!Materials!and!Methods.! The!Statue!of!Liberty!serves!also!as!a!mirror!of!this!idea!because!it!was!the!very! first!thing!immigrants!saw!when!they!arrived!in!America.!It!is!widely!considered!a! symbol! and! icon! of! the! American! Dream,! representing! the! ideals! of! freedom,! opportunity,!and!hope!for!a!better!life.!There!are!many!authors!and!articles!that! explore!this!connection.!For!example,!the!American!University!historian!Alan!Kraut! examines!the!role!the!Statue!of!Liberty!has!played!in!the!history!of!immigration!to! the! United! States! and! its! connection! to! the! American! Dream! and! the! American! culture!in!his!article!"The!Statue!of!Liberty,!Immigration,!and!the!American!Dream"! (1995)!published!in!the!Journal!of!American!Ethnic!History.!Another!author!that! also!discusses!the!significance!of!the!Statue!of!Liberty!in!shaping!American!identity! is!Maurice!Isserman,!in!his!article!“The!Statue!of!liberty!and!the!American!Dream”! (2008)!published!in!the!Journal!of!American!History,!a!scholarly!publication!and! record!about!the!history!of!America.!In!both!articles,!the!Statue!of!Liberty!plays!an! important! role! being! a! symbol! of! invitation! and! welcoming! immigrants! to! find! happiness!and!their!goals!in!the!promised!land.! James!Truslow!Adams!(1878,!New! York! –! 1949,!Connecticut)!was! an! American! writer!and!historian.!He!was! the!first!one!in!defining!the!term!of!the!American! Dream!in!the!30’s!in!The$Epic$of$America$(1931),!but!the!origin!of!this!notion!existed! long!before,!with!the!Pilgrims,!which!lived!with!this!idea!of!faith,!destiny,!etc.!that! is!attached!to!the!AD.!So!did!the!Founding!Fathers!declaring!their!independence! from!England,!as!Truslow!is!considered!a!Founding!Father!of!the!AD!himself.!In! fact,!it!could!be!said!that!the!three!unalienable!rights!declared!in!the!Declaration!of! Independence!of!1776!(Life,!Liberty!and!the!pursuit!of!Happiness),!are!also!the! basis!for!the!AD,!and!that!it!was!profoundly!connected!to!the!America's!founding! principles! of! democracy! and! justice! because! In! his! book! The$ Epic$ of$ America,! Truslow!Adams!defines!the!AD!as!"that!dream!of!a!land!in!which!life!should!be! better!and!richer!and!fuller!for!everyone,!with!opportunity!for!each!according!to! ability!or!achievement”,!this!is!clearly!related!to!the!Declaration!of!Independence’s! idea!that!“all!men!are!created!equal”.!For!Truslow,!the!important!thing!about!the! AD!was!not!wealth!or!social!class!but!the!effort!to!live!a!better!life.!In!this!sense,!the! AD!and!the!Declaration!of!Independence!have!more!in!common!that!people!may! think,!they!share!common!values!and!goals.! In!his!book!The$Epic$of$America,!Truslow!Adams!presents!an!idealized!version!of! America!with!limitless!possibilities!of!what!the!promised!land!is,!it!is!the!work!that! best!deals!with!the!idea!of!the!AD!according!to!Truslow’s!point!of!view,!but!it!is!not! the!only!work!of!Truslow!that!is!going!to!be!analyzed!in!the!corpus.!In!fact,!seven! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 8 of 33 more!works!related!to!America!are!studied!in!Corpus!Truslow.!In!his!works,!he! stated!that!the!most!important!thing!in!order!to!succeed!in!life!is!sacrifice!and!hard! work,!and!that!America!was!the!perfect!place!to!do!it!because!of!that,!the!US!is!seen! as!a!promised!land.!Due!to!this,!a!big!migration!takes!place,!and!a!lot!of!Europeans! move!to!America!in!order!to!accomplish!this!AD!and!start!a!new!and!better!life.!! The!view!that!Truslow!(1931)!has!about!life,!reflects!on!his!vision!about!the!AD!and! Americanism!as!well.!For!him,!the!AD!was!not!about!money!and!economy,!his!vision! of! the! AD! cares! about! the! quality! of! everyone’s! lives,! justice,! improvement! and! success.!He!tells!what!it!means!to!be!an!American:! ! If#Americanism#in#the#above#sense#has#been#a#dream,#it#has#also#been# one#of#the#great#realities#of#American#life.#It#has#been#a#moving#force#as# truly#as#wheat#or#gold.#It#is#all#that#has#distinguished#America#from#a# mere#quantitative#comparison#in#wealth#or#art#or#letters#or#power#with# the#nations#of#old#Europe.#It#is#Americanism,#and#its#shrine#has#been#in# the# heart# of# the# common# man.# He# may# not# have# done# much# for# American#culture#in#its#narrower#sense,#but#in#its#wider#meaning#it#is# he#who#almost#alone#has#fought#to#hold#fast#to#the#American#dream.# This#is#what#has#made#the#common#man#a#great#figure#in#the#American# drama.#This#is#the#dominant#motif#in#the#American#epic#(p.#174).# ! Truslow!saw!America!as!the!perfect!country!in!which!everyone!can!achieve!their! own!goals!and!dreams!equally,!but!you!need!to!really!work!on!them.!It!was!not!just! about!wealth!and!money,!but!about!abilities!and!hard!work.!However,!this!vision! of!the!AD!disappeared,!and!it!became!almost!a!fantasy.!! On!the!contrary,!critics!agree!that!James!Truslow!Adams!presents!the!American! Dream!in!its!greatness.!He!defined!the!American!Dream!with!the!following!idea!in! one!of!his!most!famous!books!“The!Epic!America”!(Truslow,!1931):! ! The#American#Dream#is#that#dream#of#a#land#in#which#life#should#be# better# and# richer# and#fuller# for#everyone,# with#opportunity#for# each# according# to# ability# or# achievement.# It# is# a# difficult# dream# for# the# European#upper#classes#to#interpret#adequately,#and#too#many#of#us# ourselves#have#grown#weary#and#mistrustful#of#it.#It#is#not#a#dream#of# motor#cars#and#high#wages#merely,#but#a#dream#of#social#order#in#which# each#man#and#each#woman#shall#be#able#to#attain#to#the#fullest#stature# of# which# they# are# innately# capable,# and# be# recognized# by# others# for# what#they#are,#regardless#of#the#fortuitous#circumstances#of#birth#or# position#(p.#167).# # ! !! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 9 of 33 In!this!quote,!Truslow!states!the!fact!that!the!AD!applies!to!everyone,!and!factors! such!as!gender,!age,!social!status,!etc.!are!not!important.!The!AD!is!not!only!about! wealth! and! materialistic! things! but! about! the! happiness! of! people! achieving! something! that! is! considered! impossible,! this! could! be! a! job,! a! career,!or! any! unrealistic!goal.!The!key!is!the!work!and!growth!the!person!goes!through!in!order! to!accomplish!that!dream!as!he!himself!states!in!The!Epic!of!America:!“it!has!not! been!a!dream!of!merely!material!plenty![…]!It!has!been!much!more!than!that.!!It!has! been!a!dream!of!being!able!to!grow!to!fullest!development!as!man!and!woman…”! (Truslow,!1931,!p.!373).!! F.!Scott!Fitzgerald!(1896,!Saint!Paul!-!1940,!Hollywood)!was!an!American!novelist,! essayist,! and! short! story! writer.! Contrary! to! Truslow,! Fitzgerald! explores! the! concept!of!the!American!Dream!in!the!city!of!New!York,!in!its!most!corrupted,!cruel! and!materialistic!way!and!presents!the!new!dream!as!an!instant!wealth!instead!of! this!idea!of!prosperity!and!opportunity!that!the!“New!World”!brought.!His!novel!is!a! criticism! of! the! consumerism! of! the! 1920s,! he! represents! how! people! get! rich! effortlessly!and!how!not!all!the!people!accomplished!their!goals!when!they!arrived! in!the!US.!Some!critics!have!stated!that!the!American!Dream!is!presented!as!a!failure! in!one!of!Fitzgerald’s!most!famous!novels!“The!Great!Gatsby”!(1925).!Even!though! “The!Great!Gatsby”!is!the!book!that!best!represents!Fitzgerald’s!ideas!about!the!AD,! other! four! works! are! studied! in! Corpus! Fitzgerald! in! order! to! accomplish! the! objectives!of!this!study.! This!new!concept!of!the!AD!caused!a!big!impact!in!people’s!lives!and!mindsets.! Talking!about!The!Great!Gatsby,!Zoranyan!and!Aslanishvili!(2016)!have!written! that:! ! ! Via#the# narrator’s#relationship#with#high#society#the#author#shows# how# modern#values#have#transformed#the#pure#ideals#of#the#American#Dream# into#a#scheme#for#materialistic#power,#and#how#the#world#of#high#society# lacks#any#sense# of#morals.#In# order#to#support# this# message,# Fitzgerald# presents#the#original#aspects#of#the#American#Dream#along#with#its#modern# face#to#show#that#the#once#unattainable#dream#is#now#lost#forever#to#the# American#people#(p.#136).# ! ! Scott!Fitzgerald!works!with!contradictions,!and!he!explores!the!deconstruction!of! the!AD,!its!failure!and!“the!violation!and!corruption!of!those!ideals!of!nationhood! and!personality”!(Callahan,!1996).!He!thinks!that!people!have!become!greedy!and! corrupted,!so!the!country!and!the!term!of!the!AD!did.!In!his!novel,!Jay!Gatsby,!the! protagonist,! is! an! unhappy! man! in! spite! of! all! the! money! and! richness! he! possesses.!! ! Even!though!both!authors!differ!in!their!ideas!about!the!AD,!they!both!depicted! the!concept!of!the!AD!in!a!way!that,!nowadays,!it!is!considered!a!utopia.!From!the! point!of!view!of!Truslow,!working!hard!and!making!enough!effort!are!the!basic! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 16 of 33 4.!!!!!!!!RESULTS! In!order!to!show!the!results!of!the!study,!a!table!of!the!absolute!frequencies!of!each! semantic!category!will!be!presented.!There,!it!is!presented!the!semantic!categories! of!both!Corpus!Fitzgerald!and!the!absolute!frequency!of!each!one.! !! Table&3.&Absolute&Frequencies&of&each&semantic&category! Semantic)Category! Corpus'Fitzgerald! Corpus'Truslow! Politics! 7373! 296! Identity! 6358! 836! Places! 17227! 997! Social)Classes! 2343! 356! Economy! 2544! 206! Education! 972! 467! Rights! 3369! 1002! Jobs! 2148! 867! War! 3612! 414! !! As! it! can! be! observed! in! the! table,! the! semantic! categories! are! quite! different! comparing! both! corpuses.! Firstly,! it! is! important! to! highlight! the! difference! of! weight! due! to! the! different! number! of! novels! studied! by! both! authors.! Furthermore,! the! semantic! category! Politics$is! lower! than! Identity$in! corpus! Fitzgerald,!but!it!is!higher!in!corpus!Truslow,!and!this!is!repeated!in!almost!all!the! semantic!categories!left.!This!means!that!there!are!many!differences!between!both! Corpora,! like! the! fact! that! Fitzgerald! talks! more! about! Economy$than! Social) classes$in! corpus!Truslow,! and,! again,! the! opposite! happens! with! Truslow! in! corpus!Fitzgerald.!It!is!also!remarkable!the!fact!that!the!absolute!frequency!of!all! the!semantic!categories!is!higher!in!corpus!Fitzgerald!than!in!corpus!Truslow.!But! due!to!the!fact!that!this!is!repeated!through!all!the!semantic!categories,!I!can!say! that!they!are!more!or!less!even.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 17 of 33 In! order! to! go! on! with! the! results,! percentage! pies! of!the! different! semantic! categories!in!corpus!Fitzgerald!and!Corpus!Truslow!will!be!presented!separately.! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! &&& & &&&&&&&&Figure&1.&Percentages&of&semantic&categories&in&corpus&Fitzgerald! ! ! &&&&&&&Figure&2.&Percentages&of&semantic&categories&in&Corpus&Truslow! ! In!the!percentages!of!corpus!Fitzgerald,!it!is!very!clear!the!dominance!of!words! related! to! Identity,! this! meaning! that! Truslow! talked! more! about! society! and! people!because!he!remarks!how!big!is!the!amount!of!people!that!came!to!America! looking!for!a!better!future.!In!relation!to!the!other!categories,!the!most!frequent! one! is! Places,! this! is! not! something! unexpected! because! as! the! most! frequent! category!is!Identity,!it!is!normal!that!Places!has!also!a!high!frequency.!This!means! that!the!author!talks!a!lot!about!people!who!came!to!America,!and!he!may!do!this! in!order!to!remark!how!America!was!seen!as!the!promised!land.!So,!identity!and! nationality! are! more! related! to! the! American! Dream! than,! for! example,! Social$ classes$and!Economy,!which!are!important,!but!not!that!much.! In!corpus!Truslow,!the!author!talks!more!about!Places,$but!this!time!the!semantic! category!of!Rights$has!the!same!frequency!as!Places,!thus!giving!more!importance! to!human!rights!than!to!Identity$or!Social)classes.!It!is!also!remarkable!the!fact! that! the! frequencies! of!all!the!semantic! categories! in! corpus! Truslow! are! more! balanced,!that!is!without!a!big!difference!between!them,!than!in!corpus!Fitzgerald.! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 18 of 33 Now,!two!histograms!are!going!to!be!presented!in!order!to!know!the!frequency!of! the! semantic! categories! in! both! corpora:! Corpus! Fitzgerald! presents! 5! outliers:! Places,)Social)classes,)Economy,)Education)and)Jobs.!Corpus!Truslow!presents!3! outliers:!Places,)Rights!and!Economy.! ! ! ! Figure&3.&Outlier&Corpus&Fitzgerald& ! ! Figure&4.&Outlier&Corpus&Truslow! ! The! red! line,! called! the! mean,! represents! the! standard! deviation! (SD),! this! is! a! measure!of!the!amount!of!variation!in!data!or!graph.!Those!semantic!categories!that! are! above! and! below! the! mean,! are! the! outliers,! this! means! that! those! semantic! categories!that!stand!out!from!the!pattern!lie!in!an!abnormal!distance!from!others.! After!seeing!both!Corpora!separately,!it!is!possible!now!to!make!a!comparison!of! percentages!between!them!both!with!another!graph.! ! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 19 of 33 ! ! Figure&5.&Comparison&of&percentages&of&the&two&corpora.! ! Note!that,!in!Figure$5,!as!in!the!following!one,!the!names!of!the!semantic!categories! previously! seen! have! been!changed!so!that!they! could! fit.! Thus,! Money$ corresponds!to!Economy,$and!Status$to!Social)Classes.! First!and!foremost,!what!caught!my!eyes!the!most!in!Figure!3!is!the!big!difference! between!the!frequencies!in!both!corpora.!Furthermore,!Truslow!seems!to!use!more! words!related!to!Identity$and!Places$in!corpus!Fitzgerald!not!only!in!comparison! to! the! rest! of! semantic! categories! in! the! Corpus! Truslow! in! comparison! to! Fitzgerald’s!works,!in!which!the!percentage!is!fairly!lower.!This!may!be!because! Fitzgerald!talks!about!all! the! semantic! categories! in! a!more!balanced!way,!thus! giving!importance!to!all!aspects,!somehow!trying!to!reflect!the!reality!of!the!US.! ! Now,!a!comparison!between!percentages!of!the!most!important!semantic!categories!! of!both!corpora!is!going!to!be!presented.! ! ! ! Figure&6.&Comparison&of&normality&of&percentages&in&the&two&corpora& ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 20 of 33 As!Figure$6!shows,!for!the!normal!area!in!both!Corpora,!it!is!remarkable!the!fact! that!all!these!semantic!categories!are!more!important!in!corpus!Fitzgerald!than!in! corpus!Truslow.!This!is!because!Truslow!focused!all!his!works!on!the!topic!of!the! American!Dream!and!he!talked!about!all!the!aspects!of!it,!while!Fitzgerald!focused! his!novels!on!the!daily!life!of!the!Americans,!trying!to!reflect!the!real!life!of! Americans!and!showing!a!corrupted!side!of!it.! In!order!to!go!on!with!the!results,!I!will!explain!some!repeated!concordance! neighborhoods!of!the!most!important!terms!of!each!semantic!category!present!in! the!normality!area,!beginning!with!corpus!Fitzgerald!and!the!word!“America”!from! the!semantic!category!Places.!Concordance!represents!with!which!terms!are!the! specific!keywords!associated!and!shows!their!state!of!agreement.! & Figure&7.&Concordance&Neighbors&of&the&word&“America”&from&corpus&Fitzgerald.! & For!example,!in$“all$the$forces$in$America”,!it!is!demonstrated!that,!despite!the!fact! that!the!semantic!category!and!the!word!itself!are!not!completely!related!to!a!place,! in!this!context!the!word!takes!a!meaning!in!favor!of!war.!But!as!the!concept!is!very! repeated!throughout!all!the!works!because!it!is!a!main!topic,!it!is!related!to!a!lot!of! different!concepts.!! In! the! example! of$ “between$ the$ classes$ in$ America”,! the! context! of! the! word! “America”!is!not!related!to!the!semantic!category!of!Places$but!to!the!semantic! category!of!Social)Classes.! Going!on!with!corpus!Truslow,!I!will!analyze!the!concordance!plot!of!the!word! “poor”!from!the!semantic!category!Social)classes.! ! Dead! Poor! descendants! Some! Poor! Family! Faces! Poor! People! Little! Poor! Children! Tired! Poor! immigrants! Figure&8.&Concordance&Neighbors&of&the&word&“Poor”&from&corpus&Truslow! ! This!time,!in!the!examples!of!“poor$descendants”,$“poor$family”$or$“poor$people”,!it! can!be!seen!how!the!word!“poor”!is!always!related!to!people!and,!somehow,!it! shows!the!impossibility!of!changing!your!past!when!talking!about!social!status! and!economy!despite!the!effort!and!hard!work.!Thus,!reflecting!Fitzgerald’s!ideas.! ! Forces! America! Country! Riches! America! Future! Classes! America! Creation! Slaves! America! Liberation! Power! America! priviledge! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 21 of 33 For! the! word! “rich”! from! the! semantic! category! Social) classes,!several! concordance!neighborhoods!were!found!in!corpus!Fitzgerald.! ! Immensely! Rich! Fertile! Priviledge! Rich! beautiful! Grew! Rich! Powerful! Honorable! Rich! conservative! New! Rich! Classes! Figure&9.&Concordance&Neighbors&of&the&word&“Rich”&from&corpus&Fitzgerald! ! In!this!case,!it!can!be!found!examples!such!as!“rich$and$fertile”,$“rich$and$powerful”$ or$“rich$and$beautiful”.!The!word!“rich”!is!always!next!to!a!positive!adjective.!This! shows!how! James!Adams!Truslow!sees!America!and! its! citizens,!presenting!the! reader!an!optimistic!view!of!the!US.! The!last!concordance!neighborhood!presented!will!be!that!of!the!word!“effort”!from! the!semantic!category!Jobs$in!corpus!Fitzgerald.! ! Final! Effort! Compromiso! Royal! Effort! Colonization! General! Effort! Cooperation! Heart-breaking! Effort! Live! Increasing! Effort! America! Figure&10.&Concordance&Neighbors&of&the&word&“effort”&from&corpus&Fitzgerald& As! it! can! be! noticed! in! the! example! of! “as$ a$ final$ effort$ at$ compromise$ they$ succeeded”,!it!reflects!the!context!of!the!semantic!category!of!Jobs$reinforcing!the! main!idea!of!Truslow’s!novels!when!talking!about!the!American!Dream!(work!hard! in!order!to!succeed).! After!analyzing!the!concordance!neighborhoods,!I!can!now!explain!the!different! concordance!plots!of!some!of!these!words!presented!previously,!beginning!with! corpus!Fitzgerald.! ! ! Figure&11.&Concordance&plot&in&the&word&“America”&from&the&lexical&category&Places&from! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 22 of 33 corpus&Fitzgerald! ! In!Figure$11,!the!word!“America”!is!present!during!the!whole!novel!in!America’s! Tragedy,!with!a!higher!density!at!the!beginning,!whereas!in!The!Founding!of!New! England,!it!is!presented!most!of!the!time!in!the!beginning!and!then!in!the!end!as!well.! This!just!remarks!how!America!is!presented!in!all!Truslow’s!novels.!! Going!on! with! corpus! Truslow,! there! are! several! words! to! analyze,!starting!with! “rich”!from!the!semantic!category!Social)Classes.! ! ! !!Figure&12.&Concordance&plot&in&the&word&“rich”&from&the&semantic&category&Social& Classes&from&corpus&Fitzgerald&and&corpus&Truslow! ! For!this!word,!it!is!remarkable!the!fact!that!it!is!distributed!through!all!the!novels,! but! it! is! less! used! in! his! earliest! novels.! This! may! mean! that! Fitzgerald! tries! to! emphasize! his! idea! about! the! distinction! between! classes! and! the! corruption! in! America!later.!! On!the!other!hand,!in!corpus!Truslow,!Truslow!emphasizes!the!idea!of!“being!rich”! throughout!all!his!works,!but!a!clear!repetition!in!his!last!novels!is!present.! Now,!and!following!“rich”,!the!word!“poor”!from!the!same!semantic!category!should! be!presented.! ! ! Figure&13.&Concordance&plot&of&the&word&“poor”&from&the&semantic&category& Social&Classes&from&corpus&Truslow! ! This!word!is!well!distributed!through!all!the!novels,!but!it!seems!to!be!more!used!in! the!earliest!novels!of!Fitzgerald.! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 23 of 33 The! presentation! of! the! different! concordance! plots! should! go! on! with! the! comparison!of!the!word!“wealth”!from!the!semantic!category!Economy)in!corpus! Fitzgerald!and!Corpus!Truslow.! !! ! Figure&14.&Concordance&plot&of&the&word&“wealth”&from&the&semantic&category&Economy& from&corpus&Truslow! ! In!this!case,!we!can!notice!how!low!is!the!frequency!of!the!use!of!the!word!“wealth”! in!Fitzgerald’s!novels.!This,!once!more,!serves!as!a!mirror!of!America!itself!from!the! point!of!view!of!the!author.!Fitzgerald!may!be!trying!to!warn!people!with!the!lack! of!“wealth”!in!his!novel!that!somehow,!reflect!the!country.! ! ! Figure&15.&Concordance&plot&of&the&word&“wealth”&from&the&semantic&category& Economy&from&corpus&Truslow! ! On! the! other! hand,! the! word! “wealth”! is! very! well! distributed! in! Truslow’s! novels.!However,!it!is!more!used!in!his!latest!novels.!Here!I!can!see!the!contrast! with! Fitzgerald’s! works.! Truslow! tried! to! give! an! opposite! impression! of! America,!with!the!attempt!of!giving!hope.! Following!“wealth”,!“effort”!will!be!the!last!word!from!the!semantic! category!Jobs$in!corpus!Fitzgerald.! ! ! Figure&16.&Concordance&plot&of&the&word&“effort”&from&the&semantic&category&Jobs&from&corpus& Truslow.! ! This!time,!it!is!noticeable!how!the!word!“effort”!is!constantly!repeated!throughout! all! Truslow’s! novels,! but! it! is! less! used! in! his! last! novels,! thus! suggesting! the! decline!of!the!sense!of!effort!related!to!success.! ! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 24 of 33 This!study!of!the!concordance!plot!of!certain!words!has!confirmed!the!criticism! Fitzgerald!showed!in!his!works!and!the!positive!view!of!Truslow.!Truslow!tends! to!highlight!words!that!enhance!the!idea!of!wealth,!richness!and!effort,!that!are! related.!The!opposite!happens!in!the!works!of!Fitzgerald,!where!he!reflects!a!lack! of!words!related!to!wealth!and!richness,!and!a!more!visible!recurrence!of!the! words!related!to!poor.! After!analyzing!the!concordance!plot,!I!have!realized!the!paired-t!test!(p-!value)!in! order!to!understand!if!the!data!obtained!is!important,!and!I!have!found!that!the! two-tailed!P!value=.0240.!By!conventional!criteria,!this!difference!is!considered!to! be!statistically!significant.! Then,!I!have!analyzed!the!correlation!R!in!order!to!understand!if!there!is!a!relation! among!both!corpora:! ! ! Figure&17.&Scatterplot&showing&the&data&of&both&samples& ! In!this!scatterplot!I!can!see!a!very!low!correlation!(R=.4299).!Both!samples!were! found!to!be!not!significant!at!p!<!.05!as!there!is!a!visible!dispersion!of!the!keywords.! ! 5.111DISCUSSION! Having!studied!the!materials,!I!could!analyze!all!the!data!and!differences!between! Truslow! and! Fitzgerald’s! novels! and! how! they! perceived! the! concept! of! The! American!Dream.!Thus,!letting!me!know!and!compare!their!points!of!view!with! respect!to!America!as!a!new!and!powerful!country!in!a!better!way.!Accomplishing! my!objectives,!I!could!observe!some!expected!results!in!relation!to!my!hypothesis.! First!and!foremost,!it!has!been!presented!in!a!histogram!that!in!Corpus!Fitzgerald! there!are!5!outliers:!Places!(which!is!above!the!medium),!Social!classes,!economy,! Education!and! America!as! a! new! and! powerful! country! in! a! better! way.! Accomplishing!my!objectives,!I!could!observe!some!expected!results!in!relation!to! my!hypothesis.!First!and!foremost,!it!has!been!presented!in!a!histogram!that!in! Corpus!Fitzgerald!there!are!5!outliers:!Places!(which!is!above!the!medium),!Social! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 25 of 33 Classes,!Economy,!Education!and!Jobs!(that!are!under!the!medium)!(see$Figure$ 3).! Whereas,! in! Corpus! Truslow,! there! are! 3! outliers! which! are! values! that! are! observed!to!be!under!or!above!the!medium!and!which!lie!at!different!distances! from! one! another:! Places,) Rights! (that! are! above! the! medium)! and! Economy! (which!is!under!the!medium)!(see$Figure$4).!Then,!after!comparing!the!frequencies! of! each! word! token! and! of! each! semantic! category,! I! have! observed! that! the! frequency!of!those!semantic!categories!that!would!prove!my!hypothesis,!like!Social! Classes!is!much!lower!than!those!semantic!categories!which!would!not!prove!it,! like!Places!(see$Figure$5).!However,!if!I!compare!the!frequency!in!Truslow’s!novels! and! the! frequency! in! Fitzgerald’s,! I! can! notice! how! Fitzgerald! gives! more! importance!to!social!classes!than!Truslow,!this!supports!my!hypothesis!and!proves! that!Fitzgerald!focuses!on!the!idea!that!not!anyone!can!achieve!success!(not!even! with! hard! work).! Furthermore,! according! to! data,! the! results! accomplish! the! objectives! I! had! envisioned,! because! I! could! see! how! well! distributed! all! the! percentages! of! the! semantic! categories! in! corpus! Truslow! are.! Here! I! could! demonstrate!how!Fitzgerald!focuses!his!novels!on!how!the!life!of!people!is,!that!is! why!the!semantic!categories!with!a!higher!percentage!are!those!of!identity,!jobs,! rights,!etc.!while,!in!corpus!Fitzgerald,!there!are!a!few!categories!with!a!very!high! percentage!of!frequency!(such!as!places!and!identity)!and!the!rest!with!a!very!low! percentage!(such!as!education!or!jobs).! According!to!the!concordance!neighborhoods,!Truslow!remarks!the!importance!of! hard!work!and!effort!in!order!to!succeed!in!most!of!his!novels,!especially!in!his!first! works.!In!the!case!of!corpus!Truslow,!Fitzgerald!indicates!how!people!inherit!their! wealth!(either!in!a!negative!or!in!a!positive!way),!he!talks!about!how!the!social! status! and! economic! conditions! affected! the! lives! of! the! Americans! and! how! difficult!it!was!to!change!it.!On!the!other!hand,!the!concordance!plot!that!the!word! “wealth”! presents! in! Fitzgerald’s! novels! serves! as! a! mirror! of! how! he! sees! the! country!(see$ Figure$ 14).! The!use!of!the!word!“wealth”! is!so!little! in!Fitzgerald’s! novels,!thus!reflecting!how!little!the!wealth!actually!was!in!America.!In!addition!to! this,!the!concordance!plot!of!the!same!word!in!Truslow’s!novels!(see$Figure$15)!is! much! better! distributed,! this! means! that! Truslow! depicted! America! in! a! totally! different!way! in!comparison! to! Fitzgerald’s! vision! and! gave! his! readers! a! more! positive!vision!of!the!economic!situation!of!the!American!people!in!order!to!spread! hope.!As!the!study!of!Zamira!Hodo!states,!the!concept!of!the!American!Dream!used! to!mean!equality,!liberty,!pursuit!of!happiness!and!democracy,!as!Truslow!depicted! in!his!works,!but!later!the!concept!became!corrupted,!and!it!was!seen!as!a!greedy! term!as!it!is!seen!in!Fitzgerald’s!works!and!in!Truslow’s!latest!works!too!(Hodo,! 2017).! Another! fact! that! actively! demonstrates! my! hypothesis! is! the! clear!difference! between! the! frequency! of! the! semantic! categories! Jobs$and! Education$in! both! corpuses.!Firstly,!in!corpus!Fitzgerald!the!semantic!category!of!Education!is!almost! nonexistent!with!a!1%!of!frequency!while!in!corpus!Truslow!it!has!9%!of!frequency! (see$Figures$1$and$2).!On!the!other!hand,!the!semantic!category!of!Jobs!is!very!high! in!corpus!Truslow,!while!in!corpus!Truslow!it!is!very!low!(see$Figure$5).!This!is! presented!in!a!study!made!by!Mortimer,!where!he!explains!that!the!expansion!of! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 32 of 33 westG PlacesG 106G yorkG PlacesG 183G captainG SocialGClassesG 20G classesG SocialGClassesG 14G kingG SocialGClassesG 37G poorG SocialGClassesG 111G princeG SocialGClassesG 83G richG SocialGClassesG 78G royalG SocialGClassesG 13G billG EconomyG 27G cheapG EconomyG 25G fortuneG EconomyG 7G goldG EconomyG 61G miseryG EconomyG 10G payG EconomyG 46G wealthG EconomyG 10G wealthyG EconomyG 20G artG EducationG 20G collegeG EducationG 123G degreeG EducationG 9G educationG EducationG 23G educatedG EducationG 21G graduatedG EducationG 7G harvardG EducationG 18G literatureG EducationG 12G schoolG EducationG 106G studyG EducationG 27G universityG EducationG 24G youthG EducationG 77G humanG RightsG 73G lifeG RightsG 383G responsibilityG RightsG 13G rightG RightsG 516G judgementG RightsG 17G actor! Jobs! 36! actress! Jobs! 40! artist! Jobs! 16! business! Jobs! 145! A Corpus Linguistic Study on the “American Dream” in the works of Fitzgerald and Truslow Page 33 of 33 job! Jobs! 36! maid! Jobs! 20! nurses! Jobs! 9! office! Jobs! 116! police! Jobs! 38! secretary! Jobs! 32! waiter! Jobs! 83! work! Jobs! 226! writers! Jobs! 70! attack! War! 13! battle! War! 33! fight! War! 50! killed! War! 54! line! War! 97! soldiers! War! 31! war! War! 119! wound! War! 17! ! !